12019-02-03T20:40:23+00:002.x3 Show Boat1Show Boat (1936)plain2019-02-03T20:40:23+00:00Many Universal films of the 1930s took advantage of the Broadway Boom’s mobility. In Show Boat, when Paul Robeson sings “Ol’ Man River,” the camera arcs around the actor before moving in for a big close-up. Not just a formal innovation, the shot carries political meaning, radically insisting on giving Robeson the star treatment he deserves.