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Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II’s immortal musical adaptation of Edna Ferber’s sprawling novel receives its most faithful and enduring cinematic treatment under the elegant direction of James Whale. A rich portrait of changing American entertainment traditions and race relations, Show Boat spans five decades and three generations as it follows the fortunes of the stagestruck Magnolia (Irene Dunne), an aspiring actor whose journey takes her from her family’s humble floating playhouse in the 1880s South to the bright footlights of 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.
Original Release
05/17/1936
US Release
05/17/1936
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Cast
Name | Character |
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Irene Dunne | Magnolia / Magnolia Hawkes |
Allan Jones | Gaylord Ravenal |
Charles Winninger | Cap'n Andy Hawks / Cap'n Andy Hawkes |
Paul Robeson | Joe |
Helen Morgan | Julie / Julie LaVerne |
Helen Westley | Parthy Ann Hawks / Parthenia "Parthy" Hawkes |
Queenie Smith | Elly May Chipley / Ellie May Chipley |
Sammy White | Frank Schultz |
Donald Cook | Steve Baker |
Hattie McDaniel | Queenie |
Directors
Writers
Oscar Hammerstein II, Zoe Akins, Edna Ferber
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Irene Dunne | Magnolia / Magnolia Hawkes |
Allan Jones | Gaylord Ravenal |
Charles Winninger | Cap'n Andy Hawks / Cap'n Andy Hawkes |
Paul Robeson | Joe |
Helen Morgan | Julie / Julie LaVerne |
Helen Westley | Parthy Ann Hawks / Parthenia "Parthy" Hawkes |
Queenie Smith | Elly May Chipley / Ellie May Chipley |
Sammy White | Frank Schultz |
Donald Cook | Steve Baker |
Hattie McDaniel | Queenie |
Francis X. Mahoney | Rubber Face |
Marilyn Knowlden | Kim (as a Child) / Kim as a Child |
Sunnie O'Dea | Kim (at Sixteen) / Kim - at Sixteen |
Arthur Hohl | Pete |
Charles Middleton | Vallon / Sheriff Ike Vallon |
J. Farrell MacDonald | Windy / Windy MacLaine |
Clarence Muse | Janitor / Sam |
Maude Allen | Fat Woman |
Ricca Allen | Old Woman |
William Alston | Young Man |
Producers
Name | Role |
---|
Carl Laemmle Jr. | Producer |