Show Boat

press release: 

SHOW BOAT

USA | 1936 | 35mm | 113 min.

Director: James Whale; Cast: Irene Dunne, Helen Morgan, Paul Robeson

The best film adaptation of the popular Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein musical follows the life of Magnolia Hawks (Dunne), from her father’s showboat on the Mississippi to her own experiences in Chicago.  The score includes “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man Of Mine”, and a haunting rendition of “Ol’ Man River” sung by Robeson. Print courtesy UCLA Film & Television Archive.

Sunday Cinematheque at the Chazen: It’s a Universal Picture

This lineup of movies released by Universal Pictures from 1928-1936 shows how one of the smallest of the major studios, under the leadership of head honcho Carl Laemmle, Jr., held their own with a variety of fun and fast-paced features that delivered innovation in a number of genres: melodramas, comedies, thrillers, war stories, musicals and horror movies. Our series partly focuses on Universal’s top-flight, best-known directors like William Wyler, John Stahl and James Whale, but you will also have a chance to discover the expressive and riveting work of Edward L. Cahn, Paul Fejos, and others. As a bonus, many of the features will be preceded by animated preludes starring Universal’s top cartoon star of the day, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Special Thanks to Dave Kehr, whose series of Universal discoveries curated for New York’s Museum of Modern Art and Bologna’s Il Cinema Ritrovato provided significant inspiration.