The African Queen (1951)

Director:

John Huston

Writers:

C.S. Forester (novel)
James Agee (adapted for the screen by) ...
(more)

Release Date:

20 February 1952 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Romance

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 | Mission | Swamp | Missionary

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 3 wins & 6 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		(adapted for the screen by) &
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		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Ralph Kemplen

Art Direction by
Wilfred Shingleton

Makeup Department
Eileen Bates	....	hairdresser
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	....	second unit photography (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
Connie De Pinna	....	other clothes designer
Doris Langley Moore	....	costumes designer: 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

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

Distributors

• United Artists (1951) (USA) (theatrical)
• Independent Film Distributors (IFD) (1951) (UK) (theatrical) (distribution controlled by) (as Independent Film Distributors Ltd)
• Filmileijona (1952) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Nova Film (1952) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Impuls Verleih (1958) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Eye Film Instituut (2011) (Netherlands) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Filmimies (1977) (Finland) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Aquarius TV (2005) (Greece) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (2010) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Atlantic Film (2003) (Sweden) (DVD)
• CBS/Fox (1984) (USA) (VHS)
• CBS/Fox (19??) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1970) (USA) (TV)
• Continental Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Elephant Films (2004) (France) (DVD)
• Finnkino (1996) (Finland) (VHS)
• Fox Video (1992) (USA) (VHS)
• Future Film (2005) (Finland) (DVD)
• Magnetic Video (19??) (USA) (VHS)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1983) (Finland) (TV)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2010) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2010) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• TV3 (1990) (Finland) (TV)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2002) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Video Film Express (2002) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Video Film Express (2010) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Cinema Classics Masterpiece Collection)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1962) (Finland) (TV) (1967) (1997) (2000) (2003) (2007) (2009)

Other Companies

• Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, The  music played by (as The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra)

Also Known As:

"La reina africana" - Argentina, Mexico (imdb display title), Venezuela
"African Queen" - Austria, West Germany
"Afrikas drottning" - Finland (Swedish title) (imdb display title), Sweden
"La reine africaine" - Belgium (French title), France
"A Raínha Africana" - Portugal
"African Queen" - France (DVD title)
"Africká královná" - Czechoslovakia (Slovak title)
"Africká královna" - Czechoslovakia (Czech title)
"Afrika királynője" - Hungary
"Afrika kraliçesi" - Turkey (Turkish title)
"Afrikadronningen" - Norway (imdb display title)
"Afrikan kuningatar" - Finland
"Afrikas dronning" - Denmark
"Afrykanska królowa" - Poland
"De afrikaanse koningin" - Belgium (Flemish title)
"I vasilissa tis Afrikis" - Greece (transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title)
"L'African Queen" - France (reissue title)
"L'odyssée de l'African Queen" - France (informal title)
"La regina d'Africa" - Italy
"La reina d'Àfrica" - Spain (Catalan title)
"La reina de África" - Spain
"Schicksal am Olanga-Fluß" - Austria
"The African Queen" - France (DVD title)
"Uma Aventura na África" - Brazil

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) | UK:PG (re-rating) (2006) | UK:U (video rating) (1987) (2001) | UK:U (tv rating) | Netherlands:9 (2010) (DVD) | Australia:PG (DVD rating) | Sweden:11 (re-rating) (1978) | Netherlands:14 (original rating) (1952) | USA:Unrated | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Finland:S | Iceland:L | Netherlands:AL (video rating) | Sweden:15 | UK:U | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

Romulus Films

Trivia:

The ship "Königin Luise" in the script (called "Louisa" by the English-speaking characters, but by its full name by the German crew) was inspired by the "Liemba", initially a German gunboat steaming (and controlling) the Tanganyika lake. Originally it was called the "Graf Goetzen". The ship, almost 70 meters long, had been built at the Meyer Shipyard in Germany (now maker of some of the world's largest cruise ships), but assembled on-site. The "Graf Goetzen" was sunk in June 1916 by its own crew to avoid capture, then raised by the Belgians, sunk again in a 1920 storm and was raised once more by the British in 1927, who renamed it "Liemba". It is still in service on Lake Tanganyika. The ship actually used in the film was the steam-tug Buganda, which was operating on Lake Victoria.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When they are passing the German fort, the Germans and Askaris are using British Long Lee Enfield rifles, not German Mausers.

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:

Featured in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies: America's Greatest Movies (1998) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Bold Fisherman

Bogie Deserved It

To me this film will always be the validation of Humphrey Bogart's long and distinguished career. His portrayal of the hard drinking Charlie was what made this film what it was. Also, he showed just how great an actor he was when he was able to match up against the woman who is generally considered to be the greatest actress in film history, Katherine Hepburn. Also, this film will always be recognized for having the perfect mix of action, romance and comedy and it will always be a classic.