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
Lloyd Whitlock
USA
Best movies:
Edison, the Man (1940)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Reap the Wild Wind (1942)
Delmar Watson
USA
Best movies:
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
A Christmas Carol (1938)
His Girl Friday (1940)
Isabel La Mal
USA
Best movies:
Madame Curie (1943)
Desire (1936)
Show Boat (1936)
Tiny Sandford
USA
Best movies:
The Great Dictator (1940)
Modern Times (1936)
The Circus (1928)
Elspeth Dudgeon
UK
Best movies:
Monsieur Verdoux (1947)
The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939)
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Renee Whitney
USA
Best movies:
Show Boat (1936)
Ex-Lady (1933)
Footlight Parade (1933)
D'Arcy Corrigan
Ireland
Best movies:
The Invisible Man (1933)
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
The Man Who Laughs (1928)
Billy Watson
USA
Best movies:
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Show Boat (1936)
Young Mr. Lincoln (1939)
Anna Demetrio
Italy
Best movies:
Show Boat (1936)
The Crusades (1935)
The Texans (1938)
![Frank Mayo](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/090/161090820_2f0134.jpg)
Frank Mayo
USA
Best movies:
Easter Parade (1948)
Action in the North Atlantic (1943)
Gilda (1946)
Bobs Watson
USA
Best movies:
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
Dodge City (1939)
Show Boat (1936)