Show Boat

Show Boat is a musical drama set aboard a floating theatre that travels the Mississippi River in the late nineteenth century. The Cotton Blossom is both a working paddle steamer and a venue for stage shows, and its captain, Andy Hawks, runs it with his family. When the company's leading actress, Julie LaVerne, is forced to leave the boat, the captain's daughter Magnolia takes her place as the star attraction. She falls for Gaylord Ravenal, a charming riverboat gambler, and marries him against her mother's wishes. The union is tested by his gambling, and the story follows how the couple's fortunes rise and fall while the showboat company carries on.

The film was directed by George Sidney, the sixth title in the chronological list of his features, arriving between The Three Musketeers and Scaramouche. John Lee Mahin wrote the screenplay, and Arthur Freed produced for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Kathryn Grayson and Howard Keel lead the cast as Magnolia and Gaylord, with Ava Gardner as Julie, Joe E. Brown as Cap'n Andy Hawks, and Marge Champion and Gower Champion as Ellie May and Frank.

Released in July 1951, the film runs 107 minutes. Made for a budget of 2 million dollars, it returned 11 million worldwide, a strong multiple of its cost. On IMDb it holds 6.8 out of 10 from about 5,700 votes, and on TMDB 6.2 from a much smaller sample of 82 votes, so the audience response is modest and broadly similar across both. A critics' rating of 6.8 from 12 reviews places it level with the IMDb figure.