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:

Flaming love found in the savage heart of the jungle!

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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

Despite the high budget, most of the movie was actually filmed in the studio in Hollywood.

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Goofs

A cheetah walks through Honey Bear's tent late one night. Cheetahs are diurnal, hunting only during the day and sleeping at night.

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Quotes

Eloise Kelly: Everything snarls around this joint!

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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

Another "safari" in the MGM tradition...Gardner steals the show...

Some stunning Technicolor photography of African footage and beautiful AVA GARDNER are the sole reasons for watching John Ford's MOGAMBO, a remake of "Red Dust" that starred Jean Harlow twenty years before this was made.

Harlow's co-star, CLARK GABLE, is back reprising his role as the great white hunter (what happened to STEWART GRANGER???), but Gable has mellowed quite a bit and looks a bit too tired to be the love interest of both AVA GARDNER and GRACE KELLY--which is what the plot really boils down to. However, he is more than able to tame both of them.

GRACE KELLY still has the affected way of reciting her lines in a prim and princess-like way and is the less interesting of the two females. AVA GARDNER, on the other hand, livens up the story with her sarcastic one-liners and her ability to size up any situation and call a spade a spade. She's honest, frank and completely charming in her own way and walks off with every scene she's in, fully deserving her sole Oscar nomination.

But if you're looking for a real good story, MOGAMBO is not it. It has all the realism of a picture postcard despite the fact that much of it was filmed in colorful Africa. But the use of stock footage is also apparent as are shots of Gable and others before a process screen.

Fans of the stars should enjoy this one, but be warned--it's not without some serious flaws, mostly due to a weak script.