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A classic that never pales...
Some years ago, at the Earls Court Boat Show in London,
after chatting to a gentleman exhibiting the 9' boat in which he had crossed the Atlantic,
I was confronted with the wonderful sight of the 'African Queen'. The very
same vessel that had starred in the classic movie of the same name. Her American owner
seemed to be keeping her in a lot better condition than Charley Alnut had.
There wasn't a gin bottle in sight and the bullet holes had all been fixed!
In case you are wondering what I am talking about, I will
briefly outline the C. S. Forester story that was made into a movie, directed by John
Huston and starring the incomparable duo of Humphrey Bogart and Katherine
Hepburn.
The story tells of a rough-living captain, Charley Alnut (Humphrey Bogart),
with a penchant for Gordon's Gin and who meanders up and down an African river in his boat, the 'African Queen', delivering supplies and mail to the villages along the
way.
The film is set during World War I. Upon reaching a
mission,
Charley Alnut meets the Reverend Samuel Sayer (Robert Morley) and his spinster sister
Rose (Katherine Hepburn). When Charley returns from one of his trips he discovers
that the Reverand has been murdered by German soldiers. Alnut offers Rose a lift on the
idiosyncratic 'African Queen.' Rose warily accepts and they set off.
Once
under way, Rose persuades Charley that it is their duty to find, and ram, the German gunboat that patrols the lake
downstream. On their long and difficult journey Rose finds Charley a great
friend and maybe something more...to tell you more of the plot would be to
rob you...
I cannot tell you how many times I have seen and enjoyed this classic.
If you get the chance to see it, cancel everything and be spellbound.
Keith Robinson for MarineZine
Speaking of classics, whether old or more recent, one of the movies we have enjoyed most in recent years is
'A Walk In The Clouds' starring Keanu Reeves as Paul Sutton, a young man who makes friends with the pregnant Victoria Aragon
(played by Aitana Sanchez-Gijon) who has run away from home sooner than face her family with the news that she is expecting a baby without the benefit of
marriage.
The chivalrous Sutton suggests that he pose as her new husband and the couple are greeted with joy at the family
vineyard, The Clouds. This excellent film, directed by Alfonso Arau also stars Anthony Quinn and Giancarlo
Giannini, amongst other superb actors.
In the year that our Managing Editor was born, 1953, a movie called Titanic was
released. A movie by the same name was released in 1997. Both movies were,
obviously, about the famous sinking of the unsinkable ship 'Titanic' on her maiden voyage when she struck an iceberg and 2207 people died as a
result, in part, of the absence of sufficient lifeboats. The designers had decided that an unsinkable ship needed few lifeboats and the ship was far more pleasing to the eye without the full
complement.
Although both movies had their merits, the film on this subject that had the most impact on us was
'A Night To Remember', released in 1958 and shown many, many, times as a classic movie since
then.
This movie directed by Roy Ward Baker featured, along with a great number of other fine actors and
actresses, Honor Blackman, one of our favourite ladies of the film world of that era, as
Mrs.
Lucas. A Night To Remember won a Golden Globe Award, in the year of its
release, for best English-Language Foreign Film.
Do you have a handful of all-time favourite movies
readers may have missed out on in their travels? We'd love to hear about
them.
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