The African Queen

The African Queen (1951) is set in Africa at the start of the First World War. The Germans burn a mission, the missionary's sister Rose is left alone, and she escapes with Charlie Allnut, a drunk who runs a boat on the river. Rose has a plan: turn the little launch into a torpedo and sink a German warship. It was shot in Africa, which was unusual for 1950. The unit assembled that December and filmed at Lake Albert in Uganda and at Ubundu in the Belgian Congo. The cast and crew endured illness and very hard living conditions. Bogart told a story about it for years: the only two who did not get sick were him and John Huston, because they drank whisky rather than the water. Katharine Hepburn wrote a book about the shoot and her account does not support his. She was so ill during the scene at the church organ that a bucket was placed off camera for her to vomit into between takes. Bogart won the only Oscar of his career for it. Huston and Hepburn were both nominated. It cost a million dollars and grossed around 10.75 million worldwide. It runs 105 minutes. Good for: classic adventure, two hander films, and Bogart and Hepburn. Less good for: the film's view of Africa and of local people is entirely the colonial view of its period, with African characters as scenery. Some of the river work was done in a studio and it shows.