The African Queen (1951) Review

Take two aging stars worried about their careers and one dangerously close to being blacklisted director, stir in a splash of Technicolor, then add location shooting in Africa. What does this recipe make? One of the most unlikely films to ever grace many a list of greatest movies.

Star Humphrey Bogart reunites with director John Huston with Katherine Hepburn onboard for a wonderfully adult romance about two losers trying to sink a German boat in WWI Africa. Spectacular scenery, great acting, and fantastic writing make for a highly entertaining experience that has easily withstood the test of time.

Adapted from a novel by C.S. Forester of Horatio Hornblower fame, this gem of a film starts out in somewhat unconventional fashion. The name of the movie appears with a very important caption under it, “Color by TECHNICOLOR.” We’re used to color today, but in 1951 most movies were still in black and white making this a big deal.

So watching the credits go by while moving through exotic jungle trees with equally rare animal noises in the background had to be quite a thrill to theater goers. I know it got my attention as a little kid and I grew up with color. An air of promise fills the screen, promise that you are about to see an adventure straight out of National Geographic Magazine.

But does it live up to those expectations? Read on to find out.

Soon the camera pans down to reveal a small village of thatch roofed huts next to a church in German East Africa in 1914. The 1st Methodist Church of Kungdu resonates with the poor attempts by natives to harmonize with a strange language. It takes a bit, but we soon discover that it is an English language hymn being sung. Conducted by a doughy minister and accompanied by a stick thin woman on an organ, the service shown comes off as mocking of attempts by white missionaries to bring Christianity to Africa.

It’s obvious that the two missionaries are giving their all despite a bored congregation, especially the woman (Katherine Hepburn). That doesn’t last long for a steam whistle announces the arrival of a distraction. So enters our next foreigner, a dirty and unkempt middle aged man (Humphrey Bogart) captaining a small steam powered river boat.

A character in her own right, the African Queen is just as filthy and rundown as her captain. The director, John Huston, was very much about breaking the rules, specifically delighting in showing things in a gritty and realistic light. In an era of everything looking unnaturally clean, this was a vision to behold in early color.

After giving up on the service, the minister (Robert Morley) and his sister greet the laidback newcomer with more than a bit of stiffness. Mr. Allnut is there to deliver mail to the two leading to a very awkward tea that establishes the personalities of the three. Rev. Sayer is a superficial twit, Rose is prim and self contained, while Allnut is uncultured lower class ne’er-do-well with an empty stomach.

It turns out the Canadian is a bearer of newspapers and bad news. It seems there is a war on between Germany and England that will make delivery impossible. This is stunning to the missionaries, but he doesn’t seem to care much about it to the ire of Rev. Sayer.

Shortly after the grubby Canadian leaves, new visitors arrive. Far more hostile, they are German officers with a native contingent intent on rounding up the locals. When the minister resists, he gets a quick and nasty lesson in might making right leaving him to watch the village burn unable to do anything about it.

Not only does it break his heart, but his mind too. What follows is an amazing series of short scenes wherein he goes mad and then dies. Samuel’s ravings reveal the backstory of the siblings and casts him in an entirely different light made poignant by Morley’s superb acting.

The death of her brother leaves Rose lost and alone in the heart of Africa. When Allnut returns to check on the village, she finds herself having to depend on his kindness. Oil and water, they begin to clash in comic fashion as a patriotic desire for vengeance inspires Rose with a plan to sink a German steamer patrolling Lake Albert.

Yep, two middle aged citizens of the United Kingdom are going to take on the German Navy. What’s wrong with this picture? From Allnut’s expression, I’d say a lot. However, he only puts forth a token fight before angrily firing up the boiler in a humorous snit that rings authentically.

And so the cantankerous trio (the Queen is just as temperamental as the humans) venture down the an impassable river on an impossible mission. Now that, folks, is how you set up a story.

Kilroy was here?! Wait, wrong World War. Yes, that is one of the filming crew caught for seconds on screen while peering out of the bottom of the boat. Until I saw the movie in HD, I’d never noticed it. You can now thank me for making you notice it every time you watch the movie.

One of the best scenes in the movie is when Allnut tries to use a scary situation to convince Rose to abandon the quest. Of course the results are not quite what he expected out of the sheltered lady. It’s a great exchange between two terrific actors that really sets up the heart of the movie: their interactions.

In fact things go so well on the trip that it drives him to drink, much to her disapproval and discomfort as a good Christian lady. The Canuck is not a nice drunk when under the combined influence of gin and fear. There are consequences of course.

Those consequences reveal more about the machinist and the missionary through some of the best acting to grace the silver screen as the two clash. By now the two adventurers are starting to get under each other’s skin and that’s when words can become deadly. James Agee’s script shines during these scenes with nary a wrong note struck. Through his dialogue, these people sound real, the kind you might actually run into.

