Mississippi-Melodie (1951)

Mississippi-Melodie: Directed by George Sidney. With Kathryn Grayson, Ava Gardner, Howard Keel, Joe E. Brown. The daughter of a riverboat captain falls in love with a charming gambler, but their fairy tale romance is threatened after his luck turns sour.

“I will admit (with a great amount of shame) that the first time I saw the 1951 version of u0026quot;Show Boatu0026quot; I was not that impressed. I was so used to Kathryn Grayson and Howard Keel as Lilli Vanessi and Fred Grahame, thought Ava Gardner was too beautiful for words, and thought Marge u0026amp; Gower Champion were the coolest people I had ever seen. That was about it. I was a little bored.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBut as I have come to watch it recently, I have discovered it is more magnificent the second time around. As a North Carolina native, I must say this movie holds something very special for me — and that is TWO North Carolina natives from u0026quot;Grabtownu0026quot; and Winston-Salem, our ladies Ava and Kathryn respectively. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFirst of all, the Technicolor is vibrant and lovely and represents the very fiber that those beautiful, glorious MGM musical treasures of the 1950u0026#39;s were made of. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSupporting characters Joe E. Brown and Agnes Moorehead were, as usual, delightfully wonderful. I donu0026#39;t think Iu0026#39;ve ever seen either of them do anything u0026quot;bad.u0026quot; William Warfieldu0026#39;s delivery of u0026quot;Olu0026#39; Man Riveru0026quot; (accompanied with Julie/Avau0026#39;s last wistful look toward The Cotton Blossom, of course) never fails to put a tear in my eye.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eHoward Keelu0026#39;s voice was in fine form, and he did a great job of portraying the slick gambler, Gaylord Ravenal. Kathrynu0026#39;s voice was, as always, up to par and beautiful, and while perhaps her representation of Magnolia wasnu0026#39;t as vibrant as her portrayal of Lilli in u0026quot;Kiss Me Kateu0026quot; or Aunt… whoever it was she played in u0026quot;Anchors Awayu0026quot; (ooh, I canu0026#39;t remember the name… thatu0026#39;s BAD… REAL BAD), she was still her lovely, charming self. I found that her progression from innocent child-like creature to a portrait of woman- and motherhood was captured and characterized very well.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBut my favorite parts of the movie were simply Ava Gardner, and Marge and Gower Champion.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAva is, as always, ridiculously and insanely gorgeous. In fact, I would have liked to have seen more of her than I did. Itu0026#39;s a stretch for a white woman to play a bi-racial woman, but she did it with what seemed like such ease. She accompanies so much with a look (which is evident as she watches Gay and Nolie sail off together with Kim — you all know what Iu0026#39;m talking about). And yes, Avau0026#39;s singing pipes (in my opinion) were far better than Annette Warrenu0026#39;s and MGM is stupid for having dubbed her (just like they were stupid for dubbing Debbie Reynolds in u0026quot;Singinu0026#39; in the Rainu0026quot;). Her songs, u0026quot;Canu0026#39;t Help Lovinu0026#39; Dat Man of Mineu0026quot; and u0026quot;Bill,u0026quot; were extremely effective, but couldu0026#39;ve been even more so had they used her real voice. Such expression in those eyes. And my gosh… her speech to Gay! I donu0026#39;t think people in Hollywood ever really looked beyond Ava as anything but a u0026quot;sex goddessu0026quot; — but she really had a beautiful talent. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003enNow for Marge u0026amp; Gower Champion: who couldnu0026#39;t love them? Gower is this sort of… fluid-like creature with a stature and grace like Fred Astaire, but instead of Astaireu0026#39;s u0026quot;lanky movementsu0026quot; that defined his style, he somehow executes the more athletic, brisk movements that defined Gene Kellyu0026#39;s style. And Marge has to be just about the cutest little person I have ever seen (great facial expressions!) and one of the most talented dancers (up there with Gwen Verdon, Carol Haney, Ginger Rogers, Chita Rivera, and all those gifted people) Iu0026#39;ve ever seen grace a screen. Theyu0026#39;re sheerly magnetic, and they never miss. u0026quot;I Could Fall Back on Youu0026quot; and u0026quot;Life Upon the Wicked Stageu0026quot; are two of the most outstanding moments in the movie. Youu0026#39;ll love them.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAll in all, u0026quot;Show Boatu0026quot; is most definitely worth a look. Or two. Or three. Or… well, as many as you feel like!”