African Queen, The (1951)

Horizon Pictures/Romulus Films/United Artists
Director: John Huston
Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn

Honors:
Academy Award for Best Actor
#17 on AFI Top 100 (1998)
#65 on AFI Top 100 (2007)
#14 AFI 100 Passions
#48 AFI 100 Cheers
National Film Registry

An adventure of a lifetime through the wilds of Africa is fronted by Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn in one of the most beloved Hollywood features in the industry’s history. Directed by legendary filmmaker John Huston, The African Queen, he considered to be his finest film, and marked the only Oscar win in Bogart’s very fabled career. Like the story, the feature experienced the harshness of African locales with location production that was nearly as hazardous as the film’s plot, an adventure in itself, bonding the stars and director for life.

 

The African Queen is a romantic comedy adventure about an unlikely pair who find commonality in a dangerous task while surprisingly finding love as they trek the waterways of Africa. In German East Africa at the outbreak of World War I, Rose (Hepburn), a spinster missionary, and Charlie (Bogart), an alcoholic delivery riverboat captain, turn their focus of escape from the newly dangerous situation to one of plotting a strike upon the wartime occupiers. The pair travel the dangerous waterways towards the known location of a large German gunboat with plans to use Charlie’s small, but trusty vessel, “The African Queen,” as a torpedo boat to cripple the enemy. Surviving rapids and illness while navigating through previously perceived unpassable channels, Rose and Charlie adventures discover a romantic bond between, further cementing their mission together. Finally reaching the gunboat, the confrontation turns dire for our heroes before fate deals their enemies a costly blow.

 

A charming film with the classic, romanticized view of the exotic, it mixes well aspects of humor with adventure to tell story of excitement and romance. Wonderfully crafted with costuming and art direction that captures a period only a few decades prior yet feels to be in a world vastly separated from when it was produced. Art direction brilliantly utilizes the African location shooting while director John Huston delivers his distinct style that hints towards his knack capturing human connection in this curiously unique picture. An added layer of interest is present with its release being fairly recently following the conclusion of World War II when it comes to construction of its characters and plot, making it a film obviously crafted for an audience of its time, yet remains entirely timeless as well.

 

C. S. Forrester’s 1935 novel took time finding its way to a screen adaptation and through the change in the world during that time would see a number of alterations within its plot. The German antagonist were made be appear more demonized and less sympathetic or consequential due to the recency bias of World War II. Unlike in the book Rose and Charlie survive their ordeal, and the please censors’ needs of presenting a “proper” cohabitant relationship between this romantic couple in film the heroes are married near the picture, perhaps the most hastily inserted and out of place addition to the story in the feature as it is the German captures that perform the quick ritual for Rose and Chalie. However, the heart of the tale remains as two unlikely people come together to form a strong partnership and love and a setting of danger and hardship..

 

John Huston would be the primary architect of the film adaption helping to guide in the shaping of the final screenplay on the way to directing the feature. Best known for his timeless ability to sculpt human nature in rugged conditions Huston was the perfect filmmaker to direct this feature, and it shows in the final product. He would not only take fine actors and mold brilliant performances, but he would utilize nature to its fullest as he would film nearly half of the feature on location in Belgian Congo to deliver an authenticity to the feature. While on location Huston spent time while not shooting taking the opportunity practicing one of his favorite pastimes in hunting while remaining a perfectionist in the crafting the feature.

 

Katharine Hepburn was brought aboard by Sam Spiegel, who sent her a copy of the book, quickly falling in love with the story and committing herself to the project as the fish out of water, yet resilient Rose. She immediately saw Humphrey Bogart as best being suited to play the gruff, alcoholic Charlie who was more than glad to work once again with Huston, with whom he experienced most of hist cinematic success. Charlie was originally a British role, but when Bogart proved unable to perform an cockney accent the character was smoothly transformed into a Canadian to compensate for Bogart’s limitation. The on-screen chemistry between the two stars would prove to be magic earning both Academy Award nominations, and the only win in Bogart’s career.

 

Filming in Africa proved to be a trying ordeal for cast and crew. Lugging vast amounts of sensitive and bulky equipment around natural terrain was one trouble of there as the movie party would be reliant primarily on local food and supplies to nourish them during the process. Lauren Bacall, Humphrey Bogart’s wife, made the early decision to accompany him to Africa and during production became in a way a mother to everyone on the project, cooking, cleaning, and caring for those that fell ill. Trough the experience Bacall and Hepburn bounded, forming a life-long friendship between them.

 

Nearly everyone involved on location experienced some form of illness, most commonly dysentery. Out of the entire cast and crew the only individuals that appears to not go unharmed were Bogart and Huston, two heavy drinkers. They relied on whiskey and scotch instead of water and consuming only imported canned food, helping to avoid sickness, making the experience more tolerable than most. Bogart would detestation his time in Africa, while Hepburn adored the experience even though she too became very ill during the process. A keen eye can spot the actress sweating heavily in her opening scene, due to her fever at the time yet powering through for her craft.

 

Outside of Africa, the remainder of production took place in England where sets and foreground photography were completed and splice in with the exotic location shots they captured from Africa. Other special effects included miniatures and models to create scenes with treacherous rapids, details perhaps more evident in today’s world of high-definition home video release than back in the 1950s.

 

The African Queen premiered in late December 1951, in time to qualify for that year’s award season, where it received generous praise from audiences and critics while earning four Oscar nominations. Huston was nominated twice for The African Queen, for both writing and directing, and would come to consider the picture his finest work. However. It would be only Bogart who would come away with the only award win for the picture at that year’s ceremony, noting his performance a result of Hepburn’s partnership and Huston’s direction.

 

The film remains one of the highest praised films in American cinematic history, admired for writing, direction, and acting. Named to several all-time lists for American produced features, it continues a legacy for stars and filmmaker as it endures in the minds of film lovers all these years later. You would be hard pressed to study on Huston, Bogart, or Hepburn without seeing mention of The African Queen. Its legacy in film would continue to inspire future generation within the industry, and even help in inspiring the look of Walt Disney’s famed Jungle Cruise attraction in his new theme park just a few short years later. A great deal of what we experience in motion pictures in the forms of romantic comedies, adventure pictures, art direction, and cinematic quality quietly owes a good deal from this picture as John Huston created a wonderful film does so much so well.