The African Queen (1951)
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. (imdb)
Cast and Information
Directed By: John Huston
Written By: John Huston, C.S. Forester, James Agee
Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Robert Morley, Katharine Hepburn, Theodore Bikel, Walter Gotell, Peter Bull, Errol John, Richard Marner, Peter Swanwick
Genres: Romance, Drama, Adventure, War
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The African Queen belongs to 69 collections
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Browse the full list of collections
| Stars | User | Rating | |
| 5 |  |
Mentaculus | 74 61st |
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"By ze authority vested in me by Kaiser Villiam II, I pronounce you man and vife. Proceed vith ze execution."
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| 4 | DuaneNeitzel | 95 93rd |
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Two people as different as differnt can be; ride the African Queen down the river and out of the jungle while battling the boat, the elements, the Germans, and their disperate views of life. A great adventure.
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| 4 |  |
Jeb | 80 64th |
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Pure, simplistic and absolutely tremendous, The African Queen is an uproarious otherwise a bit stale film if not for Bogart and Hepburn's enthusiastic performances. Huston provides a decent catalogue of amazing shots of the river and surroundings, and he manages to hold it all together. Classic and stand-out comedy.
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| 3 |  |
twincinema | 75 64th |
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It's an amazing testament to Bogart and Hepburn's acting abilities that this film works as well as it does. It's literally the two of them taking a boat cruise down an African river. Sure, there's some hiccups along the way, but it never feels that tense.
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| 3 |  |
Barthalen | 66 46th |
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The soundtrack feels a bit inappropriate at times and the story bogs down quite a bit after a strong start. Still, a delightfully grubby Bogart and slowly defrosting ice queen Hepburn save the film from becoming a slog.
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| 2 |  |
eveelun | 84 90th |
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Fun, pure and simple. Bogart is, of course, awfully charming and funny, but Hepburn also holds her own with her prim and restrained demeanor that eventually melts into enthusiasm. Huston does a great job with the pacing and the river shots, which makes this adventure film stand out.
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| 2 |  |
Moribunny | 38 23rd |
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Nice to see a bit of on-location Africa in technicolor (though some boat scenes are overlays), but otherwise, the flagship of industrial romance adventures gives me very little joy or excitement. It's extremely corny, and I find Bogart and Hepburn vapid and unlikable.
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| 2 |  |
frederic_g54 | 7 57th |
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"Ze penalty for not answering to zis court is death by hanging" - "Who Cares ?" Haha. Bogie's charismatic presence as the gin-swilling Allnut, smt I would've gladly paid to see back then, kept my attention throughout and even though it's weighed down by romantic bits which felt completely forced, TAQ is an enjoyable adventurous tale, obviously flawed, yet altogether lovable and better than similar subsequent films it has heavily influenced. It's hard to imagine some people hating this film.
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| 2 |  |
vesupria | 6 61st |
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The on-screen tension and emotion between Hepburn and Bogart is first class, and almost the best I've seen in terms of romantic cinema roles for these two. Generally Bogart's love interests are secondary to the plot, but here it fits into the adventure perfectly and the way that Hepburn and himself really got into their roles made this into a good film. The plot is arguably cheesy, unrealistic and full of holes, but that I found was part of the fun, and indeed its charm.
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| 2 |  |
Freder | 90 86th |
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Bogart and Hepburn are worth more than a million special effects.
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| 2 |  |
paulofilmo | 67 32nd |
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Really silly then really sweet. : )
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| 2 |  |
Ocelot | 55 45th |
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A goofy little movie that leaves me perplexed by its reputation. The film feels like an excuse to put its stars together, and despite some solid chemistry and decent humor, the entire escapade feels unjustified. I don't know if the public of 1951 couldn't handle any narrative hook that wasn't a love story, but I don't think it particularly works here, especially as there's nothing really romantic of the two falling in love for no other reason than solidarity. Breezy, but forgettable.
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| 2 |  |
afx237vi | 60 52nd |
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A light-hearted mixture of adventure and romance. The pacing is brisk, the action comes thick and fast, and both Hepburn and Bogart are as good as they always are. Bogey in particular gives an amusingly shambolic performance; you can virtually smell the gin and BO coming out of your TV screen. That said, the romance does feel a little contrived, and it gets a tad silly here and there. It's fun, but not as great as I expected it to be.
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| 2 |  |
bof | 65 50th |
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For a film that's essentially just Bogart and Hepburn alone together on a boat, I'd expected a lot more... I dunno, pizzazz. Despite their best efforts, it veers back and forth between colonialist tourist brochure ("Nobody's ever seen this flower before!"), serial war adventure and cheesy romance as abruptly as the scene shifts from live action to miniature boats bobbing around in a creek behind John Huston's house.
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| 1 |  |
MartinTeller | 75 54th |
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An entertaining adventure tale, good but not great. The pacing and plotting are spot on, but Huston's direction lacks distinction. Nothing makes this movie shine, and even Cardiff's Technicolor photography is a bit lifeless. Bogart and Hepburn give charismatic performances, but one wishes there was more spark between them. The romance definitely feels forced, and I didn't buy it until the very end. Nonetheless, it's an enjoyable tale.
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| 1 | SMT501 | 96 97th |
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A classic in every sense. Fantastic performances and great dialog.
