Show Boat's Recent Activity

list Show Boat's Recent Activity - Spout http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around Show Boat on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg Show Boat's Recent Activity - Spout http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 Film:Show Boat http://www.spout.com/films/Show_Boat/31184/default.aspx

Title: Show Boat
Year: 1951
Director: George Sidney
Plot: The third and (to date) last film version of the Edna Ferber/Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II musical Show Boat falls just short of greatness but is still a whale of a show. Howard Keel and Kathryn Grayson are in fine fettle as irresponsible gambler Gaylord Ravenal and showboat ingenue Magnolia Hawks. The plot adheres closely to the Broadway original making several welcome improvements in the final act (which was always a bit shaky). Magnolia, daughter of showboat impresario Captain Andy (Joe E. Brown) and Parthy Hawkes (Agnes Moorehead), falls head over heels in love with the raffish Ravenal. When the show's leading lady, Julie (Ava Gardner), and leading man, Steve (Robert Sterling), are forced to leave when Julie's mulatto heritage is revealed by disgruntled suitor Pete (Leif Erickson), Magnolia and Gaylord step into the vacant stage roles and score a hit. Eventually, the two are married and for several months are quite happy. After incurring serious gambling losses, however, Gaylord walks out of Magnolia's life never realizing that his wife is expecting a baby. With the help of her former showboat colleagues Ellie and Frank Schultz (Marge and Gower Champion) and a behind-the-scenes assist from the tragic Julie, Magnolia secures work as a Cabaret singer in Chicago. Her new year's eve debut threatens to be a bust until her father Captain Andy quells the rowdy crowd and guides his daughter through a lovely rendition of After the Ball (a Charles K. Harris tune that pops up in every stage version of Show Boat). Magnolia returns to her family, with her daughter Kim in tow. Upon learning from Julie that he has a daughter, Gaylord returns to Magnolia and Kim, setting the stage for a joyous ending. Virtually all of the Kern-Hammerstein songs are retained for this version of Show Boat (though none of the songs specially written for the 1936 film version are heard). These cannot be faulted, nor can MGM's sumptuous production values. Still, the 1951 Show Boat leaves one a bit cold. Perhaps it was the removal of the racial themes that gave the original so much substance (as black stevedore Joe, William Warfield exists only to sing a toned-down version Ol' Man River while Joe's wife Queenie is virtually written out of the proceedings). Also, MGM reneged on its original decision to cast Lena Horne as Julie; the role was recast with Ava Gardner and rewritten with an excess of gooey sentiment). Or perhaps it was the production's factory-like slickness; typical of the film's smoothing out of the original property's rough edges was the casting of Marge and Gower Champion, who are just too darn good to be convincing as the doggedly mediocre entertainers Frank and Ellie. Even so, Show Boat does have Howard Keel and Kathryn Grayson at their peak, not to mention the
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]]>Mon, 12 Jan 2009 04:19:13 GMTShow Boat1951George SidneyThe third and (to date) last film version of the <a href="/players/P___217153/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Edna Ferber</a>/<a href="/players/P____97239/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Jerome Kern</a>/<a href="/players/P____93274/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Oscar Hammerstein II</a> musical Show Boat falls just short of greatness but is still a whale of a show. <a href="/players/P____37315/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Howard Keel</a> and <a href="/players/P____28405/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Kathryn Grayson</a> are in fine fettle as irresponsible gambler Gaylord Ravenal and showboat ingenue Magnolia Hawks. The plot adheres closely to the Broadway original making several welcome improvements in the final act (which was always a bit shaky). Magnolia, daughter of showboat impresario Captain Andy (Joe E. Brown) and Parthy Hawkes (<a href="/players/P____50390/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Agnes Moorehead</a>), falls head over heels in love with the raffish Ravenal. When the show's leading lady, Julie (<a href="/players/P____25893/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Ava Gardner</a>), and leading man, Steve (<a href="/players/P____68044/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Robert Sterling</a>), are forced to leave when Julie's mulatto heritage is revealed by disgruntled suitor Pete (<a href="/players/P____21996/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Leif Erickson</a>), Magnolia and Gaylord step into the vacant stage roles and score a hit. Eventually, the two are married and for several months are quite happy. After incurring serious gambling losses, however, Gaylord walks out of Magnolia's life never realizing that his wife is expecting a baby. With the help of her former showboat colleagues Ellie and Frank Schultz (Marge and <a href="/players/P____84639/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Gower Champion</a>) and a behind-the-scenes assist from the tragic Julie, Magnolia secures work as a Cabaret singer in Chicago. Her new year's eve debut threatens to be a bust until her father Captain Andy quells the rowdy crowd and guides his daughter through a lovely rendition of After the Ball (a Charles K. Harris tune that pops up in every stage version of Show Boat). Magnolia returns to her family, with her daughter Kim in tow. Upon learning from Julie that he has a daughter, Gaylord returns to Magnolia and Kim, setting the stage for a joyous ending. Virtually all of the Kern-Hammerstein songs are retained for this version of Show Boat (though none of the songs specially written for the 1936 film version are heard). These cannot be faulted, nor can MGM's sumptuous production values. Still, the 1951 Show Boat leaves one a bit cold. Perhaps it was the removal of the racial themes that gave the original so much substance (as black stevedore Joe, <a href="/players/P____74711/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>William Warfield</a> exists only to sing a toned-down version Ol' Man River while Joe's wife Queenie is virtually written out of the proceedings). Also, MGM reneged on its original decision to cast <a href="/players/P____33273/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Lena Horne</a> as Julie; the role was recast with <a href="/players/P____25893/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Ava Gardner</a> and rewritten with an excess of gooey sentiment). Or perhaps it was the production's factory-like slickness; typical of the film's smoothing out of the original property's rough edges was the casting of Marge and <a href="/players/P____84639/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Gower Champion</a>, who are just too darn good to be convincing as the doggedly mediocre entertainers Frank and Ellie. Even so, Show Boat does have <a href="/players/P____37315/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Howard Keel</a> and <a href="/players/P____28405/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Kathryn Grayson</a> at their peak, not to mention the113http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t07035nf5it.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/Show_Boat/31184/default.aspxFilm Spout Post: Show Boat (1951) http://www.spout.com/blogs/jimbell/archive/2008/11/30/37760.aspx

