The African Queen (1952)
“Well I ain't sorry for you no more, ya crazy, psalm-singing, skinny old maid!”
also…
“By the authority vested in me by Kaiser William the Second I pronounce you man and wife. Proceed with the execution.”
It’s hard to imagine a film that should have more things going for it: Humphrey Bogart (Casablanca), Katharine Hepburn (On Golden Pond), John Huston directing, and a script based off a novel by C.S. Forester.
What could go wrong?
We’ll get to that... First though, what is this movie about?
In addition to being a classic question in the 1980s Trivial Pursuit game (“What was the African Queen?”), the film is a take on Forester’s story of an English woman named Rose, living in German East Africa (Tanzania) with her missionary brother. When World War I breaks out, Rose and her brother find themselves targeted by German authorities who are not crazy about British subjects chatting it up with the locals. Bad things happen and she needs to get out of town in a hurry.
Rose turns to Charlie (Bogart), a Canadian boat captain who has made a fair living running his steam powered launch (Hint: remember that when you break out the Trivial Pursuit board) up and down the rivers of the region. Bogart channels his inner Casablanca Rick and wants nothing to do with the war or Rose, but is persuaded to take her up river to British territory.
We won’t spoil the book or movie, but Rose and Charlie get pretty friendly on the trip, crocodiles splash around the boat, torpedoes are built, and pacts are made to blow up German things.
So this movie should be great.
Is it?
Not so much.
There is good in this flick. The landscapes (filmed on location in Africa) are beautiful and there are a few unexpectedly clever details sprinkled in from time-to-time, like the apparently uneducated Charlie being fluent in Swahili.
The acting is, however, a mixed bag. Bogart looked tired through much of the film - ‘though he was one of the only cast members to not become ill during the filming - and his performance is wildly inconsistent. His work comes off as particularly weak when compared to Hepburn who, while also calling in her performance, was miles above Bogie in delivery.
The characterization of both Rose and Charlie was also troubling. Both come off as strong, ‘though very different, characters when the movie begins. Charlie is a rougher version of Rick or Sam Spade: tough, pragmatic, and capable of walking a fine line between the angels and devils. Rose is tightly wound and ostentatiously religious, but clearly tough as nails.
By the middle of the film these strong characters have melted into syrupy pools of serotonin. I get that part of the story is the relationship that two unalike characters develop…the problem is that the film does not give it time to develop. Rose blasts and belittles Charlie as the sun goes down. The next morning, she is making him pancakes in bed and cooing sweet nothings into his leech encrusted ears. It is hard to say if it is a problem in acting, direction, timing, or story, but it is way too forced to be interesting or enjoyable.
…but then again, Bogart earned an Oscar for his performance (the only one in his career), so what do I know?
We don’t score this one very high but it is, by all definitions, a classic, so give it a look and let us know what you think.
You can catch The African Queen HERE.
Two out of Five Steam Launches.
🚤🚤
Into Bogie and Hepburn?
You may want to try out one of there!
