show boat be one of those garish musical from the 1950s where scope and spectacle dwarfed content and story . it direct lethargically by george sidney and a if he think audience would be so tickle by the elaborate technicolor set and costume that he could just set up his camera and let it run . say costume and though this be suppose to be a period piece and have a distinctly late 40 or early 50 flavor . and ava gardner be miscast in her role while she sort of vapidly walk through it with little conviction . it doesn not even do the sterling musical score justice and which be it great crime . grade represent c .