Show Boat (1936)

(On Cable TV, December 2022) I can understand if you don’t have the time to watch all the movies out there, but when it comes to 1936’s Show Boat, drop everything and have a look at its magnificent scene where Paul Robeson sings Ol’ Man River—a terrific song that has crossed decades without losing any of its punch. If you can listen to “I’m tired of living and scared of dying” without being moved, well… (And as a bonus, you will absorb one of the great militant songs of the twentieth century and get an introduction to Robeson’s career.)  That song aside, Show Boat has historical merit: It was one of the earliest attempts to combine opera with the movie musical (the 1926 Broadway original arguably being the first musical to drive a serious plot through songs) and watching it is essential in order to understand the neutered abomination that was the 1951 version. Otherwise, the film can be interesting to appreciate what director James Whale was able to accomplish despite 1930s technology (especially as the story lends itself to filmmaking more ambitious than stage-bound numbers). Still, I can’t help but think that the definitive version of Show Boat may still be in the future—the 1930s version was limited by technology, the 1951 one by the production code.