Kiss Me Kate was obviously made for 3D with things being thrown towards the camera all the time! Sadly, my new OLED TV doesn't have 3D so I can't watch it that way any more.
I do have them both. In fact I like SHOW BOAT so much I've also got the San francisco opera Blu-ray as well (which is well worth having for the full score).
I think it's a matter of opinion. I for one prefer the 1936 version. Visually, like the MGM version, the print is as sharp as a tack, but I prefer it emotionally and artistically (directed by the great James Whale). The MGM one is to me, a lollypop version! Very pretty to look at with some...
Yes, Howard Keel died in 2004, Kathryn Grayson in 2009, Ava Gardner in 1990, Agnes Moorehead in 1974, Joe E Brown in 1973, Gower Champion in 1980, and William Warfield in 2002.