The African Queen (DVD)

Katherine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart get together in this 1951 classic film to provide drama, adventure, humour and romance. (Romance of the old 1950's kind, of course, so no steamy bits.) This makes The African Queen suitable for all the family from young ones right through tour granny and maiden aunt. The tale is based on C.S. Forrester's novel which is set in central Africa during world war one. Rose Katherine Hepburn) is a missionary and spinster who has to leave her mission and get out of the area after the Germans take over the town. Along comes Charlie (Humphrey Bogart) who agrees to take her down river in his clapped out steam boat, The ...  Read the complete review

(film only review) I’ve seen the film African Queen three times - in the course of 45 years! Enough time passed between the different viewings to forget the details but not enough to forget the gist of the plot. It’s not difficult to remember, though, it’s not complicated and has no twists. The setting is German East Africa, the year 1914, the opening scene takes us to a tiny hamlet of straw covered mud huts, the only stone building is the Methodist church in which the stuffy English missionary Rev. Samuel Sayer (Robert Morley) conducts the singing(?) of the native half naked congregation while a woman (Katherine Hepburn), his sister Rose as we’ll ...  Read the complete review

It is the First World War and in the German area of South Africa Rose Sayer is living with her minister Brother, but soon the German army arrives and burns down their town leaving the brother and Rose on their own. The minister soon goes mad and then dies, leaving Rose alone. Soon river trader Charlie Allnut arrives with post and supplies but when he finds out the minister is dead he takes Rose away with him on his boat, The African Queen. Rose and Charlie soon get to grips with living on the boat and Rose comes up with a plan to her the English defeat the Germans. She thinks that if she can sink the Louisa, a massive German war ship with is stopping the ...  Read the complete review

I just watched this. I don't know why, as it's not the sort of thing I would usually go for, but I'm glad I did. It won Bogart a well deserved Oscar and is visually stunning. The biggest appeal is that it relies heavily on Bogart and his co star Katherine Hepburn. Both stars are brilliant. The film opens with a deadly assault on a mission somewhere in German occupied Africa during the war, with Hepburn playing the missionary who is forced to team up with alcoholic river trader Bogart. The two of them forge an unlikely friendship which blossoms as they navigate their way initially to safety, and then entertain thoughts of sinking a German warship armed only ...  Read the complete review

The African Queen was yet another of the films always in the top 50 best and again another Humphrey Bogart film but very different from Casablanca, he is not as posh. I just saw this on the TV last week and it is quite a long film and although not a film that is really exciting that keeps you in suspense it still has a good storyline but I doubt I would have placed it in my top 50 best ever films. To begin, this film has nothing to do with a Queen from Africa but a boat named the African Queen. This story begins in Africa during the First World War when a missionary is helping the African people, played by Katherine Hepburn and captain of the boat, alcoholic ...  Read the complete review