The African Queen
In Africa during WW1, a gin-swilling riverboat owner/captain is persuaded by a strait-laced missionary to use his boat to attack an enemy warship.
- Director:John Huston
- Genre:Adventure | Drama | Romance | War
- Runtime:105 minutes
Cast
Humphrey Bogart : Charlie Allnut
Katharine Hepburn : Rose Sayer
Robert Morley : Rev. Samuel Sayer
Peter Bull : Captain of Louisa
Theodore Bikel : First Officer
Robert Morley and Katharine Hepburn play Samuel and Rose Sayer, brother and sister British Methodist missionaries in a village in German East Africa in 1914 during World War I. Their mail and supplies are delivered by the rough-and-ready Canadian boat captain Charlie Allnut (Humphrey Bogart) of the African Queen, whose coarse behavior they tolerate in a rather stiff manner.
When Charlie warns them that war has broken out between Germany and Britain, the Sayers choose to stay on, only to witness the Germans burning down the mission village and herd the villagers away. When Samuel protests, he is beaten by a German soldier. After the Germans leave, Samuel becomes delirious with fever and soon dies. Charlie returns shortly afterward. He helps Rose bury her brother, and they set off in the African Queen.
In discussing their situation, Charlie mentions to Rose that the Germans have a gunboat, the Louisa, which patrols a large lake downriver, effectively blocking any British counter-attacks. Rose comes up with a plan to convert the Queen into a torpedo boat, and sink the Louisa. Charlie points out that navigating the river would be suicidal: to reach the lake they would have to pass a German fort and negotiate several dangerous rapids. But Rose is insistent and eventually persuades him to go along with the plan.
Charlie hoped after passing the first obstacle that Rose would be discouraged, but she is confident they can handle what is yet to come, and argues that Charlie promised to go all the way.
During their journey down the river, Charlie, Rose and the African Queen encounter many obstacles, including a German fortress perched on a hilltop near the river (with native Askari shooting at them) and three sets of rapids. The first set of rapids is rather easy; they get through with minimal flooding in the boat. But Rose and Charlie have to duck down when they pass the fortress and the soldiers begin shooting at them, blowing two bullet holes in the top of the boiler and causing one of the steam pressure hoses to disconnect from the boiler, which in turn, causes the boat’s engine to stop running. Luckily, Charlie manages to reattach the hose to the boiler just as they are about to enter the second set of rapids. The boat rolls and pitches crazily as it goes down the rapids, leading to more severe flooding in the boat and also collapsing the stern canopy. Read more
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