Irvin S. Cobb, Cap'n Eli of the PRIDE OF PADUCAH evidently really fishing or just posing for a publicity still during shooting of STEAMBOAT ROUND THE BEND on the Sacramento River.

Latest from THE movie . . . pretty flattering of Cobb actually, he didn't always look this good.

Publicity still, evidently from the "happy ending" of the 1935 film after Will Rogers and his crew had won the PRIDE OF PADUCAH from Irvin. S. Cobb in the steamboat race and saved Rogers' nephew Duke from the gallows with the aid of the evangelist called "The New Moses" who had witnessed Duke's fight with the man he was accused of murdering. The prop department forgot to darken the inside of the bowl of Rogers' corn cob pipe which is in bright mint condition, so it had obviously never been smoked by Rogers or anyone else. Anne Shirley looks so attractive in that dress. For most of the movie she was dressed in either boy's clothes or in an old Civil War era frock with a skirt that was too short and her legs covered with absurd pantalettes. The actress was born Dawn Evelyn Paris in New York in 1918, so she was 17 when she made STEAMBOAT ROUND THE BEND. She changed her name after playing the character Anne Shirley in ANNE OF GREEN GABLES made in 1934, the year before she played Fleety Belle here. Will Rogers was a big fan of aviation but was grounded from flying while he made this movie for fear that something might happen to him before the movie was finished but after the movie was wrapped up he and Wiley Post flew up to Alaska where both men were killed in the crash of Post's plane at Point Barrow on August 15, 1935.

Stepin Fetchit as Noah, Will Rogers as Dr. John Pearly and former prize fighter John Lester Johnson in his uncredited role as Uncle Jeff in the scene where the CLAREMORE QUEEN was approaching the steamboats lined up for the race. Uncle Jeff is holding the lead line like he's fixin' to take some soundings.

Another scene from the set. Dave Thomson notes: "The pair of horses in the lower left appear to be agitated, most likely because of the shriek of steam whistles."

Detail of the double page spread on a the novel when it was serialized in several installments in the Pictorial Review, 1933 - 2 years prior to the making of the film. Note Fleety Belle is dressed pretty much like Anne Shirley was in the film.

Dr. John (Will Rogers): "Hey, Looky that! Says Captain . . . says Captain on it!"

Another STEAMBOAT ROUND THE BEND classic still . . . Berton Churchill as THE NEW MOSES preaching Hellfire and Brimstone at the racing steamboats just before Will Rogers lassoed him and pulled him aboard the CLAREMORE QUEEN so Moses can travel with them to Memphis to testify in Duke's behalf about the murder he was about to be hanged for. Looks like the Smith Bros. Cough Drops boys there in their beards . . . the disciples all look like a bunch of lunatics from ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (or a Hare Krishna gathering?) Note that some of the ladies are dressed in retro-Puritan costumes with strange bonnets and aprons. The tiny lady in the lower right looks about 4 1/2 feet tall. "GLORY be! Halle-LU-jah!" as Moses shouted as he stoked the fires aboard the CLAREMORE QUEEN to get to Memphis in time, gathering speed with crates of combustible POCAHONTAS cure-all bottles.

Unusually pensive expression on Will Rogers' face in this still of him at the pilot wheel. He was probably only in character as Dr. John's more soulful self but it makes you wonder if he had any misgivings about the flight he would soon embark upon with Wiley Post that would end so tragically for them both. It's the most sober of all still of Rogers from STEAMBOAT ROUND THE BEND that I've collected so far.