Danger lurks around nearly every twist and bend in the river with no other humans around. Yet the greatest threat will be the next time they see a human being for a harrowing passage must be made by a fortress overlooking the river manned by the German army. Of course they’ll have to survive each other first!

Thoughts

It has been said that life is about the journey and not the destination. I once agreed with that sentiment and The African Queen is a movie that almost makes a case for it – except for the great ending ruining the analogy. That said, it is a great journey to watch made all the better by the stellar chemistry of Bogart and Hepburn. Their initially bickering and wary relationship’s change into trusting mutual care is true cinema magic that no special effect could ever hope to rival.

Bogey is in fine form as a guy who tries to be cool and rarely succeeds at it. His Charlie Allnut’s face is an open book, his heart is on his sleeve, and any other trite saying for “easy to read” you can think of applies. Exasperation and a childlike quality often surface in this decidedly un-heroic character finding himself pushed to be more than he thinks he is by a woman.

That woman, Rose, is one of Katherine Hepburn’s best performances. Ever a lady, she is strong willed, determined, and filled with true grit. But always lying just beneath the surface is an unsure and scared girl. Lip trembling during times of quiet distress combined with a wounded animal look in her eyes, the inner girl shows up from time to time break the apparently impervious façade. Still, it is a bit of a shock late in the movie when the missionary breaks down in a panic – that’s a testament to Hepburn’s acting.

The plot may be about a perilous voyage to sink a ship, but the story is really about two adults who haven’t seen any success at life finding a way to accomplish something together. Coming from polar ends of society they haven’t distinguished themselves and in a way are refugees lost at sea. The sea just happens to be the interior of Africa.

Since the African Queen is only around sixteen feet long, it is a confined setting despite the colorful surroundings. It’s the perfect setting for an intimate drama that ended up becoming a gentle comedy as well. I’m on record as loving character development which the story delivers in spades.

Though the movie was one of the first to shoot on location, it only has the occasional exotic travelogue scene. Oh they are lovely shots at times, make no mistake. However, the emphasis of the movie is on the protagonists and how they interact. It could be said the film is nearly all heart as a consequence. Credit has to go to Huston for not dwelling on the scenery for it would have been easy to allow the jungle to overwhelm the story.

Despite the use of Technicolor, the camera work is pedestrian with little in the way of interesting framing or angles. It isn’t the fault of the director of photography, it was simply due to the issues of shooting on location with the huge cameras. Clever editing did impress me with the scenes shot in the wild and in an English studio interwoven is such a way that it makes the “artificial” parts seem more real. That’s a nifty trick to pull off and budding film makers should study the editing.

The African Queen is not rated, having been made before the ratings system was imposed. I’d say it would fall under a PG rating today due to violence and some serious gin drinking. Kids can handle it in my opinion and I loved it as a child in the first decade of my life.

It should be noted that there is usage of racist language in regard to the native assistants. Allnut refers to them as “my boys” which of course is racially charged now, but how they spoke then. Consider it an accurate portrayal of the language of the era given the political leanings of the cast and crew rather than anything deliberately racist.

There is something special about the film that appeals across age groups despite being filled with middle aged people. Perhaps it is Bogey and Hepburn, or the classic sense of adventure, or the memorable scenes. Whatever the case, I recommend it to everyone young and old except for the coldest of hearts.

Technical

The copy I own is the Paramount Home Video Blu-ray edition put out in 2010. It consists of one disc that just manages to dodge being a barebones release.

Because the movie was filmed in 4:3 or 1.33:1 ratio, it is letterboxed vertically for today’s widescreen television sets. This was not panned and scanned, but is in the typical format of 1951 before the widescreen wars began a couple of years later.

Since the movie was fully restored in 2009, it looks absolutely incredible on a 1080p HDTV. In fact, it has never looked this good even during its original run in theaters. Not only is everything in focus (excepting close up shots of Hepburn using a soft filter), but the early blue screen compositing has been touched up to remove the green that bled out as a halo around the actors.

Colors are excellent as is typical of restorations from Technicolor stock and paint a vivid picture of the river plants and animals. Contrast is as close to perfect as it gets and detail is sharp. Check out the screen captures to get an idea of the quality, albeit reduced to 720p.

Audio is Dolby Digital monaural with options of English, English SDH, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. Subtitles are provided in all the languages listed. The English soundtrack is clear and crisp with nothing to complain about at all. Dialogue, sounds of the jungle, and music all sound flawless.

The only extra included is worth the price of admission alone, so to speak.

Embracing Chaos: Making the African Queen – This hour long documentary put together for the restoration is extraordinary in its own right. Filled with interviews of surviving cast and crew along with older clips of the deceased, it covers just about anything you could want to know about the production. The background behind the project coming together will be particularly interesting to a history buffs.

