Show Boat (1951)

I wanted to see the 1936 movie adapted from the Kern and Hammerstein musical adapted from the Edna Ferber book, as it's the most popular movie version. Alas, like many old works, it has yet to become available through Netflix, even tho the DVD evidently exists. So I settled for what I took to be the next best thing.

The boat in question, the Cotton Blossom under Cap'n Andy (Joe E. Brown) and wife Parthy (Agnes Moorehead), travels the southern portion of the Mississippi River in the late 19th century, with performers putting on skits and musical sequences. Gambler Gaylord (Howard Keel), having no other ticket to ride, charms his way into the heart of Andy's daughter, Magnolia (Kathryn Grayson), and then into the cast, which has an opening once a sheriff orders the dismissal of part-Black performer Julie (Ava Gardner) and her hubby, Steve (Robert Sterling). After many popular shows, against Parthy's wishes, Gaylord and Magnolia get married and leave the business. As unpleasant as Parthy is, she has a valid point about the gamble of marrying a gambler....

I guess the first thing I should address is the treatment of race. While the many Black characters on screen aren't blatantly insulting, there is something about their depiction that wouldn't fly in any later decade. Gardner doesn't look or sound remotely Black, tho I realize that in the eyes of southern law at the time, any quantifiable amount of Black ancestry was enough. The facts that Julie and Steve (SPOILER ALERT) don't stay together and that Julie is a bit of a wreck in the end rub me the wrong way.

At the same time, it's kind of progressive for 1951. Censors wanted to cut out the miscegenation element altogether, but the '36 version set a precedent. The '51 version improves somewhat on '36 by removing the more obvious caricature moments. And pretty much everyone agrees that the highlight is the William Warfield rendition of "Ol' Man River," aided visually by substitute director Roger Edens.

You might also make the case that SB '51 improved something for the women, at least as far as the play and films go. Gaylord isn't as much of a jerk and criminal as before, so we don't feel as uncomfortable with how Magnolia regards him. This being an old musical, of course, it needs a designated happy ending.

OK, the aforementioned cutting probably wasn't an attempt at political correctness. Producer Arthur Freed would cut almost anything that didn't advance the plot. As a result, the '51 film is strikingly different from any previous major stage or screen production. Hardly any comedy remains, even for the fairly goofy Andy and contrasting Parthy; one result is that a dance scene, taken more seriously, involves better moves. The timeline has been reduced from 40 years to about 6. Most of the dialog was rewritten. I'm not sure how much the plot got simplified compared to other adaptations, but it sure felt simple to me.

Contemporary critics liked SB '51 primarily for its good use of Technicolor and disliked it for lackluster casting and a general dearth of authenticity, not least in the style of the boat. I liked it primarily for a couple good numbers ("Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" being a second) and disliked it for simply not aging well. You have to be a bigger musical fan than I am for me to recommend it without reservation.