Post By: JimBell
Post To: JimBell Blog
Post Date: 11/30/2008 12:44:03 PM
Body: I watched Show Boat (1951) because I was coming down with a cold, and the DVD was sitting beside the television. I am not an aficionado of Hollywood musicals—they are generally too glitzy and rah-rah-rah. But I often love the music from them, especially when done by good jazz musicians (e.g., Nancy Wilson singing “Happy Talk” from South Pacific). To my surprise, I liked Show Boat! The touchstone of any musical is—we should remember—good music, and Kern and Hammerstein provide “Ol’ Man River” sung powerfully by a big, black crewman (William Warfield). And the tune picked up by numerous jazz singers, “Can’t Stop Lovin’ That Man of Mine,” is sung beautifully and without affectation by the star on the river boat, Julie (played by Ava Gardner and dubbed by Annette Warren). Listening to her slow, careful delivery made me think how it would be impossible to sing that way today. Although musical styles change for lots of reasons, one reason is profound and pervasive: the change in the culture. Today we are revved up—hip hop, pulsating electric beats, distortion, layers of sound. Over half a century ago, things were slower—not necessarily better, but slower. People had it in their bones, and they could stretch out and languidly deliver a heart-felt love ballad so slowly that there was more silence between the notes than there was singing. A historical treat! Show Boat also delighted me by including substantial social issues. When Julie was kicked off the river boat for being mulatto, she began her downward spiral fuelled by racism and alcohol. The musical cannot deal with this in any complexity, but it is woven seamlessly into the plot. In the main story, Magnolia (Kathryn Grayson) innocently falls for a suave riverboat gambler (Howard Keel), and life is opulent until his luck turns and leaves them destitute and then separated. Of course, this being a musical from over half a century ago, they still have true love and are destined to get back together for a happy ending. Today it would be both politically incorrect and fake, but in the world of Show Boat it seems natural.
]]>Sun, 30 Nov 2008 17:44:03 GMTJimBellJimBell Blog11/30/2008 12:44:03 PMI watched Show Boat (1951) because I was coming down with a cold, and the DVD was sitting beside the television. I am not an aficionado of Hollywood musicals—they are generally too glitzy and rah-rah-rah. But I often love the music from them, especially when done by good jazz musicians (e.g., Nancy Wilson singing “Happy Talk” from South Pacific). To my surprise, I liked Show Boat! The touchstone of any musical is—we should remember—good music, and Kern and Hammerstein provide “Ol’ Man River” sung powerfully by a big, black crewman (William Warfield). And the tune picked up by numerous jazz singers, “Can’t Stop Lovin’ That Man of Mine,” is sung beautifully and without affectation by the star on the river boat, Julie (played by Ava Gardner and dubbed by Annette Warren). Listening to her slow, careful delivery made me think how it would be impossible to sing that way today. Although musical styles change for lots of reasons, one reason is profound and pervasive: the change in the culture. Today we are revved up—hip hop, pulsating electric beats, distortion, layers of sound. Over half a century ago, things were slower—not necessarily better, but slower. People had it in their bones, and they could stretch out and languidly deliver a heart-felt love ballad so slowly that there was more silence between the notes than there was singing. A historical treat! Show Boat also delighted me by including substantial social issues. When Julie was kicked off the river boat for being mulatto, she began her downward spiral fuelled by racism and alcohol. The musical cannot deal with this in any complexity, but it is woven seamlessly into the plot. In the main story, Magnolia (Kathryn Grayson) innocently falls for a suave riverboat gambler (Howard Keel), and life is opulent until his luck turns and leaves them destitute and then separated. Of course, this being a musical from over half a century ago, they still have true love and are destined to get back together for a happy ending. Today it would be both politically incorrect and fake, but in the world of Show Boat it seems natural. Spout Tag:love http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/love/MemberTagFilms.aspxlove
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