Show Boat

Play trailer

Show Boat

1951,

1h 47m,

Musical/

Drama/

Romance

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

81%

16 Reviews

Tomatometer

70%

5,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

81%

Tomatometer

16 Reviews

70%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

When it comes to music on the Mississippi River, the Cotton Blossom show boat is the place to go. When musical main attraction Julie Laverne and her husband are suddenly forced to leave the show, Cotton Blossom owner Andy Hawks' own daughter, Magnolia, takes center stage. She soon falls madly in love with roguish gambler Gaylord Ravenal, and the two leave the Cotton Blossom on a honeymoon -- only to enter into a tumultuous marriage.

George Campbell Dixon

Daily Telegraph (UK)

Feb 3, 2026

If it happens to be a youthful memory, you may find the magic a trifle dimmed.

Go to Full Review

Milton Shulman

London Evening Standard

Feb 3, 2026

No one can deny that this music is about as melodious as anything Jerome Kern ever wrote. But you have to love it a great deal not to be tired of it by now.

Go to Full Review

Dick Richards

Sunday Mirror (UK)

Feb 3, 2026

This lush colour film flows as slowly as the Mississippi, but the familiar, simple story, and the well-loved lilting melodies of Jerome Kern are nicely interpreted.

Go to Full Review

Reg Whitley

Daily Mirror (UK)

Feb 2, 2026

A feast for eye and ear.

Go to Full Review

B.R. Crisler

Christian Science Monitor

Aug 16, 2022

Above all, Show Boat represents the fine, artificial flower of America's golden age of professional competence in the popular arts.

Go to Full Review

Ellie Lucas

From the Front Row

Mar 25, 2021

2/4

It piles on the Technicolor spectacle, with each number feeling like a finale, making for an experience that feels bloated and over-stuffed, full of flash and visual pizazz but lacking any real stakes or sense of emotion.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Ron G

Jan 30, 2019

So much better than what could be done today -- hence, a good rating -- but there are many flaws here. The William Warfield rendition of "Old Man River"is the only redeeming virtue of the needed black influence MGM edited out. But the show still works.

See more

Albus M

Oct 13, 2018

Well shot, but dated.

Read all reviews

George Sidney

Director

Kathryn Grayson

Magnolia Hawks

Howard Keel

Gaylord Ravenal

Ava Gardner

Julie LaVerne

Joe E. Brown

Cap'n Andy Hawks

Gower Champion

Frank Schultz

Silk Stockings

100%

68%

Silk Stockings

Watchlist

Scrooge

74%

89%

Scrooge

Watchlist

A Foreign Affair

100%

78%

A Foreign Affair

Watchlist

Gigi

90%

74%

Gigi

Watchlist

Camelot

39%

68%

Camelot

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

When it comes to music on the Mississippi River, the Cotton Blossom show boat is the place to go. When musical main attraction Julie Laverne and her husband are suddenly forced to leave the show, Cotton Blossom owner Andy Hawks' own daughter, Magnolia, takes center stage. She soon falls madly in love with roguish gambler Gaylord Ravenal, and the two leave the Cotton Blossom on a honeymoon -- only to enter into a tumultuous marriage.

Director: George Sidney
Producer: Arthur Freed
Screenwriter: Edna Ferber, John Lee Mahin, Jerome Kern
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Warner Home Vídeo, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corp.
Production Co: Loew's Inc., Metro Goldwyn Mayer
Genre: Musical, Drama, Romance
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 13, 1951, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 1, 2009
Runtime: 1h 47m

Join The Newsletter

Join The Newsletter

Cookie Settings