Show Boat (1951 film)

Show Boat
Film poster
Directed byGeorge Sidney
Screenplay byJohn Lee Mahin
Based onShow Boat
1926 novel
by Edna Ferber
Show Boat
1927 musical
by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II
Produced byArthur Freed
StarringKathryn Grayson
Ava Gardner
Howard Keel
Joe E. Brown
Marge Champion
Gower Champion
Agnes Moorehead
William Warfield
CinematographyCharles Rosher
Edited byJohn D. Dunning
Music byJerome Kern
Production
company
Distributed byLoew's, Inc.
Release dates
  • July 17, 1951 (1951-07-17) (Los Angeles)[1]
  • July 19, 1951 (1951-07-19) (New York City)[2]
  • September 24, 1951 (1951-09-24) (United States)
Running time
107 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2,389,000[3]
Box office$7,621,000[3]

Show Boat is a 1951 American musical romantic drama film, based on the 1927 stage musical of the same name by Jerome Kern (music) and Oscar Hammerstein II (script and lyrics), and the 1926 novel by Edna Ferber. It was made by MGM, adapted for the screen by John Lee Mahin, produced by Arthur Freed and directed by George Sidney.

Filmed previously in 1929 and in 1936, this third adaptation of Show Boat was shot in Technicolor in the typical MGM lavish style, while the basic plot remains unchanged. The film stars Kathryn Grayson, Ava Gardner, and Howard Keel, with Joe E. Brown, Marge Champion, Gower Champion, William Warfield, Robert Sterling, Agnes Moorehead and Leif Erickson. Unlike the 1936 film, none of the members of the original Broadway cast of the show appeared in this version.

The 1951 Show Boat was the most financially successful of the film adaptations of the show: one of MGM's most popular musicals, it was the second highest-grossing film of that year.[4]

  1. ^ "Gala Invitational Premiere". The Los Angeles Times. 17 July 1951. p. 31. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  2. ^ "Radio City Music Hall". Daily News. 17 July 1951. p. 41. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  3. ^ a b The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
  4. ^ Walker, Lawrence. "Show Boat (1951 film)". Pure History.