The African Queen (1951)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

John Huston

Writers:

C.S. Forester (novel)
James Agee (adaptation) ...

Release Date:

20 February 1952 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Romance | War

Tagline:

The greatest adventure a man ever lived...with a woman!

Plot:

In Africa during WW1, a gin-swilling riverboat owner/captain is persuaded by a strait-laced missionary to use his boat to attack an enemy warship.

Plot Keywords:

German | Steamboat | Torpedo | Swamp | Fort

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Humphrey Bogart	...	Charlie Allnut
Katharine Hepburn	...	Rose Sayer
Robert Morley	...	Rev. Samuel Sayer
Peter Bull	...	Captain of Louisa
Theodore Bikel	...	First Officer
Walter Gotell	...	Second Officer
Peter Swanwick	...	First Officer of Shona
Richard Marner	...	Second Officer of Shona

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | German | Swahili

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Norway:7 | Singapore:PG | USA:Approved (PCA #15611) | South Korea:15 (2002) | Argentina:13 | Australia:G | Finland:S | Iceland:L | Netherlands:AL (video rating) | Sweden:15 | UK:U | USA:Unrated | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

Horizon Pictures (II)

Trivia:

Because the boat used in the film was too small to carry cameras and equipment, portions of the boat were reproduced on a large raft, in order to shoot close-ups of Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn. Interior and water-tank scenes were filmed in London, as were most of the scenes containing secondary characters. Robert Morley shot all of his scenes in London, including footage of him preaching, which was edited together with shots of the natives praying, which was filmed in Africa.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Charlie welds the replacement blade that he "made" onto the broken propeller, the new blade he is using is a perfect fit, and was clearly cut from the propeller he is repairing.

Quotes:

[repeated line]
Rose Sayer: Mr. Allnut?
Charlie Allnut: Yes, miss.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Popcorn (1991)

Soundtrack:

God of Grace and God of Glory (Cwm Rhondda)

If some one remakes this, I'm sending out a posse.

To face a script in which most of the plot revolves around the dialogue of only two people in one location must be terrifying. Thank goodness for Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart. John Huston's adaptation of C.S. Forester's The African Queen was solid. And the decision to film on location in Africa helped develop the concept of nature as a viable character within the plot helps solidify the film. But without Katharine Hepburn, and Humphry Bogart, this film could have been reduced to a nice little travelog on the beauty and terror of African and the pretty animals living there. Within The African Queen each character undergoes metamorphosis. Charlie Alnutt grows from an apathetic man who enjoys the inside of a bottle, to a courageous man. Rosie in turn allows herself to be human, and vulnerable perhaps for the first time in her life. With lesser actors these changes would have appeared rushed, unexplained,and a dull beginning to an inexplicable romance. But it isn't. It's a captivating film. Rosie's brittle smile, Charlie's face as his vices are destroyed, these are moments of brilliance in an incredible film. I highly recommend it.

It's also worth noting that this was not an easy film to make. These performances survived crew and cast illnesses, constant mechanical errors and inclement weather. For more about the conditions it was created under, I suggest you read Katherine Hepburn's The Making of The African Queen or How I went to Africa with Bogart, Bacall and Huston and almost lost my mind. She's not the sanest author in the world, but all the more enjoyable.