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mpsilvertone
Reviews
Show Boat (1951)
The Great American Musical
And my all-time favorite.
First off: I have seen the 1936 version three times. It's great ... but it doesn't begin to match the magical 1951 remake.
The '51 version is simply perfect in every way: visually, musically, acting, directing, editing ... you name it.
In many ways, it plays like the greatest of the silent films, in that the drama is conveyed almost entirely through the facial expressions of the actors (especially during the many musical numbers). There are few dramatic speeches in this film, and it it packs a far greater emotional wallop because of it. This also serves to enhance the power of the dramatic dialogs when they do occur (Julie's confrontation with Gaylord). It's cinema distilled to its purest and most visceral form.
I've enjoyed reading how several scenes were cut to pick up the pacing (the old woman's speech that serves as a catalyst to Nolie & Gay's reconciliation). When they suddenly rush together and embrace *without any explanations or apologies* the effect is emotionally overwhelming. It's got all the grand, sweeping passion that one could wish for in an ideal love affair, which theirs (in spite of their troubles) is. No further words are passed between them. Captain Andy & Parthy comment on it ("It's Saturday night again!"), as they board The Cotton Blossom in one another's arms.
Julie's silent appearance in the final shot is both uplifting and heartbreaking. It's got to be one of most memorable images in motion picture history. I've seen this film at least a dozen times over the past 40 years, and have never been able to make it through the finale with dry eyes.
By contrast, the ending of the 1936 version is far less emotionally satisfying. In that version, Julie is long gone from the story, and Nolie and Gay have grown old in the 20 years or so they've been apart. Even their "reconciliation" feels iffy (Gay has joined Nolie in her theater box to watch Kim perform, but after so many years apart, one doubts that things will progress any further).
I Sailed to Tahiti with an All Girl Crew (1969)
If I could pick One film to be my life ...
...I'd pick this one.
It's a fun ride from start to finish. It's funny, sexy, and chock full of eye candy. It's also got a fun sixties mod feel -- including a bizarre "silent movie" sequence.
Gardner McKay is quite charming as the lead, and his crew members are ... well ... think Playboy Bunnies. :-D Fred Clark does a nice comic turn as McKay's slightly underhanded rival.
I'd first heard about this movie in a book on filmmaking by its director, Richard L. Bare, who seems to have felt rather highly of it as well.
I later caught it on the late, late, late show (more than once), and it remains a delight on repeat viewings as well.