Humphrey Rides the Rapids

The Reverend Samuel Sayer (Robert Morley) and his sister Rose (Katharine Hepburn) work as missionaries in Kungdu in German East Africa. When "jack of all trades, master of none" Charlie Allnut, skipper of The African Queen (1951) arrives with their mail, they discover that Britain is at war with Germany. Blithely believing that no war in Europe can affect them, they are stunned when German soldiers appear, kidnapping their parishioners, and burning down the village, church and all. The Reverend protests their treatment, and is struck on the head by a rifle butt; he becomes disoriented, and dies within a few day. When Charlie returns, he agrees to take Rose to safety. Only she has another idea - journey down the un-navigable river to Lake Tanganyika, and attack the German steamer Louisa.

We had the opportunity to see this wonderful film on a big screen as part of the ArcLight Presents series. A restoration of the technicolor film provided a glowing film, rich with the colors of Africa - for indeed The African Queen was filmed in Africa (for more on how the filming dealt with this on-location work, I suggest Katharine Hepburn's humorous account in The Making of the African Queen: Or How I Went to Africa With Bogart, Bacall and Huston and Almost Lost My Mind). But more than that, The African Queen is a pas de deux between Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart.

Though other actors appear in the film, notably Theodore Bikel as the First Officer on the Louisa and Robert Morley as Rose's pedantic brother, the bulk of the film centers on Rose and Charlie. There relationship starts as one of bare tolerance. Charlie finds the Sayers to be snobs, and Rose is revolted by Charlie's unkempt appearance and rumbling stomach. When circumstances force them together, Charlie is horrified at Rose's plan to attack the Germans (who wouldn't be!), and is convinced that a little bit of stress (like minor rapids) will convince this meek woman that her goals are impossible. But Hepburn's Rose is indomitable. "I never dreamed that any mere physical experience could be so stimulating," she marvels.

Katharine Hepburn credited the success of her performance to director John Huston. She first had a problem getting a handle on Rose. When  she spoke to Huston about it, he suggested that she pattern Rose after Eleanor Roosevelt (TCM article). One of my favorite lines in the film is delivered by Ms. Hepburn with pure Mrs. Roosevelt attitude - "Nature, Mr. Allnut, is what we are put in this world to rise above."

Hepburn was deservedly nominated for an Oscar for her performance (she lost to Vivien Leigh in A Streetcar Named Desire). John Huston and James Agee were also nominated for the screenplay (based on the C.S. Forester novel), and Huston was nominated for directing. Ms. Hepburn relates in her book that she found everything "divine" (that is, until members of the cast and crew started getting sick), much to Mr. Bogart's annoyance.

But the big winner of the night was Humphrey Bogart, finally winning his only Oscar (to great applause from the attendees that evening). Leaving toddler Stephen Bogart behind, Lauren Bacall ventured to Africa with her husband, who was allegedly miserable the whole time. (Bogart: In Search of My Father by Stephen Bogart and Gary Provost) However, he found some respite by teasing Ms. Hepburn - she (and her partner, Spencer Tracy) became fast friends with the Bogarts, and were among the last people to visit Mr. Bogart when he was dying of cancer. Mr. Bogart is amazing in the part - then again, he always is. He is able to grow the character and make it believable. The change in Charlie Allnut, from polite disregard of Rose, to abhorrence, to regard, to love, is so swift that, in the hands of a lesser actor, it would not be credible. With Bogart in charge, you buy it wholeheartedly.

Bogart would reprise his role for the Lux Radio Theatre in December 1952, with Greer Garson stepping in for Ms. Hepburn (AFI catalog). The film was added to the National Film Registry in 1994. It's also on multiple of the AFI lists: It was named #65 on AFI's 100 Years, 100 Movies, 10 Anniversary List (and #17 on the original list),  #14 on 100 Years, 100 Passions and #48 on 100 Years, 100 Cheers.

This is another film that you should run to see. Even on you television screen, it's an amazing film. We'll leave you with a trailer.
Trailer:

Humphrey Burns

The kickoff film for this year's TCM Presents was  The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), which celebrates its 70th Anniversary this year. Humphrey Bogart stars as Fred C. Dobbs, a down-on-his-luck American stuck in Tampico, Mexico. He's broke, it's next to impossible to get a job, so he spends his day hitting up an American tourist (John Huston) for food money ("Can you spot a fellow American to a meal?"). When he finally is able to get a job, it's from a cheat named Pat McCormick (Barton MacLane), who disappears without paying Dobbs and his friend, Curtin (Tim Holt). Curtin and Dobbs are eventually able to locate McCormick, and "persuade" him to give them their pay. Using that money, and $200 that Dobbs wins from the lottery, the pair and prospector Howard (Walter Huston) head out to the Mexican hills to find gold. But gold can change people, Howard cautions, and Dobbs will become a victim of that change.

