They both had already worked through what many believed to be the high points of their movie careers. Even though she had yet to act in three of the four movies that would bring her the current record for most Academy Awards won by an actress, the general consensus at the time was that her best work was behind her. He had become famous for playing the tough, sharp-witted romantic lead in some of the greatest Hollywood movies of all time, but age and a chronic drinking problem had all but guaranteed that those types of roles no longer found their way to his door. However, in 1951, when the two collaborated on a film together for the first time, a true movie classic was born. She opened up a new chapter on her prestigious film career, deepening the impact of her future status as a genuine movie legend. And he won the Academy Award that had been eluding him for more than twenty years.
Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart together in John Huston’s The African Queen make up one of the most memorable film duos in all of cinematic history. She plays the spinsterish missionary sister assisting her minister brother to bring just a touch of good English decency and God-fearing Christianity to some of the wildest parts of East Africa. He plays a gruff and crude machinist who brings news of the outside world to the mission by traveling weekly up the Ulanga River aboard the small, grimy but capable steam-powered riverboat, the African Queen. When World War I breaks out, and the Germans invade the territory, destroy the mission, and kill her brother, Hepburn’s prim and proper lady has but one chance for survival. She will have to travel with Bogart’s gin-swilling Charlie Allnut down one of the most dangerous rivers in the world aboard the African Queen. Marvelous hilarity ensues as his plans to tuck into a quiet and unassuming little cove in order to wait out the war clash with her newfound enthusiasm for tangible excitement and spirited desire to use the small sea craft as a means of entering into battle for Queen and country.
John Huston, the film’s director, is reported to have said that the initial plans for the movie were for it to be more of an adventure thriller. However, once Hepburn and Bogart arrived on location (rare for a film of this time) and proved to not only have palpable chemistry but were also each other’s match for comic timing, the film crew decided to turn up the comedy level in order to fully utilize this aspect of its cast. You can see this on display no better than in the scene when Bogart takes the boat down the Ulanga’s first set of rapids in an effort to scare Hepburn into submitting to his wishes. Watch as Bogart looks on in total disbelief as a wide-eyed Hepburn dabs her face off with a handkerchief and professes, “I never dreamed that any mere physical experience could be so stimulating.” I am right this second laughing out loud thinking of her uttering that line. It is a priceless moment among many.
For years, the only way to see this gem of a movie has been to either pop in your old, and no-doubt warn out copy on VHS or hope to catch it some late night on Turner Classic Movies. Very few greater films have been unavailable in digital format for so long. Now, after a painstakingly meticulous restoration process that has returned the film to its original Technicolor splendor, The African Queen can be purchased either on DVD or Blue Ray for the first time ever. Not many films would lead me to recommend that you, my readers, drop whatever it is you are doing right this moment, get in your car, drive to your closest movie retailer, and not hesitate for a second in plopping $20 bucks down to buy this movie. I reserve my highest praise for movies that, regardless of whatever else they do, succeed at offering the purest satisfaction by being an absolute entertainment experience. That is The African Queen.
Until next week, here's my hope that we all find our Shangri-La. Good night.
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