SNOW BOAT

The 1927 stage musical by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II was so popular that two film versions had already been made, in 1929 and 1936. The 1951 MGM movie produced by Arthur Freed pulled out all the stops for this old South tale of high-stakes love aboard a musical theater sailing down the Mississippi. The film stars Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel and Ava Gardner, who was just then achieving leading-lady status. Show Boat was one of the top-grossing films of 1951. Top songs: “Ol’ Man River,” “Make Believe” and “You Are Love.” Lena Horne had originally been considered for the part that Gardner was eventually offered, but executives were nervous about casting a glamorous Black actress in a lead role.