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The African Queen, by C. S. ForesterForester is now mostly remembered for his Horatio Hornblower sea adventures. However, his novel The African Queen, filmed in 1951 by John Huston with stars Bogart and Hepburn, is very well worth The setting is German Central Africa in the year 1914. At the outbreak of hostilities in Europe, the local German commander has rounded up the local natives and as a consequence closed the Christian mission run by the Reverend Samuel Sayer. The Reverend dies and his spinster sister, Rose Sayer, are left on her own. When cockney Charlie Allnutt comes to visit the mission, he helps her bury his brother. Then the two of them sets out to go down the treacherous and wild Ulanga River in Charlie’s little steam engine launch, The African Queen. Rose wants to contribute to the British cause by torpedoing the German police steamer, Konigin Luise, which is the only ship of any size in the region and so completely dominates Lake Wittelsbach, the lake far down at the end of the Ulanga River. Getting the African Queen down to the lake is more or less impossible. The journey by river has only been done once, by a man riding down the rapids in a canoe. The wild journey sees them facing the guns of a local fort, treacherous currents, raging rapids, insects, unfriendly leeches, malaria, near impenetrable vegetation, and a host of mechanical challenges. Rose and Allnutt, of course, eventually fall in love. And they reach the lake. The African Queen is a very good book. A strange but great plot, basically two very different people more or less forced together by necessity, total strangers, setting out on a mission, fighting together against nature and gradually developing a relationship to one another. Very exciting, very interesting and very entertaining. C. S. Forester deserves to be remembered for this one as well!
Links to C. S. Forester's books at amazon US
 , amazon UK , amazon CAN , and at Bokkilden and Haugenbok. The African Queen (1951), DVDTime to buy a Kindle 2?
This story of adventure and romance, based on New York Times in its review of this movie, wrote: "Whether C. S. Forester had his salty British tongue in his cheek when he wrote his extravagant story of romance and adventure, "The African Queen," we wouldn't be able to tell you. But it is obvious—to us, at least—that Director John Huston was larking when he turned the novel into a film. The movie is entertaining, visually interesting, has great acting by wonderfully talented actors and tells a strange and intruiging story with lots of warmth, humor and compassion. What more do you want? |
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remembering as well.
C. S. Forester’s novel, experienced by a couple in Africa just as World War I got underway, is an engrossing motion picture. Just offbeat enough in story, locale and star teaming of Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn to stimulate the imagination. It is still a very worthwhile picture to view, and also one that really displays the star qualities of the main characters. Actually, it is one of the best movies Humprey Bogart ever made. As well, it is a picture with considerable warmth. And there is plenty of African wildlife.
