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Bookmark this pageShow Boat (1951)
Director: George Sidney
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Not surprisingly, Arthur Freed's production values put this ahead of Whale's 1936 version as sheer spectacle, but the earlier version had two big plusses in Robeson (Warfield here is secure, but lacks the mystique), and Helen Morgan (here Ava Gardner's voice is dubbed, and try as she might she can't shake off the big star bit). Keel and Grayson are as colourless as ever, but no less so than Jones and Dunne were in 1936. As a film musical it survives on sheer class and some of Jerome Kern's richest melodies. As an anti-racist tract, though, it must have looked a lot less ingenuous when it first opened than it does now. Instead, enjoy the unashamed sentiment of the tale, and the spirited hoofing of Marge and Gower Champion.Author: SG
Cast & crew
Director: George Sidney
Producer: Arhur Freed
Cast: Kathryn Grayson, Ava Gardner, Howard Keel, Joe E Brown, Marge and Gower Champion, Agnes Moorehead, William Warfield, Robert Sterling full cast
Genre(s): Musicals
Duration: 108 mins
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