The African Queen (1951)

Masterpiece directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn. 

From the DVD box: “During World War One, a hard drinking river trader (Bogart) and a prim missionary (Hepburn) are forced to take a hazardous river expedition together, encountering tropical hazards, nefarious German officers and a surprising romance.”

The chemistry between the pair is extremely strong. There’s gentle humour and a surprising amount of tenderness, without ever resorting to sentimentality. It also works as an adventure story, a war film, a rom-com and a character study. There are elements of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in the couple floating down the river with the ever-present threat of an alien land in turmoil just beyond the river banks.

My only criticism is that the death of Hepburn’s missionary brother is never really explained. It would have made better narrative sense for the Germans to have killed him, instead of him suddenly being struck down by fever. Otherwise, The African Queen is a flawless thing of wonder.

An American in Paris (1951)

Musical.

An American artist falls in love with a woman who is already involved with a man he knows. Meanwhile, a wealthy heiress promotes his art and wants affection in return. 

In fact, the plot is almost irrelevant. Directed by Vincente Minnelli, this is really designed as a showcase of extravagant dance set pieces, in which Gene Kelly demonstrates his full range of abilities. The magical/dream sequences take you out of the narrative, but are spectacular in their own right. Most notably, there is a 17-minute impressionistic dance sequence at the very climax of the film, where you might expect there to be some acting. 

Aside from Kelly, the leads are played by Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant, Georges Guétary and Nina Foch. There’s very little that’s “French” about it. 

An amiable if inconsequential affair.