This is page 17 of Street & Smith's PICTURE PLAY Magazine, October 1935. Will Rogers had died a month and a half earlier on August 15, 1935 and there was a little reluctance at Fox Studios to release the movie but Rogers' fans clamored to see their beloved Will once more and the movie apparently did "big box office." Comedies were apparently often referred to as "laugh pictures" and director John Ford complained that producer Darryl Zanuck cut most of the comedy out of the SRB to make it more of a melodrama revolving around rescuing Dr. John's nephew Duke from the gallows. Would love to have seen the missing comedy scenes, doubt Fox saved any of that in their archives. It would be priceless today. If I keep collecting STEAMBOAT 'ROUND THE BEND there will be enough for an entire site devoted to the movie. Below is a link to a curious review from "Booze movies.com" which focuses on films where some of the characters were alcoholics and of course "Efe" the Engineer was a major boozer, drinking Dr. John's Pocahontas remedy which apparently had a high alcohol content. Surprisingly the reviewer regarded SRB as a comedy which would have surprised John Ford who claimed that Zanuck had cut out ALL the comedy which wasn't really true, there are still a lot of laughs in the movie. You could included the link to the review rather than include the whole thing which belongs to "boozemovies." Dave Review: Steamboat Round the Bend (1935) http://www.boozemovies.com/2010/10/review-steamboat-round-bend-1935.html October 17, 2010 USA/B&W-81m./Dir: John Ford/Wr: Dudley Nichols & Lamar Trotti/Cast: Will Rogers (Dr. John Pearly), Anne Shirley (Fleety Belle), John McGuire (Duke), Berton Churchill (New Moses), Francis Ford (Efe), Irvin S. Cobb (Captain Eli), Eugene Pallette (Sheriff Rufe Jeffers), Stepin Fetchit (Jonah) Fame is indeed fleeting. In the 1920's and 30's, Will Rogers was one of the best known and most loved American personalities. He charmed audiences with his rope tricks, witticisms, and homespun political satire (think Jon Stewart with a touch of Jeff Foxworthy); and he rose to entertainment's highest ranks in vaudeville, on Broadway, as a newspaper columnist, and eventually in the movies. Between 1918 and 1935, Rogers starred in 40 feature films and dozens of short subjects; and his movies were so popular that theater owners named him the number one box office attraction in 1933. Yet today his films are virtually unwatched and unremembered. In recent years, a handful of Rogers features have been released in DVD boxsets, allowing new audiences to discover the comedian. Amongst these releases is Rogers' penultimate film, Steamboat Round the Bend, which turns out to be more alcohol-fueled than the riverboat comedies of W.C. Fields, Tillie and Gus (1933) and Mississippi (1935). The film, set in the early 1900's, stars Rogers as Doctor John Pearly, a dealer of extremely alcoholic patent medicine. Doc decides to give up the booze-pushing business and buys a rundown steamboat, which he fixes up with the help of an engineer (Francis Ford) who is addicted to Pearly's potent brew. Pearly bets his fixed-up tub against the best steamboat on the Mississippi in a winner-take-all race, but he gets sidetracked when his nephew Duke (John McGuire) is sentenced to hang for murder. With the help of Duke's betrothed, Fleety Belle (Anne Shirley), Doc searches the river for the one witness who can prove that Duke isn't guilty, a prohibitionist preacher who calls himself "The New Moses." Can Doc and Fleety Belle save Duke from execution in time to win the big steamboat race? What do you think? Audiences of the Thirties were drawn to Steamboat Round the Bend due to Will Rogers' celebrity (and due to morbid curiosity, as the film was released after Rogers' unexpected death in a plane crash), but the movie is of most interest to film scholars today because it was directed by John Ford. Although Ford was not a filmmaker noted for producing comedies, the film has a pleasant, easygoing style that meshes well with Rogers' homespun humor. This was actually the third film Rogers and Ford made together, and the partnership would have likely continued if not for Rogers' untimely death. While the film is a good introduction to Rogers' relaxed comic delivery, it is far from his best film. The movie is overstuffed for an 81-minute comedy, containing con-man patter, liquor-laced humor, murder, a few musical numbers, possible execution, revivalist preachers, and a big boat race. Modern audiences may also be turned off by stereotypical depiction of African-Americans, especially the character of Jonah, portrayed by Stepin Fetchit. However, it is important to remember that Will Rogers was fairly progressive for his day; and he insisted that Stepin Fetchit be hired as a supporting actor in his movies because they were good friends from his vaudeville days. Will Rogers' comedies may seem a little too laid back for today's audiences, but if you come to Steamboat Round the Bend in the proper frame of mind, you'll find plenty to like. Especially fun are Francis Ford (the director's brother) as the constantly inebriated steamboat engineer and the film's climactic steamboat race, in which booze is used to win the day. Drinks Consumed--Whiskey-based patent medicine, rum, and Mint Julep Intoxicating Effects--Staggering and slurred speech Potent Quotables-- NEW MOSES: Raise your right hand and take the pledge. Brother, what do I see in your hand? Don't be a hog. Cast the enemy away! Bury demon rum in the waters of the mighty Mississippi! Fling it away, I say! I swear henceforth, liquor shall never touch my lips. EFE: Me too.

Attached a new view of the STEAMBOAT ROUND THE BEND race from shore that is similar to another one we have online but the boats are positioned differently. Rogers' CLAREMORE QUEEN is on the left, next over from her to the right is Cobb's PRIDE OF PADUCAH.

Special thanks to Dave Thomson click here to go to the Dave Thomson wing click here to read a synopsis of the movie, Steamboat 'Round the Bend, with Will Rogers.