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Riding the Rapids With Hepburn, Bogart and Huston New York Times

19.03.10

With his 1951 cloud “The African Queen” John Huston revived two great Hollywood careers that had begun to deteriorate in the deglamorized years after World War II. Humphrey Bogart , who had starred in Huston’s first film as a director, “The Maltese Falcon,” was aging into somewhat fussy, middle-aged roles in which he had an annoying tendency to wear a bow tie and perform noble, civic-minded acts — noticeably unlike the cynical, insouciant wise guy he had played in the ’40s. And Katharine Hepburn had left the proto-feminist dazzle of her 1930s roles behind to play a series of righteous, suffering wives in a number of increasingly turgid MGM melodramas (the be offended at being the delightful “Adam’s Rib” of 1949, directed by her prewar co-conspirator George Cukor ).

Outline on a C. S. Forester novel that had been knocking around the studios since the ’30s, Huston cast Bogart as Charlie Allnut, the grease-stained, unshaven captain of the African Ruler, a small steam launch plying the river trade of German East Africa in 1914. Hepburn, her skin of one's teeth tied back and her neck held straight in a high Victorian collar, would be Rose Sayer, the spinster sister of a affected English missionary (Robert Morley) doing his best to bring the blessings of Methodism to a small village. When German troops devitalize the village and drive her brother into fatal shock, the fastidious Rose has no choice but to throw in with the gin-soaked Charlie, joining him on the sputtering rowing-boat to make their way downriver to Lake Tanganyika, where a German gunship awaits them.

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On DVD and Blu-ray for the first time, the restored 'African Queen' looks great San Jose Mercury News

27.03.10

With his 1951 cover "The African Queen" — released last Tuesday for the first time on DVD and Blu-ray — John Huston revived two vast Hollywood careers that had begun to flag.

Humphrey Bogart, who had starred in Huston's first film as a director, "The Maltese Falcon," was effective into middle-aged roles in which he had an annoying tendency to wear a bow tie and perform noble, civic-minded acts — undoubtedly unlike the cynical, insouciant wise guy he had played in the '40s.

And Katharine Hepburn had left behind the proto-feminist touch of her 1930s roles to play a series of righteous, suffering wives in a number of increasingly turgid MGM melodramas (the departure being the delightful "Adam's Rib" of 1949).

Drawing on a C.S. Forester novel that had been knocking around the studios since the '30s, Huston cast Bogart as Charlie Allnut, the grease-stained, unshaven captain of the African Monarch, a small steam launch plying the river trade of German East Africa (today's Congo) in 1914. Hepburn, her braids tied back and her neck held straight in a high Victorian collar, played Rose Sayer, the spinster sister of a bombastic English missionary (Robert Morley) doing his best to bring the blessings of Methodism to a small village. When German troops annihilate the village and drive her brother into fatal shock, the fastidious Rose has no choice but to throw in with the gin-soaked Charlie, joining him on the sputtering skiff to make their way down the river to Lake Tanganyika, where a German gunship awaits them.

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