Is It Worth the Watch?

Rewatching director John Huston’s 1951 masterpiece, The African Queen, which I hadn’t seen in a very long time, I discovered it not only holds up, but looks like it could have been filmed yesterday. Almost nothing about it feels creaky, not the production design nor the story-telling, and certainly not the acting. 

Set during World War I, a female missionary in Africa is the sole survivor of a German mercenary ambush. She is whisked down a river by a coarse and crude steamboat mechanic who is pressured into the dangerous assignment of ferrying her to safety. Along the way they argue, shoot the rapids, and, eventually, figure out a plan to strike back at the German Navy.

This film boasts excellent, exciting direction, funny and thrilling writing, and unbelievably good performances from stars Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart (who deservedly won the Best Actor Oscar – his only win).

A 2009 restoration makes every frame shimmer. It’s just terrific.

Is It Worth The Watch? One of the truly great adventure films of all time. Honestly, just one of the truly great films of all time.

1951

105 minutes

Starring – Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn, Robert Morley, Peter Bull, Walter Gotell, Richard Marner, Theodore Bikel

Director – John Huston

Screenplay – John Huston, James Agee, Peter Viertel, John Collier