8mm Forum: Show Boat

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Topic: Show Boat

Paul Adsett
Film God

Posts: 5003
From: USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted June 20, 2007 01:18 PM

Show Boat, 1951
MGM Technicolor
Derann Films, 2400ft

MGM’s classic Technicolor remake of their 1936 film, set aboard a 1900 Mississippi show boat and starring Kathryn Grayson as Magnolia Hawks and Howard Keel as her gambling love interest Gaylord Ravenal. Also starring comedian Joe E Brown as Captain Hawks, Agnes Moorehead as his nagging wife Parthenia, and Ava Gardner as Julie. This classic musical was produced by the Arthur Freed unit at MGM, and of course is renowned for its unforgettable Jerome Kern songs, including ‘ Make Believe', 'Can't help loving that Man', 'Ol Man River', 'After the Ball', and many others. The beautiful Grayson and the jaunty Keel do a fine job of acting and singing all the wonderful songs, and the musical score is really beautiful. Adding a lot of fun and energy to the proceedings are two knockout dance sequences, I might fall back on You' and 'Life upon the Wicked Stage' performed by the legendary team of Marge and Gower Champion. The film beautifully captures the atmosphere and hardship of riverboat life , and the simple but moving story culminates in a tearful ending. One of MGM’s very best musical films.
Derann’s print of this classic musical is outstanding, with very good definition and superb rich color. The Super 8 print does full justice to the original stunning Technicolor photography. My print is at least 20 years old and shows zero fade. The mono sound track is exceptionally good. Put this one on for 2 hours of glorious super 8 entertainment.

Print A
Sound A
Highly recommended

400ft Digest

Ken Films released a 400ft digest of Show Boat which is very good. Included are excepts from Make Believe', 'Here in my Arms', Can't Help Loving that Man' and 'Ol Man River'. Print quality is excellent and, when first purchased 20 years ago, mine had great color, but has since faded quite a lot.
A nice souvenir of the film, and recommended if you can find a good print.

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The best of all worlds- 8mm, super 8mm, 9.5mm, and HD Digital Projection,
Elmo GS1200 f1.0 2-blade
Eumig S938 Stereo f1.0 Ektar
Panasonic PT-AE4000U digital pj

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Michael De Angelis
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1261
From: USA
Registered: Jul 2003

posted July 18, 2007 08:07 PM

Paul,

Good to hear your review
of this wonderful film.

Especially that the Feature
length print has the
stunning and rich technicolor
hues that were struck in
the 35mm releases.

The Red trim on
the Riverboat is richly saturated
and the color leaps off
of the screen.

If I am not mistaken,
it was also the last MGM
musical to be shot in 3 strip technicolor.

The color is dazzling and MGM's
attention to the stars performances
is equally stellar and makes for
an enjoyable program.

Joe E. Brown as Captain Andy
is underrated. His heartbreak and
fatherly joy during the rehearsal number
with his granddaughter on the riverboat
is entertaining and charming.

Thanks for the review of this Derann
release.

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Isn't it great that we can all communicate about this great
hobby that we love!

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Paul Adsett
Film God

Posts: 5003
From: USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted July 19, 2007 03:32 PM

Thank's Michael, I agree with everything you say. Show Boat was made in the era when the Studio's took great pride in the quality of the films they were producing - a far cry from today's typical movie product. That is one of the joys of watching these types of movies - the wonderful talent of the actors and performers, the great songs and music, the superb choreography and dancing, the meticulous care taken with every single shot, and of course the stunning Technicolor photography which is unequalled, even by modern High Definition video. MGM musicals represented the pinnacle of the movie art form.

--------------------
The best of all worlds- 8mm, super 8mm, 9.5mm, and HD Digital Projection,
Elmo GS1200 f1.0 2-blade
Eumig S938 Stereo f1.0 Ektar
Panasonic PT-AE4000U digital pj

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Michael De Angelis
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1261
From: USA
Registered: Jul 2003

posted July 19, 2007 10:46 PM

Paul,

If you do not have it already, check out
the two disc DVD set of Singin' In the Rain.
It has a wonderful documentary on the second disc
regarding the skilled productions
under the guidance of Arthur Freed's hand.

This may also be available separately,
but I am not completely sure if it is?
Anyway,it is worth having in
your collection as a supplement to
Musical Films.

I know that you will enjoy it
immensely.

--------------------
Isn't it great that we can all communicate about this great
hobby that we love!

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Paul Adsett
Film God

Posts: 5003
From: USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted July 22, 2007 06:45 PM

Thank's Michael, I'll keep a look out for that. I do have the single disc DVD of Singin' in the Rain, but of course it does not have any extra's on it.
What would we do without DVD, what with all the studios now adding these wonderful behind the scenes interviews and retrospectives of the great stars as extra features. DVD'S really add to the joy and appreciation of traditional film collecting.

--------------------
The best of all worlds- 8mm, super 8mm, 9.5mm, and HD Digital Projection,
Elmo GS1200 f1.0 2-blade
Eumig S938 Stereo f1.0 Ektar
Panasonic PT-AE4000U digital pj

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Graham Ritchie
Film God

Posts: 4001
From: New Zealand
Registered: Feb 2006

posted July 23, 2007 05:02 AM

Paul
Excellent review, I have only ever watched it on DVD but the extracts shown on "That's Entertainment" 1974, that I have on both Super8 and 16mm are stunning. Strange I should be reading this review as just last week I picked up an old LP for a dollar at a junk store called, "Selections from the MGM film, "Showboat" its very good in particular Ol'man river by "William Warfield" timeless stuff.

Adding to what Michael has mentiond regarding "Singin In The Rain" DVD, the 2 disc set is well worth getting, not just for the extras but also the film itself, it has as they claim, all new 2002 Digital Transfer from state-of-the-art restored elements, but also the soundtrack has been re-mastered in Dolby 5:1.

Graham. [Smile]

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Burton Sundquist
Master Film Handler

Posts: 318
From: Burnaby, B.C. Canada
Registered: Feb 2017

posted October 22, 2017 10:12 PM

...One of the great things about this forum is the ability of a newer collector to search for a particular print review to either review it, or add to an existing review. Thank you Paul, for your original outstanding review. It even inspired me to search for a print of this classic for myself, which I recently screened. I must confess I fell for Ms. Gardner the first time I saw the picture. The Super 8 print is excellent overall though some of the wide shots seem to have soft focus, no matter as most of the film is shot in medium and close up. High marks for the audio track also, clear and crisp throughout, important for a musical. This is a very nice print. Thanks for the inspiration!

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Osi Osgood
Film God

Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005

posted October 23, 2017 11:25 AM

Just to chime in, someone sold an optical sound super 8 feature print of this title a few years ago. I had decent color but I must say, nothing like the incredibly gorgeous saturation of you're print! A keeper, to be sure! [Smile]

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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "

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