Show Boat is a 1936 American romantic musical film directed by James Whale, based on the 1927 musical of the same name by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II, which in turn was adapted from the 1926 novel of the same name by Edna Ferber.
Theatrical release poster
Irene Dunne and John J. Mescall (cinematographer) on the set of Show Boat (1936) - publicity still
James Whale was an English film director, theatre director and actor, who spent the greater part of his career in Hollywood. He is best remembered for several horror films: Frankenstein (1931), The Old Dark House (1932), The Invisible Man (1933) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935), all considered classics. Whale also directed films in other genres, including the 1936 film version of the musical Show Boat.
Whale on the set of Bride of Frankenstein, 1935
"From early morn to dewy eve": watercolour cartoon by Whale of prisoners in Holzminden prisoner-of-war camp, 1918
Colin Clive in Whale's 1929 stage production of Journey's End
Whale directed Boris Karloff in the iconic horror film Bride of Frankenstein (1935).