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The impressive logging operations, the exciting runaway-train and log-jam sequences overcome this movie's routine double plot. First, Bill Boyd is in love with showgirl Ginger Rogers, who performs on a carnival boat that stops at the logging camp. His father, Hobart Bosworth, doesn't think much of her and he fears also Boyd will leave logging, dashing his hopes for Boyd to become boss when he retires. Second, Fred Kohler is also vying for the job of boss and even resorts to tactics to make Boyd look bad. When this fails, he even considers murder when both try to break up a log jam at a dam with dynamite. The film is briskly paced and beautifully photographed. Edgar Kennedy and his logging partner, Harry Sweet, provide the little comedy relief there is, and there is a couple of realistic looking fight sequences.

If it weren't for the way the logging camp scenes are photographed, including railway chases aboard the lumber train and stunts that have to be seen to be believed, CARNIVAL BOAT would pass the time quickly as a routine story of a little romance against a splendid outdoor setting.

WILLIAM BOYD plays the man who wants to become lumber boss and follow in the footsteps of his father. His romance with a showgirl (GINGER ROGERS) provides conflict for the father/son relationship when dad wants his son to ditch the girl and concentrate on becoming a foreman. Ginger's role is rather small, but she makes the most of a few touching scenes whereby she realizes she might be the wrong sweetheart for the lumberjack. FRED KOHLER makes an impressive "heavy" as the villain of the piece, a man not only willing to fight his rival but attempting to kill him.

EDGAR KENNEDY (doing his slow burn schtick) and HARRY SWEET provide the comedy relief, but it's all of the action stunts that steal the show and turn it into a better than average programmer from RKO. The dangerous stunts performed aboard moving trains full of lumber are especially well photographed, as are all of the scenes involving the cutting down of timber and setting free a log-jammed waterfall.

A much better film than I expected, giving WILLIAM BOYD a strong hero role that he makes the most of.

Before gaining huge fame as the cowboy star Hopalong Cassidy, William Boyd was a movie star in his own right--starring in a bunch of films in the 20s and early 30s. Many of them were B-movies, like "Carnival Boat". By B, I mean that they were meant as the second, less film offered at a double-feature. This second film was always cheaply made, lasted only about an hour and usually went straight to the action-- and all this is true of this film.

Buck is the foreman with a logging company. However, his father is concerned that Buck isn't exactly a tough boss--and often lets the men slack off. He's even more upset when he tells Buck not to allow the men to frequent the visiting show boat, as it will only get them into trouble--yet later that same night, he finds Buck and his men there! Buck is there to see his girlfriend, Honey (Ginger Rogers) but Dad will have none of it--his son is a disappointment. Can Buck prove himself to Dad? And, if Buck wants to marry Honey, is there any way Dad would ever accept a singer from one of these dreaded boats? Hint--the answers to these probably won't come as major surprises.

Overall, this is an entertaining film that certainly has little in the way of pretense. It's at its best with some of the action scenes-- such as the deftly handled runaway train sequence. Worth your time but far from a must-see picture.

By the way, in addition to Boyd later getting a makeover in order to become a cowboy, Ginger Rogers is seen here in her pre-makeover days. She still sports brown hair and obviously hasn't undergone the voice coaching she must have had as her star continued to rise in Hollywood.

Carnival Boat (1932)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Jim Cannon (Hobart Bosworth) wants his lumberjack son Buck (William Boyd) to take over his job when he retires but the son just isn't really going for it. A problem happens between the two when the son falls in love with showgirl Honey (Ginger Rogers).

CARNIVAL BOAT was a low-budget movie from RKO that was probably playing under a much bigger film and was quickly forgotten about by the public. Even film buffs have forgotten it, which is understandable considering there's nothing "classic" about it but at the same time there are some pretty interesting things that make it worth viewing.

The best thing about the picture is the lumberjack setting with us getting to take a look at the type of equipment that was used back in the day by these loggers. There are some very fun scenes built around this including one with an out of control train. The highlight comes towards the end when a bunch of logs jam up a dam and we get a very fun action scene.

I thought the three leads were quite good in their roles with Bosworth stealing the picture as the cranky old man. Edgar Kennedy and Marie PRevost are also on hand in small supporting parts. At just 61 minutes there's certainly nothing ground-breaking here and the love story is quite predictable but it's still worth watching.

Up and coming star Ginger Rogers takes a distinct second place to the special effects in a story about the men in a logging camp and the women on a Carnival Boat they should avoid. Ginger's partnered with William Boyd who was not yet Hopalong Cassidy.

Boyd is the son of the camp foreman Hobart Bosworth who is feeling the effects of his age. He'd like to see his son succeed him as foreman of the camp, but Fred Kohler has an impressive record for the job and he's not squeamish about what he has to do for that promotion.

At the same time Ginger works a Carnival Boat which provides the men of the woods some amusement and like the saloons of the old west relieves them of their wages. Boyd likes Ginger, but Bosworth doesn't feel she's a suitable bride for his son.

I think you can probably figure out where and how this is all going to end. The plot is trite, but the special effects that include a runaway logging train and a river log jam are really first rate for their time. It makes Carnival Boat something to see if one can.

