James Whale made "Show Boat" in 1936. It wasn't the first screen version
of what is arguably the greatest of all stage musicals; there had been a
mostly silent version in 1929 but that took its source material from
Edna Ferber's original novel but Whale's version is unquestionably the
finest with at least three of the musical numbers amongst the best ever
committed to film, (Helen Morgan's rendition of "Bill"; Morgan, Irene
Dunne and Hattie McDaniel letting us know they 'Can't Help Lovin' That
Man' and Paul Robeson's definitive version of 'Ol' Man River' which
Whale films magnificently). It was also a bold movie for Hollywood to
make at the time, dealing as it does with miscegenation; bolder still
for a musical.The leads were Allan Jones, (who sings beautifully but acts poorly), and Irene Dunne, (who both sings and acts beautifully), and they are brilliantly supported by the great Helen Morgan in her last film role, Paul Robeson and Hattie McDaniel, (as fine here as she was in "Gone with the Wind), and by Charles Winninger and Helen Westley as the owners of the Show Boat. There was a glossy remake made in 1951 that was good but which wasn't a patch on Whale's version which, despite a lack of songs in the second half, is still one of the ten best musical films ever made."
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