The African Queen [1951 film]

by John Huston (Director)

On This Page

Description

At the start of World War I, German imperial troops burn down a mission in Africa. The mission's reverend was so overtaken with disappointment that he passes away. Shortly after his well-educated, snooty sister Rose buries her brother, she must leave on the only available transport, the 'African Queen' steamboat. The boat is manned by the ill-mannered bachelor, Charlie. Together they embark on a long difficult journey, without any comfort. Rose grows determined to assist in the British war show more effort and presses Charlie until he finally agrees and together they steam up the Ulana encountering an enemy fort, raging rapids, bloodthirsty parasites and an endlessly branching stream which always seems to lead them to what appear to be impenetrable swamps. Despite their opposing personalities, the two grow closer to each other and ultimately carry out their plan to take out a German warship. show less

Tags

Recommendations

Member Recommendations

Member Reviews

6 reviews
Classic Bogie. I loved it.
Amerikkalainen mestariohjaaja John Huston joutui Maltan haukan kaltaisista menestyselokuvistaan huolimatta jatkuvasti kahnauksiin tuottajien ja studioiden kanssa. Erityisen pahasta kohtelusta kärsi Hustonin pasifistinen sotaelokuva Kunnian kentällä, joka leikattiin uudelleen vastoin Hustonin näkemyksiä.
Tämä oli Hustonille viimeinen pisara ja kontrolloidakseen omia elokuviaan hän perusti niille oman tuotantoyhtiön. Jo sen ensimmäisestä elokuvasta Afrikan kuningatar (The African Queen, 1951) tuli kuolematon klassikko.
Afrikan kuningatar yhdistelee luontevasti komediaa, rakkaustarinaa ja seikkailuelokuvaa vaikka käsittelee samalla kaikkia näitä aineksia hyvin epätavallisesti. Noin viisikymppisinä rakastavaisina on nimittäin show more juoppo jokikippari ja siveä lähetyssaarnaajan tytär, tarinan näyttämönä Afrikan jokiviidakot ja vihollisena ensimmäisen maailmansodan saksalainen sotalaiva, jonka sankarikaksikko päättää pakoretkensä aikana upottaa.
C.S. Foresterin romaaniin perustuva Afrikan kuningatar on “feelgood-elokuvien” perusteos, jonka pääosissa Humphrey Bogart ja Katharine Hepburn tekevät uransa parhaimpiin kuuluvat roolityöt. Bogart sai osastaan Oscarin ja Hepburn olisi ansainnut omansa mutta ylsi vain ehdokkaaksi. Kaksikko pelaa upeasti yhteen toisiaan aluksi inhoavina mutta matkan koettelemusten ja vaarojen vuoksi toisiinsa lähentyvinä sankareina.
Huston hyödyntää taitavasti aitoja Afrikan maisemia ja hänen kerrontansa on hämmästyttävän vapautunutta kun ottaa huomioon kuinka hankalissa olosuhteissa elokuva filmattiin. Kuvausryhmän kaikki jäsenet kärsivät alkeellisista oloista ja paikallisista sairauksista, paitsi Huston ja Bogart, jotka taas muiden riesaksi asti ryyppäsivät koko ajan.
Elokuvan tekovaiheista on kirjoitettu monta kirjaa, joista tunnetuimpia ovat Katharine Hepburnin “Miten menin Afrikkaan Bogartin, Bacallin ja Hustonin kanssa ja olin tulla hulluksi” sekä käsikirjoittaja Peter Viertelin fiktiivinen teos “Valkoinen metsästäjä, musta sydän”, jonka Clint Eastwood on filmannut.
Esittelyteksti: Vesa Nykänen
http://www.leffatykki.com/elokuva/afrikan-kuningatar
https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrikan_kuningatar
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043265/
show less
In WWI East Africa, a gin-swilling Canadian riverboat captain is persuaded by a strait-laced English missionary to undertake a trip up a treacherous river and use his boat to attack a German gunship. (fonte: Imdb)
Durante la Prima Guerra Mondiale, una missionaria assiste all'uccisione del fratello da parte dei soldati tedeschi. Con l'aiuto di Charlie, il capitano della piccola imbarcazione Regina d'Africa i due combattono e finiscono per innamorarsi. (fonte: Wikipedia)

Members

Recently Added By

Published Reviews

ThingScore 100
This is a comedy, a love story, and a tale of adventure, and it is one of the most charming and entertaining movies ever made. The director, John Huston, has written that the comedy was not present either in the novel by C. S. Forester or in the original screenplay by James Agee, John Collier, and himself, but that it grew out of the relationship of Hepburn and Bogart, who were just naturally show more funny when they worked together. Hepburn has revealed that the picture wasn’t going well until Huston came up with the inspiration that she should think of Rosie as Mrs. Roosevelt. After that, Bogart and Hepburn played together with an ease and humor that makes their love affair—the mating of a forbidding, ironclad spinster and a tough, gin-soaked riverboat captain—seem not only inevitable, but perfect. The story, set in central Africa in 1914, is so convincingly acted that you may feel a bit jarred at the end; after the lovers have brought the boat, the African Queen, over dangerous rapids to torpedo a German battleship, Huston seems to stop taking the movie seriously. show less
Pauline Kael, New Yorker
added by SnootyBaronet

Lists

Great Films Based on Books
319 works; 140 members

Author Information

Picture of author.
Director
130+ Works 4,441 Members
The son of Walter Huston, the well-known movie actor, John Huston directed numerous Hollywood films, including such classics as The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), for which he won an Oscar as best director, and The Asphalt Jungle (1950). He wrote the screenplays for many of them, including the quintessential hard-boiled detective movie The show more Maltese Falcon (1941), which was also his directorial debut. Huston's protagonists are often either independent professionals whose tough exteriors hide a dedication to principle, like the detective in The Maltese Falcon, or losers whose obsession with a doomed quest leads to their destruction, like the three gold-seekers in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. But, in his 46-year career, he would try his hand at almost everything, from the grand comedy of The African Queen (1952) to the shaggy dog tale Beat the Devil (1954), the offbeat western The Misfits (1961), the rather bloated epic The Bible (1966), and the medieval allegory, A Walk with Love and Death (1970). As he aged, his films seemed to get deeper and better, starting with The Man Who Would Be King (1975) and continuing with Wise Blood (1979) and Prizzi's Honor (1985). His final work, The Dead (1987), is an exquisite film adaptation of the short story by James Joyce. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

All Editions

Agee, James (Screenwriter)
Bull, Peter (Actor)
Cardiff, Jack (Cinematographer)
Spiegel, Sam (Producer)

Awards and Honors

Work Relationships

Common Knowledge

Canonical title
The African Queen [1951 film]
Original title
The African Queen
Original publication date
1951-12-26; 1951
People/Characters
Charlie Allnut; Rose Sayer; Captain of the Louisa; First Officer of the Louisa; Samuel Sayer
Important places
Africa
Related movies
The African Queen (1951 | IMDb)
Canonical DDC/MDS
791.4372
Canonical LCC
PN1995.9.A3
Disambiguation notice
Based on the novel by C.S. Forester

Classifications

DDC/MDS
791.4372Arts & recreationRecreation, sports, and performing artsMovies, TV, VideoMotion pictures, radio, television, podcastingMotion picturesFilms; screenplaysSingle films
LCC
PN1995.9 .A3Language and LiteratureLiterature (General)Literature (General)DramaMotion pictures

Statistics

Members
351
Popularity
89,633
Reviews
4
Rating
(4.02)
Languages
English, French, German, Spanish
ISBNs
18
UPCs
9
ASINs
38