The African Queen

Much like last year’s Dunkirk, The African Queen rarely shows its enemies. The Germans show up at the beginning, middle, and end, to mark different segments of the film and show the threat still remains. These antagonistic forces are out to get Humphrey Bogart’s Charlie Allnut, a drunken sailor, and Katharine Hepburn’s Rose Sayer, a devout missionary, who together are on the run towards British-controlled Africa during World War I. For most of the film, Sayer and Allnut are the only two characters on the screen. This could have ruined any other film, but with such high quality actors as Bogart and Hepburn, The African Queen floats. Bogart disappears under his sailor’s cap and gruff beard (until he shaves of course). This is a role very different from most of his other roles. He is older here and doesn’t play the stand-up detective as he typically is typecast. He really gets a chance to show off his true acting chops, and it shows, with his only Oscar win coming from this film. Hepburn is equally great as the optimistic missionary who convinces Allnut to take on a German battleship. Director John Huston once again proves his ability to make unique and exciting adventure films. While this doesn’t have as much action as some other pictures, it makes up for it with beautiful shots of African wildlife that were shot on-location. However, some of the early green-screen effects don’t hold up particularly well. This doesn’t ruin the film though, and is acceptable as it was 1952. Also like Dunkirk, The African Queen immerses the viewer in its world and you can feel the heat of the moment. The claustrophobic conditions of being stuck in the mud, the fear of being shot, the despair of being so addicted to alcohol. Unlike Dunkirk, the emotional connection really works because the characters are developed. Some more complex story beats, such as Allnut’s alcoholism and class differences between him and Sayer, are bypassed for campy comedy. This doesn’t defeat the tone of the movie though as it mostly stays a fun romance-adventure. The African Queen is an adventurous film that captures the spirit of twentieth century nationalism in a bottle.

{★★½☆}