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

Ava Gardner's second film based an Ernest Hemingway short story, after "The Killers" (1946). Both were short tales that had to be expanded considerably by their screenwriters to become feature-length films.

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Goofs

At the restaurant in Spain, prior to when Harry leaves Cynthia at the table, he puts his left hand on her left arm in the long shot. In the closer shot, he is seen to take his right hand off her left arm as he stands up.

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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

Referenced in Hollywood Hist-o-Rama: Gregory Peck (1962)

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Soundtracks

You Do Something to Me
(alles war so leer) (uncredited)
Written by Cole Porter
Sung by Hildegard Knef
at the Piano: Amanda Ambrose

User Reviews

Classic Hemmingway On the Silver Screen

Director Henry King is what keeps this movie from getting 10 stars. Yet, despite his poor cinematography, poor directing and failure to take advantage of scenic backdrops (yet they shine through occasionally), the cast and the story save the film.

Peck portrays former Chicago Times journalist Harry Street, a fictional character penned by Ernest Hemmingway, portraying a strong glimpse himself . . . a bit ego-centric while feigning humility and modesty. Peck is superb at bringing Harry Street to life . . . and Hemmingway is always looming in the background of Street's character, like a phantom . . . the boozing womanizer, masking his insecurities with alcohol, egotism, aloofness toward other's feelings and needs. The beautiful, sexy, gorgeous Ava Gardner, one of the VERY few Hollywood starlets who could actually act, gives an excellent performance as the emotionally insecure, very dependent, sexually charged, less than moral, love of his life. Co-dependency could have been based on her character, Cynthia Green. Cynthia was too insecure to let Street live his life . . . Street was too self-centered and aloof to recognize Cynthia's emotional needs . . . very Hemmingway!

As he lay delirious on a bed in Africa, from a thorn scratch infection, snow covered Mt. Kilimanjaro looming in the background, Street recalls the lost loves of his past years, with Cynthia dominating his memories, as his one true love. His current wife, Helen, portrayed by Susan Hayward, tries desperately to find her place in his life, always feeling herself in the shadow of Cynthia and a later love, Countess Liz, played by Hildegard Neff, a selfish and insecure socialite, desperate to hang onto Street. Feverishly, Street flows in and out of consciousness, the scenes from his memories playing out in his mind, as Helen compassionately wipes his sweaty brow and tries to care for him, as he pushes her away.

This is a good film! Hemmingway fans should receive it well, as should fans of Peck and Gardner.