Fun with film and audio!
Show Boat - Ava Gardner 's own voice - Bill
Here's Ava's own vocal track - she was dubbed by Annette Warren in the released film.
From Hugh Fordin's book "The World Of Entertainment!":
Ava had made up her mind to sing her two numbers herself: no dubbing. Both songs, Can't Help Lovin' That Man" and "Bill," not only require a voice but vocal skill of a high degree. Coaching her, Fdens knew from the very start that his efforts were in vain. Accompanying her at the piano, he recorded a test which turned out to be pale, thin and tentative. He decided to audition voice doubles: Marni Nixon, Anita Ellis, Carole Richards and Annette Warren. He found Warren's singing voice best suited as a match for Gardner's speaking voice.
When it came to the prerecordings Gardner still insisted on singing the songs herself. As a precaution a set of tracks was also made by Warren.
After a couple of weeks of screening the two scenes for a number of in- and outsiders, Annette Warren was called back to rerecord the songs, now to Gardner's lip-synch. What ensued until after the production had closed was a kind of a parlor game. Warren's tracks were in; Warren's tracks were out. Gardner's tracks were in, and then they were out; and so on and so forth, depending on the comment of whoever had seen the sequences last.
Before starting the dubbing of the picture, vocal director Lela Simone asked music director Roger Edens "And who is singing?" The answer was a not very enthusiasic: "Ava."
The picture was previewed on March 22, 1951. The one change that was made afterward was that Gardner's voice was out and Warren's voice was in. At the second preview on April 3, the change had a very noticeable and positive effect on the audience.
When Simone asked and Jesse Kaye discussed the forthcoming soundtrack album he felt that for reasons of exploitation and sale Ava Gardner's name on the cover would be an added plus. Simone took great pains in the dubbing of Gardner's tracks, backing up her voice with the accompmaniments to make her sound more palatable.
Show Boat cost $2,295,429 and grossed in excess of $8,650,000.
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Comment
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Comment by Mark on September 10, 2009 at 6:22pm - Ava does appear on the "soundtrack" LP - read the notes on my other Ava clip to see her version of the story.
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Comment by andrewtarik on September 10, 2009 at 5:25pm
- Fascinating. So were Ava's vocals restored for the soundtrack LP?
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