Academy Award for Best Actor. Nominated for 3 others.
directed by John Huston
starring Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn, Robert Morley
In all seriousness, though, the script changes leave plenty of room for an entertaining story, and Bogart's presence allows for fun chemistry between his (now Canadian) boat captain and Katharine Hepburn's leading lady. It's a romantic comedy with a twist, a collision of personalities that occurs just as a collision of nations begins in the lead-up to World War I.
Our heroes' unconventional journey begins when Germany invades the African town that missionary Rose Sayer lives in, killing her brother and leaving her defenseless. She and supplier/mailman Charlie Allnut decide to flee in his small boat, the titular African Queen, employing a far-fecthed plan to torpedo the German ship that guards downriver. Hijinks ensue.
Their banter is entertaining, but nothing groundbreaking; the moment that caught my interest was Rose's reaction after the first set of rapids. Charlie was hoping that this run-in with danger would encourage her to abandon the hazardous scheme, but the experience leaves her face aglow with excitement. She demands that he prepare her to steer through the next one, overcome with a mixture of adventurous ambition and sheer adrenaline.
Despite the very real danger of their situation - Germans are the least of their worries when confronted with leeches, mosquitoes, sickness and entrapment - the film segues into romance rather light-heartedly, complete with last-minute marriage and a happy resolution courtesy of a Deus Ex Machina. (Did the Germans not manage to swim to safety as well, or did they all just have rapid, explosion-induced changes of heart?)
But Bogart and Hepburn seem to be having fun, so we do, too. At least, on camera - as most of the film was actually shot on location in Uganda and the Congo, I can only imagine that the production felt a bit like the African Queen's rickety journey itself.
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