Director John Huston cast his father, Walter Huston as the knowing prospector. It's an amazing performance which won Walter the Academy Award for best supporting actor.  But it almost didn't happen.  A highly regarded leading man on both stage and screen (the little jig he does in the film was taught to him by Eugene O'Neill when Mr. Huston appeared on Broadway in Desire Under the Elms (Lincoln Center Film Society)), Huston Sr didn't object to playing an older man - he'd already played James Cagney's father in Yankee Doodle Dandy. But son John's insistence that he remove his dentures was just too much even for a father trying to support his son's career. John and Mr. Bogart would eventually resort to holding Mr. Huston down and forcibly removing the teeth, much to Walter Huston's chagrin. But the difference in his speaking voice was so noticeable that he finally agreed to appear without his teeth. (TCM articles). It's interesting to note that, on some of the poster art, the drawing of Walter Huston looks like him in most of his films, not as he appears in this film (see the poster below).

Born in Canada in 1883, Walter Huston began his career on the stage, primarily in touring companies. His first marriage postponed his acting career: he worked in an electric power plant to support his wife and son. When the marriage ended, he returned to the stage - this time vaudeville - working with his second wife, until he began getting roles on Broadway. Between 1924 and 1946, he would appear in 14 plays - musicals and dramas - including Dodsworth, which he would also bring to the screen. He was nominated 4 times for Oscars (Dodsworth (1936), The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941), Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)), finally winning for this film. He worked with his son on other films, including The Maltese Falcon (1941) where he played the dying Captain Jacoby, and providing narration for John's wartime documentaries (i.e. Let Their Be Light (1946)). His third marriage in 1931 endured until his death of an aortic aneurym at age 67 in 1950. For more on Walter Huston, see this Los Angeles Times obituary.

Humphrey Bogart was not the studio's first choice for Dobbs - Edward G. Robinson was initially suggested, though John Huston badly wanted to Bogart for the part. Ronald Reagan and John Garfield were considered for Curtin, and Zachary Scott was in the running for the part of James Cody (which would go to Bruce Bennett). It's been said that Ann Sheridan did a walk-on as a prostitute, but the woman in question does not look a bit like her, so it's probably urban myth. (AFI catalog)

Bogart, of course, is amazingly good in a characterization that morphs so dramatically during the course of the film. He's not a bad man in the beginning - even when he forcibly takes his salary from Pat McCormick, he only takes the money due to him and Curtin. He even pays the bartender for the damage to the saloon from his own money. But as the gold starts to mount, so does his greed and paranoia. At one point, he most closely resembles Gollum in The Lord of the Rings, crouching and giggling over his wealth.

There are some uncredited performances to look out for. The Mexican Boy Selling Lottery Tickets is portrayed by Robert Blake, who would later star in the TV show Baretta.  Jack Holt, a silent and sound actor, perhaps remembered today for his appearance in San Francisco (1936) is one of the residents of the flophouse where Dobbs and Curtin meet Howard.  And the Lone Ranger's colleague Tonto, Jay Silverheels appears as the Indian Guide at Pier.

John Huston filmed much of the action for the film in Mexico; finally he was dragged back to Warner Brothers to complete filming when the costs became too high. He worked with an advisor, who Mr. Huston believed was actually the author of the novel, B. Traven. The advisor denied this, but the BBC later confirmed John Huston's theory.  Check out this New York Times article on the author, as well as the BBC broadcast.

Besides Walter Huston's Academy Award, the film also won for Best Direction and Adapted Screenplay to John Huston - the first time a father and son won Oscars (and the only time thusfar for the same film). It was also nominated for Best Picture, but lost to Hamlet). In April of 1948, Humphrey Bogart and Walter Huston reprised their roles for the Lux Radio Theatre; in February 1955 Edmund O'Brien and Walter Brennan performed the radio play for Lux.  The Treasure of the Sierra Madre was #38 on AFI's 100 Years, 100 Movies, 10th Anniversary Edition (it was #30 on the original list), as well as being listed at #36 in their 100 Greatest Movie Quotes (for the oft midquoted: "Badges? We ain't got no badges! We don't need no badges! I don't have to show you any stinking badges!"), and #67 in the 100 Most Thrilling American Films. In 1990, it was added to the  National Film Registry (the second year of the registry).  

We'll leave you with the trailer for this excellent film. If you've not seen it before, you are in for a treat.