Mogambo (1953)

Victor Marswell runs a big game trapping company in Kenya. Eloise Kelly is ditched there, and an immediate attraction happens between them. Then Mr. and Mrs. Nordley show up for their ... See full summary »

Director:

John Ford

Writers:

John Lee Mahin (screenplay), Wilson Collison (play)

Stars:

Clark Gable, Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Clark Gable	...	Victor Marswell
Ava Gardner	...	Eloise Y. Kelly
Grace Kelly	...	Linda Nordley
Donald Sinden	...	Donald Nordley
Philip Stainton	...	John Brown-Pryce
Eric Pohlmann	...	Leon Boltchak
Laurence Naismith	...	Skipper
Denis O'Dea	...	Father Josef
Samburu	...	Themselves (as Samburu tribe of Kenya Colony)
Wagenia	...	Themselves (as Wagenia tribe of Belgian Congo)
Bahaya	...	Themselves (as Bahaya tribe of Tanganyika)
M'Beti	...	Themselves (as M'Beti tribe of French Equatorial Africa)

Storyline

Victor Marswell runs a big game trapping company in Kenya. Eloise Kelly is ditched there, and an immediate attraction happens between them. Then Mr. and Mrs. Nordley show up for their gorilla documenting safari. Mrs. Nordley is not infatuated with her husband any more, and takes a liking to Marswell. The two men and two women have some difficulty arranging these emotions to their mutual satisfaction, but eventually succeed.

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Plot Keywords:

safari | camp | anthropologist | zoo | gorilla | 

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Taglines:

. . . it means "The Greatest!"

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Genres:

Drama | Adventure | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 October 1953 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mogambo - Abenteuer in Afrika

Filming Locations:

Democratic Republic Of Congo

Company Credits

Production Co:

Loew's

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Clark Gable was unimpressed by the script and was wary of reprising his Red Dust role after 21 years. He only agreed to make the movie after Across the Wide Missouri and Lone Star both flopped at the box office.

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Goofs

At the very start of the film, Victor Marswell asks if the "Jeep" is ready. It's not a Jeep but a British Series II Landrover.

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Quotes

Eloise Kelly: Look, Buster, don't you get overstimulated with me!

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Connections

Referenced in Congo (1995)

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Soundtracks

"COMIN' THROUGH THE RYE"
(uncredited)
Written by Robert Burns
Sung by Ava Gardner

User Reviews

African Adventure

I love Mogambo, the cinematography is breathtaking, filmed in luscious technicolor and some of the characters are equally as colorful. The cast is headed by Clark Gable, who plays tough trapper Victor Marswell. Joining him is Ava Gardner, on fantastic form as fun-loving Eloise Kelly and her rival for Marswell's affections is Grace Kelly as Linda Nordley, a repressed anthropologist's wife. The banter between Gardner and Gable is superb and there is a chance to see a good performance from Kelly before she became known as Hitchcock's glamorous leading lady. Highly recommended!