THE AFRICAN QUEEN

     An over-rated but thoroughly enoyable adventure/romantic comedy, THE AFRICAN QUEEN features two of the screen's greatest stars, Bogie and Katie, as as two relative strangers who fall in love while traveling down an African river in a rickety old boat during the First World War.  Bogie, as the boat's hard-drinking, slovenly captain, simply wants to survive the war, but Katie, as a stiff upper-lipped missionary, is hellbent on sinking a large German war vessel patrolling the lake into which the river runs.  The tension produced by these two contrasting screen personalities, especially in the early going, has made the film a favorite of many, causing the film to to be over-rated, if only slightly.  Although the film's special effects sometimes leave something to be desired, most of the fim was filmed on location, under often hellish conditions.  Bogart's performance, and it is an excellent one, won him his first and only Academy Award, although most film fans agree it was more of a lifetime achievement award than for this particular role.  - JB

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