The African Queen

The African Queen (1951)

2 corrected entries

(3 votes)

Corrected entry: In the scene where Bogart and Hepburn are in a boat cruising down the river and laughing at some monkeys or apes on the riverbank, in the medium close-up shots of them together you can see glow and signs of matte and chromakey shining in their hair. (00:59:00)

Michael MAchin

Correction: Unless John Huston et al came equipped with a handy time machine, this is impossible. The green glow sometimes seen on foreground characters comes from a reflection from the brightly lit green backdrops used in 'chromakey' background superimposition. Since this system was developed in 1966 and 'The African Queen' was shot in 1951, it is not possible for the error to occur as described. It is far more likely that you have a video or DVD struck from a degraded print of the film and the colours have faded.

It's not much of a 'green' reflection, but in the DVD you can see a white glow in the shots. It is true that 'green' screen was not invented in that form, but ever since the 40s the technique had been used, so I wouldn't ridicule the entry at all, based on a wrong assumption or supposed poor phrasing. I can't submit screenshots for an entry moved into 'Corrections' already but you can definitely see glow and signs of matte and chromakey technique used in this movie all over the place. Browse around for any review of the movie (especially DVD releases), and you'll find mentioned everywhere that such effects have been used. This entry seems legit to me and I would have submitted it myself.

Sammo

Corrected entry: Towards the end after Charlie and Rosie almost get eaten alive by flies on the river bank. They get steam up and go to the middle of the river. Charlie says, I'll throw out the anchor. He does and they start to relax and chat. However the scenery behind them is still moving.

Correction: The scene was shot on location, on an actual boat, and you can see the anchor is out. Either the anchor chain in still playing out or the boat can move to some degree in an arc around the anchor.

Continuity mistake: In the scene where there is a terrific storm while Bogart and Hepburn are asleep, Bogart gets extremely wet before being invited into the shelter by Hepburn. Upon entering the shelter and lying down to sleep, Bogart's blanket is perfectly dry.

More mistakes in The African Queen

Ship Captain: By the authority invested in me by Kaiser William II, I pronounce you man and wife. Proceed with the execution. (01:42:10)

Sammo

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