Directed by:
James WhaleScreenplay:
Edna FerberCinematography:
John J. MescallComposer:
Jerome KernCast:
Irene Dunne, Allan Jones, Charles Winninger, Paul Robeson, Helen Morgan, Helen Westley, Queenie Smith, Sammy White, Donald Cook, Hattie McDaniel, Arthur Hohl (more)Plots(1)
Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II’s immortal musical adaptation of Edna Ferber’s sprawling novel receives its most faithful and enduring cinematic adaptation under the elegant direction of James Whale. A rich portrait of changing American entertainment traditions and race relations, Show Boat spans four decades and three generations as it follows the fortunes of the stage-struck Magnolia (Irene Dunne), an aspiring actor whose journey takes her from her family’s humble floating playhouse in the 1880s South to the height of fame in the 1930s North. The cast of show-business legends includes Helen Morgan, Hattie McDaniel, Charles Winninger, and the great Paul Robeson, whose iconic, soul-shaking rendition of “Ol’ Man River” is one of the crowning glories of the American stage and screen. (Criterion)
(more)Cast
![Irene Dunne](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/267/267971_ec7ab0.jpg)
Irene Dunne
USA
Best movies:
The White Cliffs of Dover (1944)
Penny Serenade (1941)
Anna and the King of Siam (1946)
![Allan Jones](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/320/320686_ec9596.jpg)
Allan Jones
USA
Best movies:
A Night at the Opera (1935)
Show Boat (1936)
A Day at the Races (1937)
![Charles Winninger](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/030/247/30247522_cc5cb4.jpg)
Charles Winninger
USA
Best movies:
Destry Rides Again (1939)
Show Boat (1936)
Beyond Tomorrow (1940)
![Paul Robeson](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/270/270784_e943b9.jpg)
Paul Robeson
USA
Best movies:
Show Boat (1936)
Tales of Manhattan (1942)
![Helen Morgan](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/185/159185636_ac7541.jpg)
Helen Morgan
USA
Best movies:
American Pop (1981) - a.f.
Show Boat (1936)
Applause (1929)
![Helen Westley](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/158/354/158354665_952126.jpg)
Helen Westley
USA
Best movies:
Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938)
Show Boat (1936)
Heidi (1937)
![Queenie Smith](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/439/160439946_7e5f1b.jpg)
Queenie Smith
USA
Best movies:
Caged (1950)
Show Boat (1936)
The Day of the Locust (1975)
Sammy White
USA
Best movies:
Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956)
The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
Show Boat (1936)
![Donald Cook](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/158/053/158053269_0cab9a.jpg)
Donald Cook
USA
Best movies:
The Kiss Before the Mirror (1933)
Show Boat (1936)
The Public Enemy (1931)
![Hattie McDaniel](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/164/337/164337539_a0cb36.jpg)
Hattie McDaniel
USA
Best movies:
Gone with the Wind (1939)
Carefree (1938)
Vivacious Lady (1938)
![Arthur Hohl](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/256/159256306_757d6e.jpg)
Arthur Hohl
USA
Best movies:
Monsieur Verdoux (1947)
The Yearling (1946)
You Gotta Stay Happy (1948)
![Charles Middleton](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/471/159471372_569e9d.jpg)
Charles Middleton
USA
Best movies:
The Good Earth (1937)
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)
Gone with the Wind (1939)
![J. Farrell MacDonald](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/158/477/158477098_33cdbb.jpg)
J. Farrell MacDonald
USA
Best movies:
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Sunrise (1927)
The Power and the Glory (1933)
![Clarence Muse](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/162/540/162540402_9d38d0.jpg)
Clarence Muse
USA
Best movies:
Double Indemnity (1944)
Love Crazy (1941)
Scarlet Street (1945)
![Forrest Stanley](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/272/272385_201c3c.jpg)
Forrest Stanley
USA
Best movies:
Show Boat (1936)
The Cat and the Canary (1927)
The Tattered Dress (1957)
LeRoy Prinz
USA
Best movies:
Show Boat (1936)
![May Beatty](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/505/505229_a8396e.jpg)
May Beatty
New Zealand
Best movies:
If I Were King (1938)
Mad Love (1935)
Union Pacific (1939)
![Edmund Cobb](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/505/505377_72c895.jpg)
Edmund Cobb
USA
Best movies:
The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima (1952)
Double Indemnity (1944)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
![Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/919/160919553_6226f3.jpg)
Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson
USA
Best movies:
Gone with the Wind (1939)
Love Is News (1937)
Jezebel (1938)
James P. Burtis
USA
Best movies:
Carefree (1938)
Show Boat (1936)
The Texans (1938)