The African Queen (1951)

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.

Director:

John Huston

Writers:

C.S. Forester (novel), James Agee (adapted for the screen by),

Stars:

Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn, Robert Morley

Won 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Humphrey Bogart	...	Charlie Allnut
Katharine Hepburn	...	Rose Sayer
Robert Morley	...	The Brother / 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

Storyline

September 1914, news reaches the colony German Eastern Africa that Germany is at war, so Reverend Samuel Sayer became a hostile foreigner. German imperial troops burn down his mission; he is beaten and dies of fever. His well-educated, snobbish sister Rose Sayer buries him and leaves by the only available transport, the dilapidated river steamboat 'African Queen' of grumpy Charlie Allnut. As if a long difficult journey without any comfort weren't bad enough for such odd companions, she is determined to find a way to do their bit for the British war effort (and revenge her brother) and aims high as God is obviously on their side: construct their own equipment, a torpedo and the converted steamboat, to take out a huge German warship, the Louisa, which is hard to find on the giant lake and first of all to reach, in fact as daunting an expedition as anyone attempted since the late adventurous explorer John Speakes, but she presses till Charlie accepts to steam up the Ulana, about to brave...

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Plot Keywords:

german | steamboat | african | torpedo | mission | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Adventure | Romance | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic elements, some violence and smoking

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English German Swahili

Release Date:

20 February 1952 (USA)

Also Known As:

African Queen

Filming Locations:

Isleworth Studios, London Road, Isleworth, Middlesex, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Horizon Pictures, Romulus Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (as Colour by) (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In "The Making of 'The African Queen,' or How I Went to Africa with Bogie, Bacall and Huston and Almost Lost My Mind", Katharine Hepburn described the first day of shooting. Five cars and trucks were needed to take the cast, crew and equipment 3.5 miles from Biondo to the Ruiki river. There, they loaded everything onto boats and sailed another 2.5 miles to the shooting location. Press materials and contemporary articles detailed the perils of shooting on location in Africa, including dysentery, malaria, contaminated 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 said he hired local natives to help the crew, but many would not show up for fear that the filmmakers were cannibals.

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Goofs

In the scene where they were setting the torpedo, Allnut's cigar is shown to be a stub, and in the next scene it is longer.

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Quotes

Rose Sayer: Dear Lord, We've come to the end of our journey, and in a little while we'll stand before you. I pray for you to be merciful. Judge us not for our weaknesses, but for our love and open the doors of heaven for Charlie and me.

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Connections

Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

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Soundtracks

"Bold Fisherman"
Sung by Humphrey Bogart

User Reviews

A Great Classic With Everything You Could Ask For

This great classic has everything you could ask for - two fine stars who could carry the show by themselves, and a story full of adventure, drama, humor, and romance. It's a lot of fun to watch, and it is also a film you can admire for the expert way it was put together.

Bogart and Hepburn not only give great performances, they are also wonderful together, and they make the on-screen relationship between their characters believable and interesting - it's great to watch as it develops. The adventures that they find are that much more entertaining for the way that you come to care about them. The story itself is exciting, too, with a lot of ups and downs for the heroes. Topping it off are the wonderful settings, with a lot of fine shots of wild animals and jungle scenery - there is always plenty to look at, and it also sets off the action nicely.

Any one of a number of things would make "The African Queen" worth watching, and as a whole it is a terrific movie. It's a must-see for any fan of classic movies, and one that you can also enjoy watching numerous times.