"The African Queen" 1951 Movie Page at Magic Lantern Video & Book Store

           Surly river boat captain Charlie Allnut warns a British brother-sister missionary team in German East Africa that England & Germany are at war. He continues upriver; while he is gone, the local Germans burn down the village, take away the native villagers, and beat the brother, who becomes delirious with fever and dies. Charlie returns and helps Rose bury her brother, then they continue downstream. Rose wants revenge, and when Charlie mentions the gunboat Luisa patrolling Lake Tanganyika, she persuades Charlie to help use his steam-powered African Queen to attack the Germans. Charlie figures that Rose will give up once confronted with the dangers ahead, but she is steadfast while they pass a German fort at night and then risk three rapids. Celebrating their survival of the second rapids, they are surprised when they embrace; they back off but soon allow themselves a romantic relationship.
           Shooting the third rapids damages the boat's propeller and shaft; Charlie manages to repair the boat, and they continue downriver. They get lost in the marsh at the river's mouth and then stuck; they have no supplies left and little potable water; and Charlie gets a fever. Before turning in, Rose prays; during the night a heavy rain raises the river and the boat drifts out into the lake, almost in view of the German gunboat. (The route downriver in the book is along the Ulanga River to the Bora River to Limbasi, then Shona, and finally Lake Wittersbach.)
           Charlie and Rose build torpedoes from oxygen tanks and explosives and nails and rifle cartridges, then attach them to the bow of the boat. A rainstorm that night provides concealment, and they steer the African Queen toward the gunboat; but the torpedoes arrangement leaks, the boat takes on water and tips over, and Charlie and Rose swim for their lives. The Germans capture Charlie, who is sentenced to death as a spy; they then also capture Rose, who proudly admits their attempt at revenge on the Germans. The German captain agrees to marry Charlie and Rose before executing them; after a brief ceremony, the Germans prepare to hang them, but an explosion rips the gunboat, which begins to sink – the German gunboat ran into the half-sunken African Queen, and the torpedoes worked quite well. Charlie and Rose are thrown into the water and swim together toward safety on the Belgian Congo shoreline.

History of The Film            About half of "The African Queen" was shot on location in Uganda and The Congo; the scenes in the marsh were filmed in Dalyan, Turkey; the second half was filmed at Isleworth Studios, Middlesex, England. Many of the crew and cast suffered various jungle sicknesses in Africa; Bogie liked to say that he suffered no illness because he drank no water there, having brought along a large supply of whiskey. Lauren Bacall accompanied her husband to Africa, and became lifelong friends with Hepburn.
           The actual boat that portrayed the African Queen was built in 1912, capsized twice during filming, and continued in service in Africa until 1968; it survives today on display at Key Largo in Florida.
           The movie opened on 23 December 1951 in Los Angeles {per Oscar rules} and on 20 February 1952 at the Capitol Theatre in New York City. The film was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Director, Best Adapted Script, and Best Actress; Bogie won the Oscar for Best Actor. Distribution rights eventually landed back at Paramount in 1997; the film was restored – at a cost of $650,000 – in 2009 and issued on DVD & Blu-ray for Region 1 in March 2010 and for Region 2 in July 2010.

"The African Queen"
[United Artists Dec 1951]
Directed by John Huston; adapted by James Agee, John Huston, John Collier & Peter Viertel from the 1935
C.S. Forester novel; Technicolor cinematography by Jack Cardiff; starring Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn,
Robert Morley, Peter Bull, Walter Gotell, Richard Marner & Theodore Bikel; Best Actor Oscar for Humphrey Bogart,
Oscar nominations for Best Director, Best Actress, Best Adapted Script; listed on the National Film Registry (1994)

"Embracing Chaos: Making The African Queen" [2010]
1-hour docufilm included on DVD & Blu-ray above; credits at IMDb

	"The Making of The African Queen: Or How I Went To Africa With Bogart, Bacall & Huston and Almost Lost My Mind" [1987] by Katharine Hepburn Plume 7x5 pb [10/88] out of print/many used Knopf 9x7 hardcover [8/87] out of print/many, many used
	"Screen Adaptation for The African Queen" [1960] by James Agee & John Huston Horizon Enterprises pb [1993] out of print/scarce Horizon Enterprises pb [1960] out of print/scarce online early version of "The African Queen" script

Magic Lantern Video & Book Store"The African Queen" 1951 Movie

Magic Lantern Video & Book Store
"The African Queen" 1951 Movie