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 | River | Mission | Boat

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 5 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. July 12

8:00 PM

TCM

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

Also Known As:

African Queen (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
La reina africana (Argentina) (Venezuela) [es]
A Raínha Africana (Portugal) [pt]
Africká královná (Czechoslovakia: Slovak title) [sk]
Africká královna (Czechoslovakia: Czech title) [cs]
Afrika kraliçesi (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Afrikan kuningatar (Finland) [fi]
Afrikas dronning (Denmark) [da]
Afrikas drottning (Sweden) [sv]
Afrykanska królowa (Poland) [pl]
De afrikaanse koningin (Belgium: Flemish title) [un]
I vasilissa tis Afrikis (Greece) [el]
L'odyssée de l'African Queen (France) (informal title) [fr]
La regina d'Africa (Italy) [it]
La reina d'Àfrica (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
La reina de África (Spain) [es]
La reine africaine (France) [fr]
Schicksal am Olanga-Fluß (Austria) [de]
Uma Aventura na África (Brazil) [pt]

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:

Katharine Hepburn, in her written account of the film's production titled "The Making of "The African Queen," or How I Went to Africa with Bogie, Bacall and Huston and Almost Lost My Mind", described the first day of shooting, which required five cars and trucks to take the cast, crew and equipment three and a half miles from Biondo to the Ruiki river, at which point they loaded everything onto boats and sailed another two and a half miles to the shooting location. Press materials and contemporary articles detail the various perils of shooting on location in Africa, including dysentery, malaria, bacteria-filled drinking water and several close brushes with wild animals and poisonous snakes. Most of the cast and crew were sick for much of the filming. In a February 1952 New York Times article, John Huston declared that he hired local natives to help the crew, but many would not show up for fear that the filmmakers were cannibals.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Rev. Samuel and Rose kneel to pray, his coat is unbuttoned. When they go out to attend the African man who screams, his coat is completely buttoned.

Quotes:

Rose: [after Charlie checks the boat for damage after going down a rather rough set of rapids] Could you see anything, dear?
Charlie Allnut: Yeah. The shaft's twisted like a corkscrew and there's a blade gone off the prop.
Rose: We'll have to mend it, then.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

Soundtrack:

God of Grace and God of Glory (Cwm Rhondda)

Out of Africa with Bogey and Kate

This is one of those films whose special effects and scenery must have been astounding at the time (1951), but which seem mediocre at best today. BUT, and that's a big 'but', this does not detract from the greatness of the movie overall. The scenery truly is beautiful, for one thing--and the direction and cinematography is great.

However, what truly makes this film a classic, and deservedly so, is the performances given by the lead actors. For their one film together, Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn pull out all the stops. Bogart is crude, dirty and a low-life river-rat with a heart of gold. He gives the Oscar-winning performance of his lifetime. Hepburn is prim and prissy, but always manages to win us over with her radiance and vulnerability, as well as that core of steel and strength she lends to all her on-screen characters. He's charming, in his way; she's achingly beautiful in hers. You can't help but warm to Charlie and Rosie, and truly, genuinely root for them to get together.

The ending is predictable; all 'opposites-attract' romance adventure stories are. You know without a doubt that the sunset will be there for Charlie and Rosie to ride off (or swim) into together. But you still hurt when Charlie hurts; and you still smile like a fool when he sees Rose, and when he tries to explain her forthrightness away by jungle fever. You believe the love, and that's what the African Queen is all about.

Oh, and the gin and leech scenes, of course. Those are brilliant, as everyone else here has already mentioned! ;)