“The African Queen” (1951)*

Bogart and Hepburn; a pair who could take on the world, journey to take on a German Naval ship in this movie set in Africa against the dawn of WWI. Hepburn’s “Rosie” befriends Bogart’s “Charlie”, a river running drunk, following a German attack on the African village in which she is a missionary. With no where to go but down the river, the pair battle nature, mechanical issues and each other, with no other plans than to sink a German ship using a MacGuyver-like ingenuity. Bogart took his only Oscar (well-deserved) in this wonderful film about persistence, pluck and luck.

Awf Hand gives four out of four stars. The on-location work is stunning. If you see only one Bogart movie, let this be it.

*Yahoo’s 100 movies to see before you die.

This is one of those films that I had never gotten around to seeing. During a recent trip to visit my father, I was scolded for this and subsequently added it to my Netflix and watched it last week. Hepburn and Bogart are near their peaks in this film playing off of each other. Their chemistry and timing with each other was genuinely special to watch. Bogart is wonderfully aloof at times and the genuine care he shows for Hepburn is the center of the film. A very solid 9/10