The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952)

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

Directors:

Henry King, Roy Ward Baker (uncredited)

Writer:

Casey Robinson (screenplay)

Stars:

Gregory Peck, Susan Hayward, Ava Gardner

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited 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
Helene Stanley	...	Connie
Marcel Dalio	...	Emile
Vicente Gómez	...	Guitarist (as Vicente Gomez)
Richard Allan	...	Spanish Dancer

Storyline

As writer Harry Street lays gravely wounded from an African hunting accident he feverishly reflects on what he perceives as his failures at love and writing. Through his delirium he recalls his one true love Cynthia Green who he lost by his obsession for roaming the world in search of stories for his novels. Though she is dead Cynthia continues to haunt Street's thoughts. In spite of one successful novel after another, Street feels he has compromised his talent to ensure the success of his books, making him a failure in his eyes. His neglected wife Helen tends to his wounds, listens to his ranting, endures his talk of lost loves, and tries to restore in him the will to fight his illness until help arrives. Her devotion to him makes him finally realize that he is not a failure. With his realization of a chance for love and happiness with Helen, he regains his will to live.

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Plot Keywords:

love | writer | africa | countess | safari | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Romance | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Spanish Swahili

Release Date:

25 December 1952 (Mexico)

Also Known As:

Ernest Hemingway's The Snows of Kilimanjaro

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Box Office

Gross USA:

$18,050,000, 31 December 1952

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Uncle Bill is Harry's mentor. He is loosely based on Hemingway's mentor, Sherwood Anderson.

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Goofs

At sunset on the day of the rhino hunt a number of animal noises are heard simultaneously. One might hear hyenas around sunset, not the others. Lions can be heard lowing just before dawn and late in the evening around nine or ten. Elephants would not be making any noise unless they were threatened.

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Quotes

Harry Street: Oh, the royalties are rolling in. That's one thing about success - even when it's a failure. It snowballs for a while. There's also one thing about a snowball - it has nowhere to go but downhill.

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Connections

Featured in Run If You Can (1988)

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Soundtracks

Blue Mountain
(uncredited)
Music by Alfred Newman
Played by Benny Carter
(This melody is also known as "Love Is Cynthia" and is dedicated "To Ava")

User Reviews

A downer

Gregory Peck leads an all-star cast in "The Snows of Kilimanjaro," a big 1952 film directed by Henry King and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. With a cast that includes Ava Gardner, Susan Hayward, Hildegarde Neff and Leo J. Carroll, and a story based on a story by Ernest Hemingway, one expects something more - much more - than what is delivered by this plodding film.

Peck plays a writer with a severe leg infection. As he lays in Africa waiting for a transport while his wife (Hayward) cares for him, he believes he's dying. He goes over his past life and loves - a girl he disappoints in his youth, then Cynthia (Gardner) the love of his life, followed by Neff, and Hayward, whom he mistakes for Cynthia when he first meets her.

Henry King mixes some beautiful scenery with stock footage of Africa. Since it's Hemingway, the movie has a macho sensibility - a lot of hunting, drinking, implied sex, and a bullfight. It's only in the last couple of scenes that the film's energy picks up - but by then, it's too late. The performances are okay - strangely, Gardner's character seems the most fleshed out. That isn't saying much - one gets the impression a lot was cut, leaving holes in characterizations and the viewer completely detached from them. Altogether, a disappointing experience.