The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952)

Director:

Henry King

Writers:

Casey Robinson (screenplay) and
Ernest Hemingway (short story)

Release Date:

18 December 1952 (Australia)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

His Adventures . . . Like His Loves . . . Were Great and Exciting !

Plot:

Writer Harry Street reflects on his life as he lies dying from an infection while on safari in the shadow of Mount Kilamanjaro.

Plot Keywords:

Writer | African | Safari | Hunting | Infection

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Gregory Peck	...	Harry Street
Susan Hayward	...	Helen
Ava Gardner	...	Cynthia Green
Hildegard Knef	...	Countess Liz (as Hildegarde Neff)
Leo G. Carroll	...	Uncle Bill
Torin Thatcher	...	Johnson
Ava Norring	...	Beatrice (model)
Helene Stanley	...	Connie (Harry's first girl)
Marcel Dalio	...	Emile
Vicente Gómez	...	Guitarist (as Vicente Gomez)
Richard Allan	...	Spanish dancer

Also Known As:

Ernest Hemingway's The Snows of Kilimanjaro (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | Spanish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (re-rating) (1989) | West Germany:16 (f) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #15807)

Filming Locations:

Cairo, Egypt

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Gregory Peck resisted taking the role because an earlier Ernest Hemingway adaptation he had appeared in, The Macomber Affair (1947) had been a box-office flop.

Goofs:

Continuity: In bringing down the rhino, Harry Street manages to squeeze off three shots from a double-barreled rifle.

Quotes:

Johnson: Why is it everyone who comes to Africa has to write a book about it? One silly beggar even dedicated his to me! Never came back or I'd have shot him in the pants!

Movie Connections:

Featured in A Conversation with Gregory Peck (1999)

Soundtrack:

The Snows of Kilimanjaro

What would Papa have said about this one?

Ernest Hemingway, one of the most admired writers of the last century, was alive when this movie came out in 1952. One wonders what did Mr. Hemingway think the creative 'geniuses' behind this film did to "The Snows of Killimanjaro"? Hollywood didn't do so well in adapting Papa's novels to the screen, but who knows, he must have been able to pay for another safari to Africa, or maybe another fishing trip with the "old man" in Cuba with the money he got after he sold the film's rights. As a novel, "The Snows of Killimanjaro" was not one of Mr. Hemingway's best works.

God only knows that what director Henry King and his team had in mind when they undertook to do the film based on Hemingway's novel? Maybe Mr. King wanted to travel to all the places in which the action is set. The only thing one can say is that after more than fifty years this wasn't a good film then, or now.

The acting is bad in general. Gregory Peck, an otherwise brilliant actor, does nothing to bring Harry Street to life. The Helen of Susan Hayward is at times horrible and completely silly. Ava Gardner's as a driver for the Republican forces in the Spanish Civil War? Give me a break! There is one scene in which Harry and Cynthia are dining and drinking in a Madrid restaurant which features a male flamenco dancer who bears an uncanny resemblance to Tyrone Power, and we wondered if this Richard Allan, who is credited with the dancing and charming Ava, was in reality Mr. Power performing an inside joke? Did anyone notice it, or was it me?

At any rate, "The Snows of Killimanjaro", is a film to watch at the viewer's own risk.