The African Queen review

 Number 348 on the top 1000 films of all time is John Huston's 1951 adventure film 'The African Queen.

Charlie Allnut (Humphrey Bogart) is the alcoholic captain of the steamboat: 'The African Queen' who delivers mail and supplies to a Methodist mission in 1914 German East Africa. The mission is manned by brother and sister Samuel (Robert Morley) and Rosemary (Katherine Hepburn.) When WW1 breaks out, German colonial troops conscript the African natives and kill Samuel in the chaos. Rosemary urges Charlie to use the African Queen to attack a German gunship.

If you think this film sounds similar to the iconic 1942 Casablanca, you would be right. Both films star Humphrey Bogart as an alcoholic rogue who only looks out for himself. This is despite the protests of the attractive female lead urging him to take a side in the wider-world conflict. Swap Morocco for Tanzania and Ingrid Bergman for Katherine Hepburn and you basically have the same film.

However, the biggest similarity is that The African Queen is just as good and iconic, if not more, than Casablanca. A lot of this comes down to the chemistry between Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn. It is undeniable that both of them were titans of the acting industry - it's difficult to think of two actors more emblematic of the Golden Age of Hollywood. They were brilliant together. Unlike other female leads, like Ingrid Bergman, who disliked Bogart, and Audrey Hepburn, who was disliked by Bogart, Katherine Hepburn was every bit his equal. 

Katherine Hepburn was well-known for her fiery, outspoken demeanour which made her the perfect match for the cynical Charlie Allnut. She brought a great firecracker energy to her role as Rosemary Sayer, but also portrayed a soft, sensitive side for when her brother was killed. Yet she is also persuasive enough to convince the old, gnarled cinnamon-bun Allnut to jump down from the fence and pick a side. The two of them soon develop a romance. And, unlike other films, I could totally believe the two characters being together.

True, I'm not sure how much Hepburn got on with Bogart off-set - reportedly, she made a point about only drinking water after being appalled at seeing how much whisky old Bogey and director John Huston were drinking, but the two of them were great on-screen. Bogart earned his only Oscar for this performance, but I would argue that Hepburn truly earned her Oscar nomination as well. 

The African Queen was mainly filmed in Uganda or, what was, the Belgian Congo, and it looked brilliant. The cinematography was great. John Huston made a terrific film that blended humour, tragedy and important ideas about standing up and fighting for what was right. It also didn't hurt that you had the excellent pairing of Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn.