Show Boat / Carousel

SHOW BOAT, 1951, Warner Bros., 107 min. Director George Sidney helmed this lavish color remake of the Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein musical, an update of the Edna Ferber novel. When someone informs the authorities that singer Julie LaVerne (Ava Gardner), star attraction of the Cotton Blossom show boat, is of mixed-race parentage, the then-in-place miscegenation laws kick in, and she and her husband (Robert Sterling) are suddenly out of their jobs. Magnolia Hawks (Kathryn Grayson), daughter of the ship's captain (Joe E. Brown), replaces Julie and is soon bringing in her own huge fan base, as well as admirers like Gaylord Ravenal (Howard Keel), a suave, reprobate gambler who eventually marries her.

CAROUSEL, 1956, 20th Century Fox, 128 min. Dir. Henry King. Gordon MacRae plays carnival barker Billy Bigelow, a macho tough guy who tries to change his ways when he falls in love with the innocent, lovely Julie Jordan (Shirley Jones).