Teringer
An Exercise In Nonsense
AshUnow
This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
Janae Milner
Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.
Calum Hutton
It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...
pdortic
Bogart and Hepburn are an unstoppable duo in this movie. Most movies that are based off of books never seem to live up to the title, but his film by John Huston should make C.S. Forester proud. These two opposing characters create an interesting story line as they travel down a river in Africa. One character who is prim and proper juxtaposed to one that is unclean and unshaven make the picture automatically appealing. The viewer is entranced and wants to know how the relationship between these to characters will play out. I won't give any hints, but you should find out for yourself how it ends.
seeleyal
I must say, I found this movie to be less than impressive. It was a good watch but I definitely doubt that I would be watching it again. Certainly, the acting from Bogart and Hepburn is great. They do a good job of making Charlie and Rosie believable and realistic characters. However, despite how good their acting is the love story is very stiff and seems to be a long stretch, almost as if it's being forced. The cinematography is fantastic however. I watched the Netflix version so it may be retouched but the colors and quality were fantastic. The high contrast between the bright greens of the scenery and the dark browns and grays of the boat, Charlie, and Rosie make for a beautiful setting. It emphasizes how much Charlie and Rosie stick out/don't belong in the African wilderness. I also appreciate that the sound (specifically dialogue) isn't drowned out by the non deigetic background music. You can hear both of them clearly without interfering with each other too much.
inemjaso
The African Queen is a well paced romantic comedy, reminiscent of the screwball style of the 1930s and 40s. The stars are well, the biggest names in Hollywood during this period. The coolest guy in the world Humphrey Bogart and greatest classic actress Katharine Hepburn collaborate in a mismatched journey out of German East Africa at the onset of World War I. The working class boat driver Charlie Alnutt, played by Bogart, contrasts in a screwball way with Hepburn's Rose Sayer, a member of the British elite. This movie has an amazing score and the music often directs the emotional dynamism in the film. In addition to the noteworthy music, no surprise in the 1950s, this film employs a lot of continuity editing. One primary example of this is when The African Queen, the actual boat on which Bogart and Hepburn are traveling, goes over a massive drop and is damaged severely. The following scene shows the pair draining the boat of water followed by a cut with continuity editing, showing the boat empty of water. Like all screwball comedies, the pair ends up together in the end despite mild turbulence. Overall, this film is a witty and fun ride through the African wilderness with two of American cinema's greatest treasures.
oOoBarracuda
Humphrey Bogart, being the star that he was, often got to work with the most elite co-stars and the most prolific directors. The African Queen is a mixture of both of those privileges. Starring alongside Katharine Hepburn and being directed by John Huston, The African Queen won a well-deserved Best Actor Oscar for Humphrey Bogart. The 1951 film shows a Reverand and his sister who suddenly find themselves in hostile territory when news reaches the East African village they are working in that World War I has broken out. Unexpected relationships must be formed in order to ensure survival, and such a tale was made to be shown from John Huston's lens.Brother and sister, Reverend Samuel (Robert Morley) and Miss Rose Sayer (Katharine Hepburn) are missionaries from Britain currently in Africa. When a passive boat captain Charlie Allnut (Humphrey Bogart) shares with the Reverend and his bossy, sure-of-herself sister that war has broken out involving Britain, they become instantly fearful realizing they are now in hostile territory. Charlie, who spends most of his time sailing and drinking, is disinterested and is unaware of what this news means. Charlie is very different from the missionaries and the two don't care for him too much, making things all the more interesting when Rose becomes dependent upon Charlie for her very survival. Charlie and Rose must escape the ravaged country, and their only option is to use Charlie's dilapidated boat The African Queen. They don't just have to be wary of the Germans who are infiltrating Africa but they also have to be wary of the dangers of the river. What may be most difficult to overcome is the extreme differences between the two. They have vastly different ideas on how to achieve their mission and have incredibly different ways on how to spend their downtime. Rose likes to take care of business and read while drinking tea, Charlie likes to drink his days away sailing mindlessly on his boat. Sharing a 30 ft. boat and enduring life-threatening situations, the two eventually become endeared to each other and embrace the need to protect each other. The pair eventually realizes that they are all they have, and they wouldn't have it any other way.Well, hello Bogie, in glorious technicolor! I had forgotten since my last viewing that The African Queen was shot in technicolor, so seeing that was a nice surprise, although black and white Bogie is just as fun, if not more so. There seemed to be a nice homage to the famous Frank Capra film of 1934, It Happened One Night. The great scene in which they take a bath in separate sections of the water leading to the two returning to the boat with Rose insisting that Charlie looks away while she enters the boat. When she is dressing and preparing for bed, Rose puts up a sheet reminiscent of Claudette Colbert creating the divide in the bedroom between she and Clark Gable shared in It Happened One Night. Whether or not this was intentional, it appears as a fun homage. Hepburn and Bogart shared amazing chemistry. As their relationship deepened, it was fun to see the effects they had on each other as their personalities changed. During the scene in which they discover that Charlie's body is covered in leeches, it is clear that the two have developed profound feelings towards each other and they do not merely tolerate each other like they once did, but that they feel deeply towards each other.The "Humphrey Bogart eyes" moment in The African Queen came after the proper British Christian missionary dumps the rough and tumble unkempt Charlie's gin into the water. After he gets over his drunkenness and realizes that Rose is angry at him for his behavior and overindulgence, Charlie begins to adapt to Rose's sensibilities. Charlie shaves clean the boat and does his best to impress and work back to the good side of Rose. Charlie is doing his absolute best and still being ignored by Rose. This scene speaks volumes, to me, because it shows just how much the two have grown dependent upon each other. In very different ways, they have lived lonely lives and having someone with them sharing the day-to-day is something they both have grown accustomed to. The desperation on his face is a feat only Bogie could master gifting audiences with the most wonderful "Humphrey Bogart eyes" moment in the film. The African Queen is a wonderful display of chemistry between two cinematic greats, by the master John Huston, resulting in a complete joy of a film for audiences everywhere.