LIKE SO many of John Huston’s films, The African Queen (1951) is a study in courage. Set in German East Africa at the outbreak of the Great War, the film tells the story of two British subjects who defy incredible odds to defend their country. Navigating a beautiful but treacherous river in a small steamboat, Rose Sayer and Charlie Allnut test the limits of human endurance. They must overcome violent rapids, fierce storms, and a German militia ready to blow them out of the water.
Based on the novel by C S Forester, The African Queen is a highly enjoyable adventure story. Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart, in their only movie together, star as two unlikely heroes. Both received Academy Award nominations for their performances, with Bogart winning the sole Oscar of his career. The film is distinguished by stunning photography, a classic film score, and a tight script by Huston and James Agee. It is ranked 17th in the American Film Institute’s top 100 films.
The African Queen is more than a thrilling adventure story and middle-aged romance. The film offers a compelling portrait of a man and woman who by their love for each other and a commitment to higher ideals raise each other to levels of greatness they could not have achieved on their own. It is a fascinating portrayal of the complementarity of the sexes and, as such, not a film that could be easily made today. Charlie and Rose are two ordinary people transformed into heroes. While the story is at times fantastic, it is largely believable. Both figures rise above their human nature to achieve what they thought was impossible. They do so not by their own agency but by their love for each other and co-operation with God’s grace. On a philosophical level, the film offers a powerful portrait of the way selfless love can transcend human logic and understanding and thereby raise humans to new levels of excellence and happiness.
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A Canadian expatriate working for a Belgian mining company, Charlie Allnut transports goods up and down the Ulanga River in East Africa. Our first impression of him comes when he brings mail to the village Methodist mission led by Reverend Samuel Sayer and his sister Rose. He enjoys tea with the two missionaries as they catch up on news from home.
Though eager to show good manners, the dirty and unshaven guest struggles to contain the rumblings of his stomach. ‘Ain’t a thing I can do about it,’ laughs Charlie to his embarrassed hosts. As he takes his leave, Charlie alarms the clergyman and his sister with the news that war has broken out between England and Germany. Unable to provide many details, Charlie informs them that the Germans will be preventing mail from getting through in the future. Sayer is indignant that Charlie should be so indifferent to the war and, once the visitor is gone, he and his sister get on their knees to pray.
The next time we see Charlie, Miss Sayer is alone. The Germans have burnt the village and taken all the inhabitants. Her brother, traumatised by the event, has recently died of illness. Rose sits in a state of shock, without purpose or support. Charlie kindly takes her aboard his riverboat, intending to take her to safety.
Charlie is proud of the African Queen, a thirty-foot wood-fuelled steamer. The boat is well stocked with canned food, gin, cigarettes, and mine explosives. While the boat lacks even the meagre comforts of the mission, Charlie is confident the two can live comfortably until the war is over. For him, the war appears but a minor interruption to his routine of steaming up and down the river.
For Rose, in contrast, the war has made a profound impression. Not only does she share the patriotic fervour of her departed brother, she is righteously angry about his death and the destruction of the village. Despite the fact that the Germans stand between them and the British, she has no intention of sitting the war out. Charlie explains that they are stuck where they are: rapids, a German fort, and a massive gunboat called the Luise make reaching the British impossible. Rose is unmoved. If some German named Spengler could get down the river in a dug-out canoe, then so can they. What’s more, she wants to rig the boat into a torpedo, using the explosives and canisters onboard, and take out the German gunboat monitoring the lake which is their destination. Charlie thinks she is crazy but when reproached for cowardice and disloyalty, concedes to her. ‘Have it your own way. But don’t blame me for what happens.’
The presence of a lady on board is a novelty for Charlie, who has never seen the need to make his boat attractive to guests. While he is undeniably proud of the African Queen, his pleasure comes from his knowledge of the ship in its crude functionality. When the steam pump gets clogged, a frequent problem since a deckhand dropped a screwdriver into it, he gives it a few kicks to set it right. Rose asks why he does not fix it properly. He intends to, Charlie says, but he has grown fond of kicking it.
When the ship survives a treacherous section of rapids, Charlie is convinced that his passenger has had enough of her adventure. To his great disappointment, she is only more emboldened, declaring that she has never before experienced such a physical thrill. Astonished and frightened that Rose remains fixed on destroying the Luise, Charlie decides to drink his troubles away. His teetotal companion, unused to people drinking in her presence, is horrified.
The next morning Charlie wakes with a splitting hangover. To his anger and astonishment, Rose is in the midst of pouring away his liquor supply. Charlie protests vehemently, indignant that his passenger should seize what is indisputably his property. Despite the strength of his case, and his superior strength, he watches helplessly as she disposes of bottle after bottle.
Whenever I watch this scene I am offended by Rose’s presumption and Charlie’s passivity. This woman has not been on the ship for two days before she asserts her command over Charlie’s property. She, his guest and beneficiary, who would have been dead or a prisoner of the Germans if not for Charlie, has destroyed one of his most precious pieces of cargo. And Charlie merely watches it happen. Why?
This scene marks a turning point in the movie. Charlie’s inaction, while maddening to the viewer, is pregnant with meaning. First of all, it appears that Charlie, despite appearances, has a moral sense that respects Rose’s authority. Additionally, Charlie’s resignation hints at a blossoming love for Rose and a corresponding fear of offending her.
The next scene confirms these suspicions when, free of his hangover, Charlie shaves for what must be the first time in ages. He has also made some effort to clean the engine inside and out. He appears a new man, accepting of his loss and even grateful for the changes instituted by his unexpected companion. He declares how pleasant it is to have a woman on board with ‘clean habits’. But Charlie’s attempts to make small talk fall on deaf ears. Rose cruelly ignores him, inflicting a pain worse than any hangover.
At first Charlie thinks he is being punished for his insobriety. ‘It’s only human nature,’ he cries. ‘Nature,’ replies the missionary, ‘is what we are put into this world to rise above.’ But it is not Charlie’s drunkenness that offends Rose. What she cannot tolerate is his betrayal of his word. Charlie had promised to take her to destroy the German gunboat but now he refuses to go on. He is at once a liar and a coward and she will have nothing to do with him. Charlie cannot bear the silence. Against his better judgement, he agrees to go on.
