Paul Robeson

  • Show Boat (1936)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (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.

  • King Solomon’s Mines (1937)

    King Solomon’s Mines (1937)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On TV, November 2019) As much as the stench of colonialism is strong in this first version of King Solomon’s Mines, it’s actually kind of fascinating to see such an unabashed African adventure at an early stage of cinema. Partially filmed on location, this film rather faithfully adapts H. Rider Haggard’s adventure novel with all the means available to big-budget cinema at the time. The plot elements are all well worn (all the way to natives being impressed at an eclipse, and a volcano-fuelled final escape) but it’s not impossible to suspend exasperation considering the age of the material. Black actor/singer Paul Robeson has an unusually high-profile role here as an exile chieftain coming back to take the throne—he even gets to sing the film’s final moments. Cedric Hardwicke is also compelling at lead adventurer Allan Quartermain, heading deep in Africa to find hidden treasure. There is still a bit of a kick to King Solomon’s Mines —a basic watchability to the result that transcends time and very different assumptions about how to portray Africa on-screen. It could have been much, much worse.