How many films from 1934 to 1954 have you seen? Everyone recognizes titles like “Gone With the Wind,” “Casablanca,” and “The Wizard of Oz,” but many Americans have watched few or even no old movies. Although they can seem foreign to those unfamiliar with Hollywood’s Golden Era, these movies are worth watching for their artistry, stories, and decency.
Between 1934 and 1954, the Motion Picture Production Code was Hollywood’s moral compass, and no rating system was needed; all films obeyed the Code and were acceptable for all viewers. The Code curtailed violence—not action and excitement—so Code adventure movies came in many genres, including Westerns, war films, and swashbuckling dramas.
A great film for introducing adventure lovers to classic Hollywood is 1951’s “The African Queen,” starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn. This film’s titular queen is a boat, not a person.
In 1914, middle-aged Rose Sayer (Hepburn) and her brother, Samuel (Robert Morley), are British missionaries in German East Africa. A Canadian riverboat pilot, Charlie Allnut (Bogart), brings word that Germany has declared war on England. Soon after, German troops burn down the village, leaving the missionaries as its lone occupants. The tragedy makes Samuel first go insane and then die. Charlie returns the next day and takes Rose aboard his riverboat, the African Queen.
Aboard the steamboat, the journeyers’ lifestyles clash. After the prim spinster shows the unkempt bachelor that she won’t tolerate his drunken disorder, he begins appreciating her company.
Rose decides they must help the war effort by destroying a German ship. To accomplish this mission, they must make the Queen into a torpedo after a treacherous journey downriver. Charlie opposes the plan but eventually agrees. While enduring rapids, pests, and mud, the pair fall in love.
An Odd Couple Turns Heroic
Neither Rose Sayer and Charlie Allnut nor Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart are a likely pair. This is the only film that paired the independent Bryn Mawr actress with the slurred-speech, heavy-drinking tough guy, perhaps because they were as unlikely a couple as these characters. Rose is a proper Englishwoman, who accompanied her missionary brother because she was unmarried; Charlie is a rough sailor who guzzles gin and fends for himself. Despite their differences, we can’t help loving this pair.
These two characters find strength together that they lack separately. Charlie never would have formulated the plan alone, knowing the danger, and Rose lacked the knowledge and experience to execute the plan alone. Together, they have enough resourcefulness, bravery, and stubbornness to succeed. Since they are so different, they supplement each other. Rose has fearless determination, and Charlie has clever ingenuity. Rose inspires Charlie to be clean, respectable, and selfless, and he teaches her to enjoy life and acknowledge her feelings.
These characters are not typical adventure-film heroes: athletic, fearless youths setting out to conquer. They are middle-aged strangers united by chance. Rather than just surviving, they risk their lives to aid the Allies’ efforts.
These characters are inspiring because they show that you don’t have to be a predictable hero to be heroic: Anyone, when circumstances require it, can find the bravery and strength to fight for right.
An African Adventure
Africa’s flora and fauna provide this drama’s background through Technicolor footage of “the dark continent.” Although filmmakers frequently created backlot jungles, director John Huston insisted on shooting this film in Uganda and the Belgian Congo. When the cast and crew settled into a makeshift camp in Ponthierville (now Kindu), they began an unforgettable adventure.
During production, the film crew suffered plague-like ordeals straight out of the story, including wild animals, insects, torrential rains, and unbearable heat. Also, the contaminated water made everyone except whiskey-drinkers John Huston and Humphrey Bogart severely sick. Add to that the challenge of communicating with natives needed as extras, who mistook the filmmakers for cannibals! Nevertheless, Katharine Hepburn loved the experience, finding Africa “utterly divine.”
A Dramatic Introduction
Modern viewers—even those who aren’t already classic film fans—can enjoy “The African Queen.” First, it was filmed as a period piece (World War I), and so all historical references are explained; old films set contemporaneously can sometimes include vague references to current events that might be unknown to audiences today. Second, it’s in clear, vivid color, for eyes unfamiliar with black and white. Third, the exotic setting gives it a stark realism, which some classic films lack. There is no “Hollywood glamor” here.
This movie succeeded because the actors brought the moving story of C.S. Forester’s novel to life. Hepburn’s performance earned her a fifth Academy Award nomination, and Bogart’s won his only Oscar.
“The African Queen” was released almost 70 years ago, but it is as exciting, emotional, and humorous now as in 1952. Its inspiring message of heroism from an unlikely couple in unusual circumstances is always pertinent. If you enjoy adventure dramas, this may be the movie to make you a Code film fan!
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