The late 1940’s were a turbulent period around the world and Hollywood was not immune to the seismic waves going through society. There the studio system was starting to falter and break up while new technologies were making movies more expensive to produce. On top of that, the House Un-American Activities had expanded over the past decade into looking for communist agents outside of the government. Since Hollywood was a hotbed of leftist leanings actors and directors soon found themselves in dire trouble for their past political doings.

John Huston, Humphrey Bogart, and Katherine Hepburn were all leftists to some degree and this led to them being investigated. It is this backdrop that the movie was made and the documentary goes into this quite a bit. The African Queen was a chance for them to reclaim their stardom and redeem themselves with a patriotic flavored movie, albeit British in setting. Being the first major independent (or “indie”) film, the opportunity was a risky one.

It was a troubled production, partly due to having a renegade director obsessed with hunting loose in a continent full of big game. Location shooting was new for fiction and he decided on an even more out of the way location in the Belgian Congo to shoot in then initially planned.

The Queen even sank one night in the remote location. Yet they all pulled together to raise her in a moment that could be considered a metaphor for the project itself.

Besides chronicling all the travails involved, the documentary offers insights in what it was like having a bunch of rugged individualists camping together to make a movie. Rare color footage of filming is shown, adding much to the stories told by the people involved.

Not everything was deadly serious on set, so there are glimpses of goofing off and many a wry story with a highlight being the clashes between Kate and her director. Then there were the considerable technical issues to overcome with the massive Technicolor cameras.

The end product was worth all the grief, though nobody involved thought it would make any money. In fact, the movie was only initially booked for a week in New York City to qualify for the Oscars as an art film of sorts. Little did they know just how big it would become.

BEWARE! HERE BE SPOILERS!!!

 

 

 

 

Oh the fallout from surviving the run by the fortress. Comedy gold with a warm touch follows beginning  with a first kiss which leaves both shocked by what occurred. I particularly liked how Rosie missed the mug with the tea and, ever the lady, doesn’t miss a beat to correct it.

I wrote earlier about the editing between England and Africa being cleverly done and the scene with Charlie teasing the hippos is a perfect example. It also showcases the boyish quality the character has. Acting like a schoolboy trying to impress a girl draws some unladylike snorts from Rose. Goofy and sweet, it is the kind of thing I’ve seen from much older couples in the real world.

The trip over the falls shows off the good miniatures work done by the crew. I believe that was a five foot model used for the rapids, waterfall, and some other short shots.

The underwater shots were done in England since the waters were too toxic to risk in Africa. Disease was always a problem on location and everyone but Huston and Bogart got very sick. Their secret to keep from getting ill? They were alcoholics and never touched water.

The scene were Rose breaks down due to the biting insects is one of the best scenes for Hepburn. Her pathetic cries were very convincing even though the “bugs” were effects added by animated filters later.

Also proving how good an actress she was, the scene was filmed in England before a blue screen and the river added later along with the swarms. You can still see some of the green haloing around her since there are limits to what can be cleaned up digitally.

I think this was the movie that made me despise leeches. Bogart is superb in conveying the weariness and sick horror of having to go into the still waters around the reeds knowing he’ll get latched onto again.

Rosie’s face watching him slowly turn to go into the water again is just amazing acting by Hepburn. Now that’s a picture that is worth a thousand words.

Rose’s final prayer when they give up all hope and prepare to die is sensitively handled. It also leads to the one fancy piece of camera work in the film. Not only is it a dramatic moment revealing how close they really were to their goal, but it feels like a statement by Huston about life the way he framed it.

Always attracted to the grim and gritty in life, he was an adventurer at heart who always kept chasing after his goals no matter what. Whether or not it was intentional, a statement about never quitting can be seen.

The prepping of the torpedoes and the night attack is thrilling stuff. Too bad about the whole sinking and being captured thing. A happy ending was never planned for the movie. Huston departed to Africa without a concrete ending written and the desire to have the two main characters die.

From the way they built up the Louisa I expected something a little larger. Apparently that was as big a boat required to police Lake Albert. After all, a six pounder isn’t that large a gun. But it does make sinking it with homemade torpedoes a lot more plausible.

This may be my favorite movie wedding. “…I pronounce you man and wife. Proceed with the execution.”

One has to love the way the Queen pops up to finish the job. Never say die!

After having to endure seeing the title character of the movie capsize it was gratifying to see the same happen to the Louisa at her hands. I believe all of this scene was filmed in England and it is well executed. No pun intended.

One has to love the fact that Huston couldn’t bring himself to have an unhappy ending for Charlie and Rosie. After watching how the movie fell together he ended up feeling too much affection for the characters. This is probably the most conventional ending he ever filmed, yet it fits perfectly with the spirit of the movie. After all they went through, the intrepid and now married couple deserved some happiness.