The African Queen (1951)

The African Queen - 1951

Coming up next is 1951's megahit and enduring favorite "The African Queen", starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn.  Two people who don't care much for each other must evacuate German East Africa on board a small boat.  They decide to assist the British in their war against the Germans, and they sail down the river to get ride of a large ship using only what they've got on board.

The film's small supporting cast includes Robert Morley, Peter Bull, and Theodore Bikel.

Samuel Sayer and his sister Rose (Hepburn) are missionaries in Africa.  They minister to a tribe miles from the nearest town.  Canadian mechanic Charlie Allnut (Bogart) brings them their mail and the news from home as often as he can.  On this day, he's brought them the news that World War I has started and that there might not be mail for a while.

Later, Rose and her brother watch horrified as invading German soldiers come to the village.  They ignore the missionaries and target the natives.

When Samuel confronts the main officer, he's knocked to the ground with the butt of a rifle.

The officers burn down the villagers' homes and round up the citizens, taking them away.

Shortly afterwards, Samuel falls ill with a tropical fever, and has delusions that he is back in England.  Rose comforts him until he dies.

Luckily, Charlie comes just in time to help her bury her brother and evacuate from German East Africa.  She gets a few things together and they travel a bit before they stop to work out a plan of what they're going to do.

On board the boat, "The African Queen", Charlie has a supply of food, tea, gin, blasting gelatin, and some metal cylindrical tubes.

Rose gets the idea that if Charlie could construct a torpedo and blow up a large German ship way down the river called the Louisa then the British could come in and eradicate the Germans.

Charlie tries to talk her out of it, but Rose's mind is made up.  He hopes that some rapids and other dangers will help her change her decision.

That night, they bathe in the river and bunk on board The African Queen.  A rain storm hits and Rose allows Charlie to sleep under the shelter of the canvas covering like she does.

The next day they hit the rapids.  Rose is nervous as she steers the boat.  She lets Charlie take over as she sits in anticipation.

Charlie expertly guides them down the relatively small rapids.

He asks Rose how she likes it.  She tells him she's only been that excited a few times in her life.  She absolutely loved it, and with practice, hopes that he'll allow her to try running the rapids someday.

He's furious with her for wanting to go on.  He opens a case of gin and starts to get drunk.  He tells her he's not going any further down the river.

The next morning, Rose dumps out Charlie's entire stash of gin.  He's furious with her, but seeing no alternative to her stubbornness, agrees to continue on down the river.

Of course, the sight of crocodiles pouring into the river does nothing to comfort Charlie's fears.  Rose tells him everything will be alright with a confident smile.

After the crocodiles, Charlie and Rose encounter the fort at Shona, a German stronghold in the area.  They go on the far side of the river so the sun is in the enemy's eyes.  They also have to duck down so they won't get hit by whizzing bullets!

Unfortunately for Charlie, he has to make repairs to The African Queen while the bullets fly past him.  He does though, and they successfully make it past the fort.

However, just as they clear the fort at Shona, Rose spies trouble ahead.

Rapids much larger than the first set lie straight ahead.  This time there's not a chance for Charlie and Rose to switch places, and Rose must navigate the treacherous waters as best she can.

After making it through the rapids, Charlie and Rose celebrate their escape from Shona and the way they made it through the deadly white water.  They get over-excited and spontaneously kiss.  Both of them are a little surprised, but pleasantly surprised.

After a good night's rest, Charlie and Rose give into the feelings of the day before, and romance blossoms under the African sun.

They make a seemingly restful cruise along the river that day.  Charlie makes Rose laugh loudly as he imitates the animals he sees.

The sound of rushing water brings their idleness to a crashing halt.

They face the worst rapids yet.  (The sheer scale of the rocks behind Katharine Hepburn in the third picture gives you some idea of the danger!)

The rapids do damage to the boat's prop, and Charlie and Rose have to work together to make a new one so that they can get underway again.

After they do get underway, Charlie and Rose are allowed a few blissful moments as they cruise down the river "like Antony and Cleopatra on their barge".

When they try to anchor for the night, they find the mosquitoes so thick that they can't stand it.  Rose tells Charlie that she's going under the water for protection.  He quickly stops her after looking around.

The water is full of crocodiles.  Rose and Charlie must endure the mosquitoes until they can get back out into the middle of the river and just drift.

They eventually come to a series of channels surrounded by nothing but reeds and papyrus.  They can't decide which is the main way through, so they just pick what looks to be their best option.

The reeds become so thick that Charlie has to get out and pull the boat.  Rose pushes with an oar.  When Charlie does get back in, he's covered with leeches, and Rose quickly applies salt to get them off.  Unfortunately, Charlie has to get back in again and pull.  Rose also gets in, having to cut the reeds back with a machete.

Eventually, they come to a place where they can go no further.  Exhausted, Charlie collapses on the floor.

Rose prays that God will be merciful and open the gates of Heaven for Charlie and herself.  She lies down beside Charlie and goes to sleep.

We find that just a few feet from where they had stopped, the lake they were searching for appears.

While they sleep, rain begins to pour.  The water brings a newness of energy to the land, the river, and the animals.

It also brings a freshness to Charlie and Rose that they long had needed.  They get out on the lake and enjoy the breezes and open spaces.

The see the Louisa and decide to head back into the reeds to hide and prepare The African Queen for her final journey.

While Charlie gets the torpedo ready, Rose decides to make The African Queen look the best she can.  By nightfall, they are ready.

A bad storm comes up as they try to get to the Louisa.  The African Queen is sunk and Rose and Charlie are captured by the Germans.  After interrogation by the Captain of the Louisa, they are scheduled to be executed.  What the Germans don't seem to realize is that they are headed straight for the wreckage (and torpedo) of The African Queen.

Just before the execution, Charlie asks the Captain to marry Rose and himself.  The Captain grants the request and joins them together in matrimony.

Charlie and Rose are then quickly placed apart with ropes around their neck.  Before the Captain can give the final order, a loud explosion rocks the ship.  It starts to sink and everyone jumps off.

Charlie and Rose find out that their mission was successful, and they swim off to freedom and married life.

Cast rundown:

   Humphrey Bogart.............................Charlie Allnut

   Katharine Hepburn............................Rose Sayer

   Robert Morley...................................Rev. Samuel Sayer

   Peter Bull.........................................Captain of Louisa

   Theodore Bikel..................................First Officer

And that's it for The African Queen.  Katharine Hepburn wrote a book about her experiences while filming the movie.  She said that during the filming of the first scene where she is playing an organ, she was incredibly ill from dysentery.  A bucket was placed out of sight next to the organ because she was constantly throwing up.  After the director yelled cut, she ran out to the outhouse, but when she got there she had to run back out because a black mamba had taken up residence there.  In fact, the only people who didn't get sick on the set was the director and Bogart, but this was accredited to the large amounts of alcohol they drank.

As always, if you wish to leave a comment, please remember our posting rules.