Is River of No Return a copy of The African Queen?
Today I watched The African Queen , a classic 1951 film directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn, and while watching it I noticed very clear similarities with River of No Return . This surprised me and, in a way, disappointed me… not so much with The African Queen , but with River of No Return , since it was released later and the former was a major success. In this article, I want to break down exactly what both films have in common and how this comparison has changed my view of River of No Return . Spoilers ahead. The African Queen is a 1951 adventure film directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn. Set in German East Africa at the outbreak of World War I, it follows Charlie Allnut, a rough, gin-drinking Canadian boatman, and Rose Sayer, a strict British missionary, after her mission is destroyed by German troops and they are forced to travel downriver in the battered boat called the African Queen. The film is based o...