Before his life ended prematurely at the age of 57 due to cancer caused by his strong addiction to tobacco, Humphrey Bogart had time to become a living Hollywood legend thanks to his iconic performances in films such as ‘The Last Refuge’ (1941), by Raoul Walsh, ‘The Maltese Falcon’ (1941), by John Huston, ‘Casablanca’ (1942), by Michael Curtiz, ‘The Big Sleep’ (1946), by Howard Hawks, or ‘Key Largo’ (1948), again under the orders of Huston. His sober, rude and sarcastic style made his characters become some of the most famous in the history of the seventh art..
However, the maximum cinematographic recognition that definitively propelled him as a Hollywood legend did not come to him for any of the aforementioned films, but for ‘The African Queen‘ (1951), once again directed by John Huston, a personal friend of the actor and the main supporter of his cinematographic career, since he was the one who gave him some of his most memorable roles.
The film’s plot follows Bogart’s Charlie Allnut, a drunken sailor who runs a dilapidated riverboat in the heart of German East Africa during the outbreak of World War I.. After the mobilization of German troops in the region, both he and the puritan missionary Rose Sayer, played by Katharine Hepburn, flee down the river aboard the boat, having to face the different dangers that this entails. Thanks to this story, which has become a classic Hollywood myth, Bogart was able to win his first and only Oscar, in the category of Best Leading Actor..
The filming of the film was chaotic and poorly organized. Huston insisted that the film had to be shot on real locations and not in a studio, and he dragged the film crew and the entire cast to the heart of the Ugandan jungle.
In reality, the only motivation that had led him to film in Africa was the opportunity to hunt a large elephant, something that was documented years later in the film ‘White Hunter, Black Heart’ (1990), by Clint Eastwood. However, the African experience had serious consequences, since the set was devastated by insect infestations, and many of the members of the filming contracted dysentery due to ingesting bad water, with Bogart and Huston being the only ones to escape this illness, since during their stay on the African continent they only drank Scotch whiskey.
However, according to Bogart, none of these difficulties were comparable to having to deal with his co-star, Katharine Hepburn, during the filming of the film. Hepburn, famous for her volcanic character and diva-like manners, had countless disagreements with Huston and Bogart, who at the same time seemed to be amused by the actress’ desperation. The actor himself later explained what it had been like to work with Hepburn: “It speaks to you as if you were a microphone. He gave me a lesson on temperance and the evils of drink. He doesn’t give a damn about his appearance. I don’t think he’s trying to be a character. I think it is. You could argue with her, but she was tough. When the director of photography, Jack Cardiff, saw her walking alone into the jungle one morning, he said: ‘God help the jungle.’”.
