"The African Queen

We get sun and water, gin and water, and all the rest of it too when we go adventuring In Africa with Bogart and Hepburn in "The African Queen." I haven't read C. S. Forester's novel, but a learned friend tells me that it had a happy ending and that really it is nothing but a good-natured fairy tale. A very disappointing subject for Director John Huston who with "Key Largo," "Red Badge of Courage" and "Treasure of Sierra Madre" has built up a reputatation as an intelligent tackier of solid stuff about conflicts of passions and wills. But on second thoughts a director is entitled to a light diversion, a holiday in Africa, once in a while, because after all a good comedy is just as much a work of art as any tragedy. That's providing, of course, that the director temporarily forgets his old style.

But Huston doesn't. It's not much to his credit that until just before the end I wasn't quite suite whether I was watching a high-adventure fantasy or a grimly-realistle story of conflicts. Because in fact we get two distinct types of treatment; at times there is a careful attention to-detail (with musical re-inforcements) so that we almost experience the hardships of "The African Queen's" crew; but at other times the mood becomes hilarious, with realism thrown overboard when there's plenty of room for it. I mean, if you are going to have the stuff you may as well be consistent and use it Every Time it's necessary. If you want a fairy tale don't use it at all. (Of course, realism does not exclude humour.)

But we must give credit where credit is due. Huston handles the local landscape and animals well and there's none of this "grafted documentary" appearance that we've seen too often lately. And from his players he extracts brilliant performances. (I've used that adjective a lot but I think I'm justified.) It's hard to choose between Bogart's gin-swilling ruffian and Katherine Hepburn's prim stifflace.