The African Queen (1951)

Director:

John Huston

Writers:

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

Release Date:

20 febrero 1952 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Romance | War

Frase comercial:

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:

Mosquito | African Tribe | Underwear | Roadboatmovie | Bathing Scene

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 5 nominations

Comentarios de los usuarios:

If some one remakes this, I'm sending out a posse.

US TV Schedule:

Mon. May 12

6:00 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

También conocida como:

Reina africana, La (Argentina) (Venezuela) [es]
Reina de África, La (Spain) [es]

Duración:

105 min

País:

UK | USA

Idioma:

English | German | Swahili

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sonido:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Clasificación:

Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 (2002) | Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | USA:Approved (PCA #15611) | Norway:7 | 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)

Trivialidades:

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:

Boom mic visible: On first evening on African Queen, while Rose is drinking her tea, the shadow of the boom mike appears over the port edge of the boat several times.

Quotes:

Charlie Allnut: I don't know why the Germans would want this God-forsaken place.
Rose Sayer: God has not forsaken this place, Mr. Allnut, as my brother's presence here bears witness.

Movie Connections:

References Casablanca (1942)

Soundtrack:

God of Grace and God of Glory (Cwm Rhondda)

If some one remakes this, I'm sending out a posse.

To face a script in which most of the plot revolves around the dialogue of only two people in one location must be terrifying. Thank goodness for Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart. John Huston's adaptation of C.S. Forester's The African Queen was solid. And the decision to film on location in Africa helped develop the concept of nature as a viable character within the plot helps solidify the film. But without Katharine Hepburn, and Humphry Bogart, this film could have been reduced to a nice little travelog on the beauty and terror of African and the pretty animals living there. Within The African Queen each character undergoes metamorphosis. Charlie Alnutt grows from an apathetic man who enjoys the inside of a bottle, to a courageous man. Rosie in turn allows herself to be human, and vulnerable perhaps for the first time in her life. With lesser actors these changes would have appeared rushed, unexplained,and a dull beginning to an inexplicable romance. But it isn't. It's a captivating film. Rosie's brittle smile, Charlie's face as his vices are destroyed, these are moments of brilliance in an incredible film. I highly recommend it.

It's also worth noting that this was not an easy film to make. These performances survived crew and cast illnesses, constant mechanical errors and inclement weather. For more about the conditions it was created under, I suggest you read Katherine Hepburn's The Making of The African Queen or How I went to Africa with Bogart, Bacall and Huston and almost lost my mind. She's not the sanest author in the world, but all the more enjoyable.