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MOGAMBO

1953

Directed by John Ford

Starring Clark Gable, Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly

It may be a sign of age, but more and more I find myself checking the schedule of Turner Classic Movies--and there are plenty of movies I have neglected to see: chief among them "Bridge on the River Kwai" (inexcusable!) and "Risky Business" (excusable).

So at the strong urging of foreignfilmguy's brother, I DVR-ed "Mogambo" -- a Technicolor extravanga filmed on location in Africa with 3 big name stars (see above). In spite of its impressive credentials (directed by the great John Ford, three years before his classic "The Searchers"), it received a measly two Academy Award nominations--for its female leads. Not even a nod for Best Cinematography (color)?? The nomination that year went instead to a swashbuckler called “All the Brothers Were Valiant" (I'd never heard of it, either).

"Mogambo" is a good, not great, piece of big studio Hollywood entertainment, but it is revealing in many ways. I found it quite sexually frank for 1953, even though (predictably) it was the male character who gets the free pass for his sexual adventures, while the females suffer guilt and remorse throughout the film (the ending is completely unearned, but not surprising given the attitudes of the time).

The movie also reveals why its three stars were box office gold in 1953: Clark Gable, the aging movie idol; Grace Kelly in all her cool glamour (even while sweating in the African jungle); and especially Ava Gardner, who has never looked lovelier -- and not coincidentally, is given the best lines, wardrobe, and most-flattering photography. Her comedic talents are fully on view here: she handles a cute bit of physical comedy in a scene of her feeding the wildlife, but there is a tacked-on scene later on involving her, a hippo, and a boat that feels completely gratuitous.

Here I was about to say that John Huston would later come along and show John Ford how to make a movie set in Africa that is authentic, compelling, and smart, but then I realized that "The African Queen" was released the year BEFORE Mogambo!

Finally, the studio that commissioned the movie posters -- seen below -- should be sued for false advertising! It is a grave injustice to the gorillas in the movie, who 1) aren't that big, and 2) were not exactly involved in a fair fight.