SYNOPSIS

Charlie Allnut is the slovenly, drunkard captain of a steamer called The African Queen, which ships supplies to East African villages during World War I. Rose Sayer is the prim sister of a British missionary. When invading Germans kill Rose's brother and destroy the village, Allnut offers to transport Rose back to civilization. She can't tolerate his drinking or gruff manner, and he can't stand her pious, judgmental attitude. Inevitably, this mismatched relationship turns to one of affection as they traverse the treacherous waters and devise an ingenious way to destroy a German gunboat.

Director: John Huston
Producer: Sam Spiegel
Screenplay: James Agee and John Huston, based on the novel The African Queen by C.S. Forester
Cinematography: Jack Cardiff
Editing: Ralph Kemplen
Art Direction: Wilfred Shingleton
Music: Allan Gray
Cast: Humphrey Bogart (Charlie Allnut), Katharine Hepburn (Rose Sayer), Robert Morley (Reverend Samuel Sayer), Peter Bull (German Captain), Theodore Bikel (German First Officer), Walter Gotell (German Officer), Peter Swanwick (German Officer), Richard Marner (German Officer), Gerald Onn (German Officer), John von Kotze (German Officer), Harry Arbour (German Sergeant Major).
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Why THE AFRICAN QUEEN is Essential

Shot on location in the Belgian Congo in deepest Africa, The African Queen was a true original and had everything one could want in a movie: romance, adventure, humor, drama, spectacular locations and two Hollywood icons in the leads.

To shoot a film on location in such a remote area was extremely rare for 1951. Movies with exotic locations were usually shot in the studios with painted backdrops and Huston's achievement was a pioneering step in motion picture making.

The African Queen marked one of the few times acclaimed novelist and film critic James Agee collaborated with a director on a screenplay. When he became too ill to travel to the African locations to complete the screenplay, screenwriter Peter Viertel was brought in to complete it and help John Huston devise a satisfactory climax to the film. The movie was a uniquely personal project for Huston, who indulged in one of his favorite pastimes - hunting - during down time on location; it later served as the inspiration for Peter Viertel's novel White Hunter Black Heart which Clint Eastwood directed and cast himself as the surrogate John Huston protagonist.

The African Queen was a big box office and critical success, honored with four Academy Award nominations for Best Actor, Actress, Director and Screenplay. It also provided a major career boost for the director and his two stars. In fact, Humphrey Bogart scored his biggest triumph with his role as Charlie Allnut, and he won his only Academy Award as Best Actor for it.

by Andrea Passafiume