I’ve been on a bit of a Howard Keel kick lately, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, and no Howard Keel kick would be complete without “Show Boat.”
Nollie Hawkes (Kathryn Grayson) lives on a riverboat with her mother and father. They travel up and down the Mississipi River with a full complement of actors and actresses on board. Whenever they come to a town, they put on a show and invite everyone in the town to come. Each season brings a new show, and the townsfolk look forward to the arrival of the showboat.
Julie and Bill are the stars of the show. Husband and wife, they play opposite each other in all the romantic roles. However, Julie is hiding a secret – she’s half-black, and it’s illegal for her to be married to a white man. She and Bill have to leave the boat in a hurry to escape the law, leaving the boat without a romantic couple. Nollie can take over the woman’s role, but what about a leading man?
Gaylord Ravenal(Howard Keel) is a risk taker and a gambler. He’s also not a bad actor and singer. When he comes on board and asks for a job, it’s granted, but with the condition that he never, ever, ever kisses Nollie on stage. Her parents know his type and they know what he’s thinking; they’d better not ever catch him anywhere near their daughter.
But when love comes a knockin,’ no one listens to their parents’ talking. Gay and Nollie fall head over heels in love, kissing commences, and it’s all over. They leave the boat and set up housekeeping together, Gay taking care of his new wife in fine style. However, he pays for her fine furs with money he’s gotten off the gambling table.
“Show Boat” is an unusual film for a number of reasons. Hollywood up until that point had refused to look at racism, choosing instead for their black actors to remain in the subservient roles they had always played, mammies and butlers. With Julie’s storyline, a half-black woman married to a white man, Hollywood showed some guts, but I’m afraid the guts ended there. Lena Horne, a black actress who did a marvelous screen test for the role did not end up playing the part. Hollywood decided that the public would never relate to a real black woman in a relationship with a white man, and so they cast Ava Gardner in the role. I don’t have any problems with Ava; I think she’s a good actress and she did well in the part, but she does not look as though she could possibly have any African blood in her at all and was not believable in the role for that reason. In addition, Lena Horne has a fabulous singing voice and could have done her own songs, but all of Ava’s were dubbed.
This film also took a close-up look at the effect gambling can have on a marriage. We see the abuse that Gay heaps upon his wife through his own selfish desire to have more, more, more, and refusal to work for it. In this era of Hollywood history, most of the movies were lighthearted and happy, and it was odd for a movie about such serious issues to be released. Odd, but necessary.
The solemn themes of this movie are handled responsibly. While not suitable for your very youngest viewers, it will provide a jumping-off point for discussion between you and your older children about racism, gambling, and marital abuse, and it’s full of incredible musical numbers to boot. I’m sure you’ve heard the song “Old Man River” – it’s from this movie.
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