The African Queen (1952)
Average Rating: 8.7/10
Reviews Counted: 37
Fresh: 37 | Rotten: 0
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 7.7/10
Critic Reviews: 5
Fresh: 5 | Rotten: 0
No consensus yet.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.9/5
User Ratings: 31,467
My Rating
Movie Info
After years of wooing director John Huston via good reviews, film critic James Agee was given a chance to write the screenplay for a Huston picture. Adapted from a novel by C.S. Forester, The African Queen stars Humphrey Bogart in his Oscar-winning portrayal of Charlie Allnut, the slovenly, gin-swilling captain of a tramp steamer called the African Queen, which ships supplies to small East African villages during World War I. Katharine Hepburn plays Rose Sayer, the maiden-lady sister of a prim
Dec 23, 1951 Wide
Jul 9, 2004
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
Watch It Now
Cast
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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 -
Gerald Onn
Petty Officer -
Peter Swanwick
First Officer of Shona -
Richard Marner
Second Officer of Shona -
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The African Queen Trailer & Photos
All Critics (37) | Top Critics (5) | Fresh (46) | Rotten (0) | DVD (13)
Five minutes in, and cowriter-director John Huston has already set the stage for something besides your typical '50s jungle-bwana boogie.
Top CriticIt is a picture with an unassuming warmth and naturalness...
The direction is often questionable, but the screenplay (by James Agee, John Collier, Huston, and Peter Viertel from C.S. Forester's novel) is a model of tight construction.
Impossible to deny this film's entertainment value...
And so Mr. Huston merits credit for putting this fantastic tale on a level of sly, polite kidding and generally keeping it there, while going about the happy business of engineering excitement and visual thrills.
A ripping, gripping yarn, a surprisingly erotic love story and, as it happens, a premonition of Herzog's Fitzcarraldo.
[A] grand, propulsive and plumly-restored slice of Technicolor derring-do.
What an inspired pairing! And to think the roles of Charlie Allnutt and Rose Sayer were nearly played by David Niven and Bette Davis.
It's probably cameraman Jack Cardiff who deserves kudos for turning this odd-couple romance into such a colourful escapade through east Africa.
Huston understands the majestic savagery of his surroundings well enough to let it exert some dramatic pressure on what is primarily a buoyant romantic comedy.
The performances by Humphrey Bogart (who earned his lone Oscar for his troubles) and Katharine Hepburn, along with John Huston's astute direction has produced a high spirited and highly entertaining adventure movie.
Hepburn and Bogart shine in this odd couple adventure.
As a paradigm of why certain actors and filmmakers remain revered several decades after their death or greatest success, The African Queen is more than merely exemplary.
These are not "pretty" characters, but they are beautiful and their affair is a natural force outside of society and the church.
...a totally delightful and entirely engrossing romance, filled with comedy, action, and adventure, the film now meticulously restored. (Blu-ray Edition)
A more unorthodox adventure story and a more unconventional romantic comedy you couldn't imagine.
A long-overdue disc of a longtime audience favorite, with an absolutely tip-top image restoration that makes this old tub look good as new.
...one of those films that have been so assimilated into the collective unconscious that they feel ubiquitous,to the point that even those who have never seen it probably feel as though they have.
Part buddy action flick, part screwball comedy, it's all good.
Bogart and Hepburn are truly amazing together.
Audience Reviews for The African Queen
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
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- Charlie Allnut: Oh, I'm not worried miss. Gave myself up for dead back where we started.
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- Charlie Allnut: You can't do that!
- Rose Sayer: How do you know? You never tried it.
- Charlie Allnut: Well yeah, but I never tried shooting myself in the head neither.
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- Charlie Allnut: Well I ain't sorry for you no more, ya crazy, psalm-singing, skinny old made!
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- Charlie Allnut: Leeches ahhhh!
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- Rose Sayer: "Nature, Mr. Allnut, is what we are put into this world to rise above.
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- Charlie Allnut: A man takes a drop too much once in a while, it's only human nature.
Discussion Forum
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| The African Queen Runtime | 4 months ago | 0 |
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Foreign Titles
- The African Queen (1951) (DE)
- The African Queen (1951) (CA)
Instead, I'm pleased by it, but also stunned at how not excellent this actually is. Set in German occupied Africa during World War I, the plot concerns a crusty, boozy river trader of a tramp steamer called The African Queen who agrees to take a zealous missionary back to civilization after German officers raid the village she and her brother were working in, burning it to the ground and leaving her as the sole survivor. Along the way, this odd couple have to contend with nature, the war, and one another, but eventually they do bond as you might expect...maybe.
The set up is great, but the execution is what left me underwhelmed and a little disappointed. The leads are likeable (as actors), but their characters and performances are kinda blah and overdone. Had their been more weight to the script, and the characters been more darker and edgier, then this could have really had some bite to it. Maybe this is a film that truly does deserve a contemporary update. Also, some more dealing with the historical context of the setting woiuld have been great too. At least is was shot on location, which was a rare thing in those days.
The setting and location shooting are great, the cinematography is decnt, but I kidna wishd this was in black and white...it would have added some needed grit to the proceedings.
I didn't hate this, but it really came off as silly, which is an adjective that doesn't need to be used ot describe a project involving the cast and crew here. It's decent, but not as exciting and awesome as it truly could have been.