John Huston co-wrote and directed it, choosing to shoot as much as he possibly could in Africa. While many said it couldn’t be done—shooting a story on location about two characters typically considered much too old for a love story—John Huston proved them wrong. His choice of Jack Cardiff as cinematographer goes a long way in showing all of the reasons why shooting in Africa was right for the story, and his decision to cast Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn as Charlie Allnut and Rose Sayer allowed the story to be played authentically by actors who knew what they were doing and made it real. The film went on to earn buckets of money, critical praise, and award recognition. It’s truly a film that has stood the test of time as well, and we—Pete Wright and Andy Nelson—have a great time talking about it. Join us as we talk about Jack Cardiff’s role in making cinematography what it is today. We chat about the rough time everyone had on the production, not to mention the pre-production. We discuss the story and the wonderful actors in it, and we talk about why it still works so well. It’s a fantastic film and we love talking about it. Listen in!
Assorted Notes & Links
- The African Queen—Let’s Not Talk About Movies
- Jack Cardiff—The Camera Man (jackcardiff.com)
- Jack Cardiff’s Magic Life Part 1—theasc.com
- An Open Book (Huston)—Amazon.com
- The Making of The African Queen (Hepburn)—Amazon.com
- Conversations with Jack Cardiff—Amazon.com
- Magic Hour: A Life in Film (Cardiff)
- Shooting location: Murchison Falls
