''Steamboat Round the Bend'' is a 1935 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

, released by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

and produced by

Fox Film Corporation The Fox Film Corporation (also known as Fox Studios) was an American Independent film production studio formed by William Fox (1879–1952) in 1915, by combining his earlier Greater New York Film Rental Company and Box Office Attractions Film C ...

, based on the 1933 novel of the same name by author

Ben Lucien Burman Ben Lucien Burman (December 12, 1895 – November 12, 1984) was an American author and journalist born in Covington, Kentucky. He also fought in both World War I and World War II, and graduated from Harvard University. He was married to Alice C ...

. It was the final film made by star

Will Rogers William Penn Adair Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was an American vaudeville performer, actor, and humorous social commentator. He was born as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, in the Indian Territory (now part of Oklahom ...

and was released posthumously, a month after he was killed in an airplane crash on August 15, 1935.

Plot

A con man enters his steamboat in a winner-take-all

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

race in the 1890s with a rival while attempting to find an eyewitness that will save his nephew, who has been wrongly convicted of murder, from the gallows.

Cast

as Doctor John Pearly *

Anne Shirley Anne Shirley is a fictional character introduced in the 1908 novel ''Anne of Green Gables'' by L. M. Montgomery. Shirley is featured throughout the classic book series, which revolve around her life and family in 19th and 20th-century Prince Ed ...

as Fleety Belle *

Irvin S. Cobb Irvin Shrewsbury Cobb (June 23, 1876 – March 11, 1944) was an American author, humorist, editor and columnist from Paducah, Kentucky, who relocated to New York in 1904, living there for the remainder of his life. He wrote for the ''New York Worl ...

as Captain Eli *

Eugene Pallette Eugene William Pallette (July 8, 1889 – September 3, 1954) was an American actor who worked in both the silent and sound eras, performing in more than 240 productions between 1913 and 1946. After an early career as a slender leading man, ...

as Sheriff Rufe Jeffers * John McGuire as Duke *

Berton Churchill Berton Churchill (December 9, 1876 – October 10, 1940) was a Canadian stage and film actor. Early years Churchill was born in Toronto, Ontario. After his family moved to New York City, he graduated from high school there, studied law a ...

as New Moses * Francis Ford as Efe *

Roger Imhof Frederick Roger Imhof (August 15, 1875 – April 15, 1958) was an American film actor, vaudeville, burlesque and circus performer, sketch writer, and songwriter. Early years Imhof was born in Rock Island, Illinois on April 15, 1875 to Nicholas ...

as Breck's Pappy *

Raymond Hatton Raymond William Hatton (July 7, 1887 – October 21, 1971) was an American film actor who appeared in almost 500 motion pictures. Biography Hatton was born in Red Oak, Iowa. His physician father steered him toward a career in medicine. Howev ...

as Matt Abel *

Hobart Bosworth Hobart Van Zandt Bosworth (August 11, 1867 – December 30, 1943) was an American film actor, director, writer, and producer. Early life Bosworth was born on August 11, 1867, in Marietta, Ohio. His father was a sea captain in the Civil W ...

as Chaplain *

Stepin Fetchit Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry (May 30, 1902 – November 19, 1985), better known by the stage name Stepin Fetchit, was an American vaudevillian, comedian, and film actor of Jamaican and Bahamian descent, considered to be the first black a ...

as Jonah

Home video

''Steamboat Round the Bend'' was released as a region 1 DVD in 2006.

References

External links

* * {{Dudley Nichols 1935 films 1935 comedy films American comedy films American black-and-white films Films directed by John Ford Films with screenplays by Dudley Nichols Fox Film films 20th Century Fox films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films