This film begins several years after the Civil War with a Mississippi River show boat called the Cotton Blossom arriving on the docks of a town in Mississippi. Although its appearance causes quite a sensation trouble develops back stage when a local sheriff arrives and levels a charge of miscegenation against the leading actress "Julie LaVerne" (Helen Morgan). Fortunately, she and her husband "Steven Baker" (Donald Cook) manage to successfully evade the charge but they are forced to leave the show boat for reasons of racial prejudice. This creates an opening in the play which is then filled by a river boat gambler by the name of "Gaylord Ravenal" (Allan Jones) and a young woman named "Magnolia Hawks" (Irene Dunne) who happens to be the daughter of the man who owns the show boat. Not long afterward both Gaylord and Magnolia become attracted to one another which causes great concern with Magnolia's mother "Parthy Ann Hawks" (Helen Westley) who disapproves of Gaylord due to fears that he is unreliable. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that I thought that this was a splendid musical-comedy which managed to capture the Mississippi Delta area remarkably well. It also featured several good songs with my two favorites being "Old Man River" and "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man". Along with that, I especially enjoyed the performance of Hattie McDaniel (as "Queenie") who was absolutely hilarious. Likewise, Paul Robeson (as "Joe") and the aforementioned Irene Dunne also performed quite well. On the flip side, however, I should mention that there are some scenes which are definitely not politically correct in this day and age so there may be some who might be offended. Be that as it may, I liked this film and have rated it accordingly. Above average.
