In countless films that are produced in the present but whose stories are reflections of the past, “politically correct” depictions have increasingly been the norm. And so a film set during World War II will feature black GIs fighting side-by-side with whites, even though the American military at the time was segregated. For that matter, a scenario set at any time in history just may feature an integrated cast, characters from a range of races, and relationships between these characters-- even though such intermingling does not represent the facts of history.
One example may be found in a revival of SHOW BOAT, the landmark 1927 Jerome Kern-Oscar Hammerstein II stage musical, which I saw last month on the London stage. Briefly, SHOW BOAT (which was filmed in the U.S. in 1929, 1936, and 1951) is set in the post-Civil War American South. One of the themes explored in the story is racial prejudice. Its scenario depicts an interracial marriage, and a main character is a mixed-race woman who passes for white.
Now clearly, the revival exudes an idealistic, well-intentioned 2016 sensibility. At the start, there is an acknowledgment that, once upon a time, blacks in America were a downtrodden race. Its opening scene features black American laborers who are lorded over by their white “masters.” Even though the year is 1887, it’s as if the Civil War never happened and slavery still was the law of the land. The whites rule and the blacks endlessly suffer: a point that is emphasized in the lyrics of “Ol’ Man River,” one of the show’s legendary numbers.
This sequence reflects on the sensibility of the original SHOW BOAT, and also mirrors the specifics of American life and values at a certain point in time. But then, throughout the rest of the revival, the blacks are shown to mix socially with the whites. The characters casually touch each other and hug each other. All of this is well-meaning: In an ideal world, the races should mix in this manner. But what does this depiction have to do with the reality of life in the American South during the late 19th and early 20th centuries? What does it have to do with the content of the original SHOW BOAT?
If you are a purist, you might criticize the revival for offering a false view of history and altering the characters as presented in the original. But if you accept the show’s idealism and fervently agree with the black and white portrayals, you might welcome this interpretation-- and this idealism. These are the two approaches to the restaging of SHOW BOAT. It’s not that one is correct and the other is wrong. They are just different.
One final word about SHOW BOAT and, in particular, the 1936 screen version. Here, the character of Joe, a black dock worker, is played by Paul Robeson. This legendary singer-actor was not the original Joe on stage, but played the role in 1928 in London and in revivals in New York in 1932 and Los Angeles in 1940. These days Robeson is mostly forgotten, as are one-too-many once-revered entertainers of times past. In this regard, fame is indeed fleeting.
But Paul Robeson was one of 20th-century’s most gifted performers. In his review of the 1932 revival, New York Times critic Brooks Atkinson wrote that “Mr. Robeson has a touch of genius. It is not merely his voice, which is one of the richest organs on the stage. It is his understanding that gives ‘Ol’ Man River’ an epic lift. When he sings...you realize that Jerome Kern’s spiritual has reached its final expression.”
Today, you still can see Robeson, and hear his “Ol’ Man River,” in the 1936 version of SHOW BOAT, which is long-available on home entertainment. It just may bring you to tears.
Rob Edelman has authored or edited several dozen books on film, television, and baseball. He has taught film history courses at several universities and his writing has appeared in many newspapers, magazines, and journals. His frequent collaborator is his wife, fellow WAMC film commentator Audrey Kupferberg.
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