The African Queen (1951)

Director:

John Huston

Writers:

C.S. Forester (novel)
James Agee (adaptation) ...

Release Date:

20 February 1952 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Romance | War

Tagline:

The greatest adventure a man ever lived...with a woman!

Plot:

In Africa during WW1, a gin-swilling riverboat owner/captain is persuaded by a strait-laced missionary to use his boat to attack an enemy warship.

Plot Keywords:

Urban Legend Vector | African Tribe | American Expatriate | Swahili | Roadboatmovie

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Humphrey Bogart	...	Charlie Allnut
Katharine Hepburn	...	Rose Sayer
Robert Morley	...	Rev. Samuel Sayer
Peter Bull	...	Captain of Louisa
Theodore Bikel	...	First Officer
Walter Gotell	...	Second Officer
Peter Swanwick	...	First Officer of Shona
Richard Marner	...	Second Officer of Shona

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | German | Swahili

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Singapore:PG | Norway:7 | South Korea:15 (2002) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | USA:Approved (PCA #15611) | Argentina:13 | Australia:G | Finland:S | Iceland:L | Netherlands:AL (video rating) | Sweden:15 | UK:U | USA:Unrated | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

Horizon Pictures (II)

Trivia:

Katharine Hepburn, in her written account of the film's production titled "The Making of "The African Queen," or How I Went to Africa with Bogie, Bacall and Huston and Almost Lost My Mind", described the first day of shooting, which required five cars and trucks to take the cast, crew and equipment three and a half miles from Biondo to the Ruiki river, at which point they loaded everything onto boats and sailed another two and a half miles to the shooting location. Press materials and contemporary articles detail the various perils of shooting on location in Africa, including dysentery, malaria, bacteria-filled drinking water and several close brushes with wild animals and poisonous snakes. Most of the cast and crew were sick for much of the filming. In a February 1952 New York Times article, John Huston declared that he hired local natives to help the crew, but many would not show up for fear that the filmmakers were cannibals.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Charlie wakes up in the rain, his blanket is completely soaked but after Rosie lets him in out of the rain, his blanket is dry.

Quotes:

Charlie Allnut: A man takes a drop too much once in a while, it's only human nature.
Rose Sayer: Nature, Mr. Allnut, is what we are put in this world to rise above.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 76th Annual Academy Awards (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

God of Grace and God of Glory (Cwm Rhondda)

Two-Person Adventure Story That Entertains

This is almost strictly a two-person movie with Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn dominating the story and screen time. It's a likable classic film because of those two famous actors, a nice romance, good adventure and even some comedy thrown in to the mix. I'm shocked a well-known film with these actors still isn't available on DVD in Region 1, as of late 2006.

The two actors squabble in the beginning but I like the fact that the film didn't go on too long in that regard as they did in many old-time battle-of-the-sexes movies. The story also a little unusual in that neither lead actor is in his/her prime, meaning it's almost a middle-age romance story.

Once they become enamored with each other, the movie mainly goes into the trials the two have in piloting this boat, "The African Queen" down river with the goal of reaching a German ship and blowing it up. Yes, it's a World War II movie, of sorts.

To be honest, the film does slow down a bit in the beginning of Bogie and Hepburn's romance but the last 30 minutes finish strong with one obstacle after another hitting the pair of adventurers, and it's interesting to watch.