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
![Charles C. Wilson](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/934/159934024_423dfb.jpg)
Charles C. Wilson
USA
Best movies:
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
The Roaring Twenties (1939)
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
![Selmer Jackson](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/948/159948634_afe05a.jpg)
Selmer Jackson
USA
Best movies:
Love Crazy (1941)
It Started with Eve (1941)
Sudden Fear (1952)
![Jack Mulhall](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/158/126/158126072_d11d1a.jpg)
Jack Mulhall
USA
Best movies:
Love Crazy (1941)
It Started with Eve (1941)
Strike Up the Band (1940)
![Maidel Turner](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/109/160109066_ebbaf9.jpg)
Maidel Turner
USA
Best movies:
It Happened One Night (1934)
Love Is News (1937)
Show Boat (1936)
![Brooks Benedict](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/310/160310879_7d6cd0.jpg)
Brooks Benedict
USA
Best movies:
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
The Roaring Twenties (1939)
![Barbara Pepper](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/204/160204222_858cca.jpg)
Barbara Pepper
USA
Best movies:
My Fair Lady (1964)
Of Mice and Men (1939)
A Child Is Waiting (1963)
Al Ferguson
Ireland
Best movies:
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Gaslight (1944)
East of Eden (1955)
![Monte Montague](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/405/160405886_cb9a9e.jpg)
Monte Montague
USA
Best movies:
The Invisible Man (1933)
Show Boat (1936)
Virginia City (1940)
![Ernest Hilliard](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/452/160452430_a9f5c8.jpg)
Ernest Hilliard
USA
Best movies:
The Lost Weekend (1945)
Gilda (1946)
Random Harvest (1942)
![Edward Peil Sr.](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/589/160589573_1bd565.gif)
Edward Peil Sr.
USA
Best movies:
Love Crazy (1941)
Captains Courageous (1937)
Storm Warning (1951)
![Stanley Fields](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/605/160605877_53d527.jpg)
Stanley Fields
USA
Best movies:
City Streets (1931)
Show Boat (1936)
Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
![Donald Briggs](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/687/160687474_3e0518.jpg)
Donald Briggs
USA
Best movies:
After the Thin Man (1936)
Captains Courageous (1937)
Show Boat (1936)
![Eddy Chandler](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/769/160769473_2d999d.jpg)
Eddy Chandler
USA
Best movies:
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
The Roaring Twenties (1939)
![E.E. Clive](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/995/160995357_c2bf82.jpg)
E.E. Clive
UK
Best movies:
The Invisible Man (1933)
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Captain Blood (1935)
![Dorothy Granger](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/619/160619298_eeea85.jpg)
Dorothy Granger
USA
Best movies:
Westward the Women (1951)
The Sign of the Cross (1932)
Mighty Joe Young (1949)
![Lee Phelps](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/045/161045073_80d9c2.jpg)
Lee Phelps
USA
Best movies:
Love Crazy (1941)
The Roaring Twenties (1939)
After the Thin Man (1936)
![Helen Jerome Eddy](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/081/161081292_407f52.jpg)
Helen Jerome Eddy
USA
Best movies:
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Strike Up the Band (1940)
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Arthur Housman
USA
Best movies:
Sunrise (1927)
After the Thin Man (1936)
Feet First (1930)
![Tom Ricketts](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/275/161275077_1b9ce5.jpg)
Tom Ricketts
UK
Best movies:
After the Thin Man (1936)
The Invisible Man (1933)
The Power and the Glory (1933)
George Reed
USA
Best movies:
After the Thin Man (1936)
Reap the Wild Wind (1942)
Show Boat (1936)