The film rights to the novel Show Boat were purchased by Carl Laemmle in 1927 as a possible movie property. He quickly began production on a silent version of the film, though the movie world was seemingly changing around him. The sound era ushered in new possibilities and the novel had been adapted into a popular musical on Broadway. Laemmle realized that he couldn't get away with releasing a silent version of the film, so he decided to re-film 30 minutes of the film in sound. When the film finally hit theaters, it was a mish-mash of sound and silence, which irritated Mr. Laemmle, who felt that the full promise of the property had not been fulfilled.
So just seven years later, Mr. Laemmle staked his fortune and reputation on a sound remake of the film. This time, he bought the rights to the hit songs from the musical and made what promised to be a huge hit for the studio. While he was right about the success of the film, he wouldn't get to enjoy the spoils. Facing huge debts, his board of directors ousted him from the studio he had founded. Mr. Laemmle could only watch as his passion project made millions for his studio, but nothing for him.
While the film brought much needed cash into the studio, it wasn't enough. The Universal board of directors sought quick ways to make money and MGM had a proposition for them; it wanted to make its own version of Show Boat; after all, it was the king of musicals at the time. It offered to buy not just the theatrical rights from Universal, but also the 1936 version of the film. (It didn't want Universal to cash in on MGM's version of the musical by releasing the old one. Several years and stalled starts later, MGM released its version, which became the one most people think of when they picture the film.
The Universal version of the film would languish in MGM's vaults until the advent of cable television when it would finally see the light of day as part of Ted Turner's legendary movie catalog. It has currently made it to DVD under Warner Brothers' Archive Collection.
