 Tagline: The greatest adventure a man ever lived...with a woman! At the start of World War I, German imperial troops burn down Reverend Samuel Sayer's mission in Africa. He is overtaken with disappointment and passes away. Shortly after his well-educated, snooty sister Rose Sayer (Hepburn) buries her brother, she must leave on the only available transport, a tired river steamboat 'The African Queen' manned by the ill-mannered bachelor, Charlie Allnut (Bogart). Together they embark on a long difficult journey, without any comfort. Rose grows determined to assist in the British war effort and presses Charlie until he finally agrees and together they steam up the Ulana encountering an enemy fort, raging rapids, bloodthirsty parasites and endlessly branching stream which always seem to lead them to what appear to be impenetrable swamps. Despite opposing personalities, the two grow closer to each other and ultimately carry out their plan to take out a German warship. Storyline: September 1914, news reaches the colony German Eastern Africa that Germany is at war, so Reverend Samuel Sayer became a hostile foreigner. German imperial troops burn down his mission; he is beaten and dies of fever. His well-educated, snobbish sister Rose Sayer buries him and leaves by the only available transport, the dilapidated river steamboat 'African Queen' of grumpy Charlie Allnut. As if a long difficult journey without any comfort weren't bad enough for such odd companions, she is determined to find a way to do their bit for the British war effort (and revenge her brother) and aims high as God is obviously on their side: construct their own equipment, a torpedo and the converted steamboat, to take out a huge German warship, the Louisa, which is hard to find on the giant lake and first of all to reach, in fact as daunting an expedition as anyone attempted since the late adventurous explorer John Speakes, but she presses till Charlie accepts to steam up the Ulana, about to brave... Written by KGF Vissers Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Martin Liebman on March 26, 2010 -- There's death a dozen times over down the river. --- From Hollywood's Golden Era comes The African Queen, an indelible icon of moviemaking yore that's still fresh, refreshing, and thoroughly enjoyable even almost sixty years after its theatrical release. Starring two of Tinseltown's biggest names -- of their era and beyond -- in Humphrey Bogart (Casablanca) and Katharine Hepburn (Guess Who's Coming to Dinner), The African Queen yielded each of them an Oscar nomination; Hepburn failed to capture what would have then been her second and, ultimately, fifth, but Bogart walked away with his one and only statue amongst two additional nominations. The African Queen may be remembered for its fantastic performances, but the film is much more than its leads, playing as a remarkably simple yet expertly-constructed masterpiece of fundamental cinema that sees a broad swath of elements amidst a basic story and an exotic setting. The combination of elements -- not to mention that The African Queen is simply a vastly entertaining picture even through the prism of all else that it gets right -- has earned it a top-20 spot on the American Film Institute's list of the top 100 movies, besting such legends as 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Godfather Part II, and Forrest Gump. German East Africa, 1914. Missionary Rose Sayer (Hepburn) and her brother Samuel (Robert Morley) learn of the outbreak of war on the European continent from grimy and hungry riverboat skipper Charlie Allnut (Bogart). It's not long until the war reaches Rose and Samuel's village; it's burned to the ground and a beaten and defeated Charlie soon perishes from his wounds, the elements, and the tragic developments that have interrupted their effort to spread the Word of God to Africa's population. Charlie returns with his rickety steam-powered vessel, the African Queen, and rescues Rose from the solitude of the abandoned and destroyed village. Fearful that the Germans may be interested in obtaining the supplies on his ship -- including crates of explosives and a couple of gaseous cylinders -- Canadian Charlie is content to sit out the war on the backwaters of Africa, particularly considering that the German vessel Louisa and her six-pound gun is lurking about several miles downriver. British national Rose, however, devises a plan to turn Charlie's supplies into makeshift torpedoes and sink the German vessel -- using the Queen as a delivery device -- and convinces Charlie of the necessity and foolproof nature of her plan. Proving herself a capable sailor, Rose leads the charge to take the fight to the Germans the only way she can. It's only a question of whether she can survive her time with the hard-drinking skipper of the African Queen along the way. Yes, The African Queen offers a bit of everything: a sprinkling of daring adventure, a helping of romance, a pinch of drama, a pint of action, several fifths of gin, and a river's worth of fantastic moviemaking. Indeed, this is complete moviemaking and at its very best to boot, the film a prime example of a near faultless picture that doesn't overemphasize any single element and by extension actually supports and enhances all of them thanks to a perfect balancing act courtesy of Director John Huston's (The Maltese Falcon) fantastically understated but highly effective helmsmanship. The film is dominated by its capable story and sense of adventure and romance; the script is the definition of understated simplicity but it nevertheless excels thanks to every element coming perfectly into place. Still, it's ultimately the quality of the leads that injects into The African Queen a sense of completion that turns what is otherwise a fairly ordinary and straightforward story into an exceptional moviegoing experience. Huston still captures the beauty, glory, grandeur, and danger of the African setting superbly, and the fog of war surrounding the adventure makes it all the more deadly, daring, and tense. Bogart and Hepburn nevertheless remain the stars of the show, and it's how exceptionally well they blend into the movie -- its setting, themes, dialogue, emotions, and honesty -- that comes to define The African Queen by film's end. The African Queen's pair of leads are so magnificent and the story written in such a way that it might even pass as a Buddy movie, but the budding romance and the characters' oftentimes outwardly tumultuous but inwardly respectful relationship that grows into something more than a mutual friendship adds an interesting angle to the picture and helps place the film in something of a unique genre that's comprised of all the major elements but dominated by none. Primarily assembled around its setting and two actors, Bogart and Hepburn carry the film remarkably well, both lacking the glamour they were known for and in turn appearing haggard, scruffy, tired, worn, excessively hot, and generally unkempt but nevertheless turning in two of the more exceptional performances of their careers. The fact that the picture was filmed primarily on location in the elements of Africa and not in the safety and comfort of a soundstage (save for select scenes) only adds to the mystique of the movie and the quality of the experience, and the realism the location shoot adds to the picture also proudly rests as one of the many elements of near equal value that make The African Queen a splendid and timeless film. There may be other classic films out there that enjoy greater recognition, but few are as truly endearing as The African Queen. With two performances for the ages, a grandiose and exotic setting, a wonderful sense of adventure, a charming and believable romance, and an altogether completely immersive and seamless experience, The African Queen is deserving of its accolades and more -- including its proud ranking as the 17th best movie of all-time according the American Film Institute. The only film for which the legendary Humphrey Bogart won an Oscar, The African Queen makes for a prime example of what seamless acting and first-class cinematic storytelling are all about, the film still a triumph some 60 years after its release and still a ride down a river of movie magic that's as harrowing but inviting today as ever before. Paramount's wonderful Blu- ray release only makes The African Queen experience all the better. Sporting a world-class high definition video restoration, a by-the-book but true-to-the-source soundtrack, and a singular but nevertheless exceptional supplement in the form of an engrossing documentary, The African Queen makes for a must-own Blu-ray disc. Highly recommended. Cast Notes: Humphrey Bogart (Charlie Allnut), Katharine Hepburn (Rose Sayer), Robert Morley (Rev. Samuel Sayer), Peter Bull (Captain of Louisa), Theodore Bikel (First Officer), Walter Gotell (Second Officer), Peter Swanwick (First Officer of Shona), Richard Marner (Second Officer of Shona). IMDb Rating (02/11/17): 7.9/10 from 59,991 users
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