The classic tale behind MGM's blockbuster movie directed by George
Sidney, starring Ava Gardner, Howard Keel, and Kathryn Grayson.
Bringing to life the adventurous world of Mississippi show boats, the
grittiness of turn-of-the-century Chicago, and the majesty of 1920s
Broadway, Pulitzer Prize winner Edna Ferber's Show Boat is a classic.
Magnolia Hawks spends her childhood aboard the Cotton Blossom, growing
up amid simmering racial tension and struggling to survive life on the
Mississippi. When she falls in love with the dashing Gaylord Ravenal and
moves with him to Chicago, the joy of giving birth to their beautiful
daughter, Kim, is offset by Gaylord's gambling addiction and distrustful
ways. Only when Kim sets off on her own to pursue success on the New
York stage does Magnolia return to the Cotton Blossom, reflecting on
her own life and all who once called the show boat their home.
Originally published in 1926, adapted for the stage as a musical a year
later and filmed three times over three decades, Show Boat brilliantly
explores a nation going pivotal change through the lens of its popular
culture.
With a new foreword by Foster Hirsch.
Vintage Movie Classics spotlights classic films that have stood the
test of time, now rediscovered through the publication of the novels on
which they were based.
