The African Queen (1951)

Director:

John Huston

Writers:

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

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Errol John	...	(uncredited)
Gerald Onn	...	Petty Officer (uncredited)
John von Kotze	...	German officer (uncredited)

Directed by
John Huston

Writing credits
C.S. Forester		(novel "The African Queen")
James Agee		adaptation &
John Huston		adapted for the screen by
Peter Viertel		uncredited
John Collier		uncredited

Produced by
Sam Spiegel	....	producer (as S.P. Eagle)
John Woolf	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Allan Gray

Cinematography by
Jack Cardiff

Film Editing by
Ralph Kemplen

Art Direction by
Wilfred Shingleton

Costume Design by
Connie De Pinna

Makeup Department
Eileen Bates	....	hair stylist
George Frost	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Leigh Aman	....	production manager
T.S. Lyndon-Haynes	....	production manager
Robert Sterne	....	assistant production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Guy Hamilton	....	assistant director
Bill Herlihy	....	third assistant director (uncredited)
Bert Pearl	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
John Hoesli	....	assistant art director
Don Picton	....	draughtsman (uncredited)

Sound Department
John W. Mitchell	....	sound recordist (as John Mitchell)
Eric Wood	....	sound editor
Kevin McClory	....	boom operator (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Cliff Richardson	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Ted Moore	....	camera operator
Edward Scaife	....	photography: second unit (as Ted Scaife)
Steve Birtles	....	electrician (uncredited)
Desmond Davis	....	clapper loader: studio (uncredited)
Arthur Graham	....	camera operator: second unit (uncredited)
Cliff Shirpser	....	assistant camera: Technicolor (uncredited)
John von Kotze	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Doris Langley Moore	....	costumes: Miss Hepburn
Vi Murray	....	wardrobe mistress

Editorial Department
Roy Hyde	....	assistant editor (uncredited)
George Minassian	....	color technician: Technicolor (uncredited)
Ted Obolensky	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Norman Del Mar	....	conductor

Other crew
Angela Allen	....	continuity
Bunny Allen	....	location manager (uncredited)
Edward Joseph	....	location scout (uncredited)
V.B. Lyndon-Haynes	....	location manager (uncredited)
Kevin McClory	....	assistant: Mr. Huston (uncredited)
Eva Monley	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Jeanie Sims	....	secretary to producer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Horizon Pictures (II)
• Romulus Films (as Romulus)

Distributors

• United Artists (1951) (USA) (theatrical)
• Independent Film Distributors (IFD) (195?) (UK) (theatrical)
• Impuls (1958) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1970) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Magnetic Video (????) (USA) (video)
• CBS/Fox (1984) (USA) (VHS)
• CBS/Fox (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Fox Video (1992) (USA) (video)
• Aquarius TV (2005) (Greece) (DVD)
• Atlantic Film (2003) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Continental Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Elephant Films (2003) (France) (all media)
• Elephant Films (2004) (France) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2002) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Video Film Express (2002) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, The  music played by

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:

According to United Artists press materials and John Huston's autobiography, the director built a camp to house the cast and crew in Biondo, outside the town of Stanleyville. It included a bar, a restaurant and several one-room bungalows.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Robert Morley lays on his deathbed only a few days after being hit, forcefully, in the left cheek with a rifle butt, his cheek is perfectly smooth and pink with no sign of an injury.

Quotes:

Charlie Allnut: You know why did the chicken cross the road.
Rose Sayer: [missing the joke] I beg your pardon.
Charlie Allnut: Nevermind, miss.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Sanford and Son: Home Sweet Home for the Aged (#2.21)" (1973)

Soundtrack:

God of Grace and God of Glory (Cwm Rhondda)

Don't Take This One For Granted

THE African QUEEN is probably one of the most widely available films in the world, on sale in the electronics department of virtually every major retail chain, a commonplace at every rental counter, frequently seen on television. It is hard to imagine any one in the western world, especially in the United States, who has not seen the film at least once--and probably more than once. And so we take it for granted.

That is a mistake. Based on the famous C.S. Forester novel, which it follows quite closely, THE African QUEEN is the simple story of pragmatic river-rat Charlie Allnut (Bogart) and high-minded Methodist missionary spinster Rose Sayer (Hepburn) who are thrown together by chance when German troops sweep through Africa during World War I. Once safely aboard his beat-up riverboat "The African Queen," Allnut desires nothing more than to dodge the Germans until war's end; Rose, however, determines to strike a blow against the Germans by sailing the boat downriver to attack a German battleship.

There are so many fine things about this movie that they are hard to innumerate. Filmed on location in the Congo, the cinematography is remarkably fine without being obtrusive; the script, which is at once subtle and very purposeful, has a remarkably natural tone; the two stars--who play the vast majority of the film alone together--give justly famous performances; and Huston's direction is so fine that we never feel even the slightest hint of directorial manipulation. As an adventure, it has a sense of realism that most adventure stories lack; as a character study it is remarkably detailed and finely wrought; as a love story, it is quite touching without engaging in common sentimentality. And it can be enjoyed by many people of diverse backgrounds and ages without the faintest qualm.

If you haven't seen THE African QUEEN in a while (or heaven forbid never seen it at all) don't take it for granted thinking you'll catch it sooner or later. Sit down with the film and watch it with fresh eyes. You'll be amazed.

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer