Show Boat (1929 film)

Show Boat is a 1929 American romantic drama film based on the novel Show Boat by Edna Ferber. It is not, as has been often claimed, based on the KernHammerstein stage musical, although the film does have songs. This version was released by Universal in two editions, one a silent film for movie theatres still not equipped for sound, and one a parttalkie with a sound prologue.

The eighteenyearold Magnolia meets, falls in love with, and elopes with riverboat gambler Gaylord Ravenal.After the death of Captain Andy, Magnolia, Ravenal, and their daughter Kim leave the boat and go to live in Chicago, where they live off Ravenals gambling earnings and are alternately rich and poor. Finally, Parthy announces she is coming to visit at a time when Ravenal is completely broke, and, fearing her wrath, he abandons Magnolia and Kim, after which Magnolia finds a job singing at a local club and eventually becomes famous. Years later, Parthy dies, and Magnolia, who had long been estranged from her because of her attitude toward Ravenal, returns to the show boat. Magnolia and Ravenal are reunited on the show boat at the end of the film, and after Parthys death, Magnolia gives her own inheritance money to her daughter Kim. ........

Source: Wikipedia