An old logger expects his son (William Boyd) to follow in his footsteps but the son is more interested in pretty showgirl Honey (Ginger Rogers) than in taking his job seriously. William Boyd is a poor lead but he would go on to big success as Hopalong Cassidy, who was very popular with kids. There's a couple of annoying comic relief characters among the lumberjacks. They're played by Edgar Kennedy and Harry Sweet. This one's a creaker with some nice location shooting, logging footage, and a couple of nice action sequences but that's about it. Besides Ginger, of course. Pretty much any Ginger Rogers movie is worth a look for her alone.

After performing in five feature films and four short subjects for Paramount at its Long Island, NY, studios, by day, and performing on Broadway by evening, Ginger Rogers heads to Hollywood, in 1931, to sign with Pathé Studio, a forerunner to RKO-Radio Pictures. "Carnival Boat" becomes Ginger's third at Pathé, and her first feature film of 1932.

Although a pre-platinum Ginger receives star billing, and her character's festive entertainment vessel the title, most of the action of this film transpires at a lumber camp, with much conflict occurring among lumberjacks for the succession of power pending the retirement of Jim Gannon (Hobart Bosworth).

Well, an abrasive Hack Logan (Fred Kohler), for one, places himself in contention for the foreman position and, especially, in contention against Gannon Jr. (William Boyd), whose father, Jim, stands in contention against Jr.'s fancying Honey (Ginger Rogers), the star performer of the "Carnival Boat," a steamship paddle-boat, which floats along the waterway and docks near the lumber camp.

Fighting for the top lumbering position begins with the saws and escalates onto the roofs of railroad cars, piloted by a runaway locomotive down the mountain track, which certainly provides compelling footage, which certainly stands the test of time to captivate audience attention.

Honey, all the while, stands by Jr., who continues to champion their romance, as (Ginger) sings, "How I Could Go for You" aboard the entertainment vessel, where a good time is had by one and all except for the disapproving Sr., who seems prepared to cry "Timber!" at any given moment.

Marie Prevost has a role as "Babe," with Edgar Kennedy as "Baldy," a lumberjack. William Boyd, the film's leading man, doesn't seem to appear anywhere near the credit list here although his moniker does roll across the screen below Ginger's.

Probably the best thing about CARNIVAL BOAT is the location filming as director Albert Rogell actually took the crew up to logging country for the bulk of the shooting. Otherwise it's your basic action programmer with some good stunt work and some tedious comic relief from Edgar Kennedy and Harry Sweet. William Boyd, later Hopalong Cassidy, stars as the lumberjack torn between father and sweetheart (Ginger Rogers). This may be the low point of Ginger's film career. It was her third Hollywood film (after five in New York), all made for Albert Rogell at RKO/Pathe. She seemed stuck in a downward trend (Pathe really didn't make any good films so far as I know) so she asked out of her contract and Pathe was more than happy to grant her the favor. A couple of years of freelancing and she signed again with RKO, soon to become a star.

Directed by 'B' Movie stalwart Albert S. Rogell, CARNIVAL BOAT has a lot of action packed into it - a daring train escape, an explosion involving lumberjacks, several fist-fights, a burlesque stage show and a love-affair involving Buck Gannon (William Boyd) and Honey (Ginger Rogers).

The action zips by, interspersed with comic routines from Baldy (Edgar Kennedy) and Stubby (Harry Sweet). The plot is nothing much to speak of - suffice to say it involves a love-affair, patriarchal jealousy and a final reconciliation. But then not much else is expected of a 'B' flick designed to provide an aperitif to the main feature.

Of perhaps more interest, however, is the film's representation of gender. Set among a gang of lumberjacks, it suggests that the workers like to prove their masculinity through fighting and drinking; if they don't get the chance to indulge in such worldly pleasures, they get bored. Honey is basically there as an object of Buck's affection; a largely passive character, she spends quite some time as an onlooker while Buck engineers the predictable happy ending. Such stereotypes are characteristic of early Thirties Hollywood movies; but what sets CARNIVAL TRAIN apart is its emphasis on the fragility of masculinity; it really seems as if the lumberjacks have to prove themselves time and again that they are the strong silent types - even when there is no one around to admire them. This makes for an intriguing film, where the fight-sequences serve no real plot-purpose, but exist solely for the workers' self- esteem.

Ginger Rogers made 2 movies with William Boyd, neither of them really great, but 'Carnival Boat' is by far the better of the two and in fact is a really good movie on its own, one of director Albert Rogell's best in a long career of B movies.

The logging scenes are terrific, some of the stunts are amazing, and the runaway train is thrilling even in 2025. Hobart Bosworth is forgotten today but he was a great star in the earliest days of film; he had the lead in the very first movie ever made in Hollywood, a short from 1909 called 'In the Sultan's Power.' The entire film industry had enormous respect and admiration Bosworth and, in an interview decades later as her film career was winding down, Rogers said she had considered it a great honor to play across from him, if only briefly.

Boyd's fight scenes are amatuerish, even for 1932, but he makes up for it with a dynamic screen presence. Ginger's vaudeville act is a lot of fun (watch how she glides to one side of the stage to introduce her chorus line - very professional) and even though she is only onscreen for a few minutes, she dominates all of her scenes, easily matching Boyd and Bosworth as a forceful personality even while 'keeping it light.'

Definitely worth watching 'Carnival Boat'.... just keep in mind that it's an inexpensive film from 1932, not from 2022.