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| 1 |  |
Pickpocket | 1 12th |
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This is one of the corniest movies I've ever seen. Just watch the scene where Bogart imitates a hippo and you will see what I mean, so damn corny. I didn't believe that they were in love for a second either, it felt so forced. The plot was awful and I barely even remember what happened despite seeing it 5 minutes ago. The amount of praise this film has received is ridiculous, it's amazing what kind of acclaim a film can get for simply having famous actors/director despite being corny as shit
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| 1 |  |
PeaceAnarchy | 83 72nd |
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Bogart and Hepburn do something few others could do, carry a movie almost entirely on their backs with excellent performances. Their constantly shifting dynamic is captivating and the events in the film are really only relevant in how they affect that dynamic.
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| 1 | jeg2 | 90 98th |
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Most enjoyable two hours I ever spent stuck in a jungle. Everything was left to the two characters, and they did it all to perfection.
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| 1 |  |
Anomaly | 79 72nd |
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I must say there are a few things in here that are beyond cheesy, mostly related to the terrible special effects (those mosquitos!) A few times I cracked up like I was watching a terrible B-movie, which didn't do anything good for the mood. But where this works is Bogart and Hepburn - their acting is so damn great, and their relationship so sweet, that I can forgive a few problems here and there. And from the river reeds scenes to the end is just outright excellent, ending on a high note.
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| 1 |  |
msprague | 70 61st |
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Pretty good stuff. Love the cast.
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| 1 |  |
individual | 100 83rd |
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Right from the start, Huston insisted this is not going to be just another cardboard decorated studio feature. Ranked by the American Film Institute in 2007 as the 65 greatest movie of all time, The African Queen had to be made on location, where real crocodiles and leaches eat real people. Don't miss this one. More of this review
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| 1 |  |
bellamyr | 86 78th |
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Brilliantly powerful mix of romance, World War two, drama and a decent dose of comedy thrown in to the mix. Dynamic and very strong performances. A powerful story and the pace is fast enough to move the plot along and not too fast for character development.
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| 1 |  |
Luna6ix | 83 83rd |
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The first movie where I could actually see why Katherine Hepburn is held in such high regard. even at his age Bogart does a damn fine job and looks just as good as ever. The story is a little bit far-fetched but that doesn't take away from the movie. This is definitely a movie that belongs on as many best movie lists as it resides on.
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| 1 |  |
Molesworth | 60 20th |
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I love Hepburn and I love Bogart, but for some reason this movie drives me totally crazy. I don't like anything about it. Bogart looks very dirty and like he smells and Hepburn does her patented dry, clipped speech. It doesn't charm me, but lots of people love it.
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| 1 |  |
Hadleyreis | 72 58th |
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The only way to destroy the boat was with love.
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| 1 |  |
ewp805 | 80 72nd |
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Hasn't aged well, but Bogart and Hepburn's onscreen chemistry has stood the test of time.
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| 1 | Mechatigger | 100 91st |
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Huston's wonderful comedy-adventure is a timeless delight, thanks to the odd-couple casting of Bogart and Hepburn. Huston's direction is remarkably efficient, disguising the story's contrivances and allowing the two stars to shine.
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| 1 |  |
Seryxa | 75 82nd |
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Despite some unfortunate studio sets mixed in with real African footage achieved through great hardship by all concerned, this is one of those surprising films that really work, a splendidly successful mixture of comedy, character and adventure.
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| 1 |  |
billkerwin | 94 93rd |
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Bogart and Hepburn are great together, and the film is exciting too.
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| 1 |  |
Tjekhov | 50 40th |
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What's up with the fucked up background? Makes you wonder, what Apocalypse now would have looked like, had they chosen to do the same trick as in the African Queen - film three fourths in London with the actors, the rest in Africa without.
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| 1 |  |
Ununnilium | 69 55th |
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It's a good thing this is Hepburn and Bogart (and Huston), or the cheesiness of the romance and the miasma of colonialism would make this unbearable. But it is them, and they manage to bring us through with aplomb, wit, and intensity.
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| 1 |  |
ratedargh | 80 65th |
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"I've never tried shooting myself in the head, neither." The growth shown by both characters and how they are affected by one another is well handled. Nothing like a near death experience to make sparks fly! While it was probably necessary, the scenes in turbulent water where they were obviously on a soundstage, were distracting. It's a product of its time, sure, but it took away from the sense of danger. The scenes with the leeches, on the other hand, were much more effective.
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| 1 |  |
eCitizen | 70 70th |
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Humphrey Bogart is the captain of a small steam boat. He rescues Katharine Hepburn. Their perilous journey down the river is full of rich African scenery. Their goal is to destroy the German gunship patrolling a lake. The details are not always convincing or believable. Bogart's role often seemed stunted and Hepburn's character pretentious. The love story was rather poorly developed, but the movie is well made and is worth watching and entertaining.
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| 1 |  |
nobamba | 50 45th |
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I don't get it. It's not a bad movie, but there's not much going on here after an interesting opening. Hepburn's character isn't likeable. Their romance jumped from strangers to lovers and then never really developed. We don't get other characters so the conflict is mostly vs nature, of which there are many more exciting jungle films. Bonus LOL for the poster which depicts a buff Bogart rescuing a Maureen O'Hara-like buxom redhead, Fav scene: Bogart kicking and explaining the cool steam engine.
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| 1 |  |
crowey | 90 93rd |
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Regardless of the plausibility, this is delightful. But it may even be somewhat plausible, albeit lucky. If he had brazing wire & sandpaper onboard, the weld possibly would have worked from what I can tell (haven't tried it, but after researching, it seems actually possible on a coal fire!). But nile crocs live in reeds, too, so that woulda been an issue. And how/when/why did they put holes in the side of the boat for their "missiles"? Def just for theatrics, not realistic. Love this, though!
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| Average Percentile 61.77% from 2332 Ratings |  |