'Mogambo' is not one of the greatest of John Ford's films, but it is still a solid piece of work. Clark Gable is at his manliest, and Grace Kelly is cast perfectly (though her performance is not so perfect). However, Ava Gardner steals the show. Scenes without her seem dead. Scenes with her are charged with sexy movement and funny double-talk. Of course, Ford himself makes great use of the African landscape, applying his brilliant American West photography to the jungles and rivers of Africa. A good piece of entertainment and recommended for John Ford fans.
98 Reviews
Another "safari" in the MGM tradition...Gardner steals the show...
Doylenf30 December 2006
Some stunning Technicolor photography of African footage and beautiful AVA GARDNER are the sole reasons for watching John Ford's MOGAMBO, a remake of "Red Dust" that starred Jean Harlow twenty years before this was made.
Harlow's co-star, CLARK GABLE, is back reprising his role as the great white hunter (what happened to STEWART GRANGER???), but Gable has mellowed quite a bit and looks a bit too tired to be the love interest of both AVA GARDNER and GRACE KELLY--which is what the plot really boils down to. However, he is more than able to tame both of them.
GRACE KELLY still has the affected way of reciting her lines in a prim and princess-like way and is the less interesting of the two females. AVA GARDNER, on the other hand, livens up the story with her sarcastic one-liners and her ability to size up any situation and call a spade a spade. She's honest, frank and completely charming in her own way and walks off with every scene she's in, fully deserving her sole Oscar nomination.
But if you're looking for a real good story, MOGAMBO is not it. It has all the realism of a picture postcard despite the fact that much of it was filmed in colorful Africa. But the use of stock footage is also apparent as are shots of Gable and others before a process screen.
Fans of the stars should enjoy this one, but be warned--it's not without some serious flaws, mostly due to a weak script.
Harlow's co-star, CLARK GABLE, is back reprising his role as the great white hunter (what happened to STEWART GRANGER???), but Gable has mellowed quite a bit and looks a bit too tired to be the love interest of both AVA GARDNER and GRACE KELLY--which is what the plot really boils down to. However, he is more than able to tame both of them.
GRACE KELLY still has the affected way of reciting her lines in a prim and princess-like way and is the less interesting of the two females. AVA GARDNER, on the other hand, livens up the story with her sarcastic one-liners and her ability to size up any situation and call a spade a spade. She's honest, frank and completely charming in her own way and walks off with every scene she's in, fully deserving her sole Oscar nomination.
But if you're looking for a real good story, MOGAMBO is not it. It has all the realism of a picture postcard despite the fact that much of it was filmed in colorful Africa. But the use of stock footage is also apparent as are shots of Gable and others before a process screen.
Fans of the stars should enjoy this one, but be warned--it's not without some serious flaws, mostly due to a weak script.
Technically gorgeous; 8/10
zetes4 February 2002
I think Mogambo may be John Ford's best film technically. The cinematography is simply sumptuous. The colors and the compositions are some of the most beautiful you'll ever see in a film. Too bad it's not in Cinemascope. I would have loved to see those African landscapes in widescreen. The sound is equally deserving of praise. Rare for a classical Hollywood film, Mogambo contains absolutely no extra-diagetic music, i.e., a musical score. The only music comes from a player piano, or African tribes' singing. That singing is just amazing. Most of the background sounds, however, come from African beasts and insects. It provides a threatening mood to the entire film. This experiment pays off wonderfully.
Unfortunately, the narrative aspects of the film are lacking. The story, about an adventurer (Clark Gable) who takes a married couple on a safari to study gorillas, is passable. Actually, the meat of the story lies in the budding relationship between Gable and the wife, played by Grace Kelly (perhaps her role in Rear Window, which came out a year later, was inspired by this film). Ava Gardener plays a second love interest, a society girl from NYC, brazen and witty. The problems don't really arise from the plot, but from the characters. They are two-dimensional. Ava Gardener's role is the best, but the script begins to keep her away from the other relationship, which is treated more romantically. Gable's role is too cliche. It's paper thin, and I just never cared much what happened to him. But I think the real problem is with Kelly and her role. Her character changes in wildly unbelievable ways. It's almost as if she falls in love with Gable because, well, that's what women do when Clark Gable's in a movie! It doesn't matter that she's the second one to do so in the first half hour of the film.
The film also fails because of the vast amounts of stock footage used to show the wildlife of Africa. Often, this is acceptable. It's obvious that that footage was taken at some other time and with some other type of film than the main footage, but I can suspend my imagination up to a point. However, one particular sequence involving gorillas is rather awful. The party has a face-off with a group of them, and there is a lot of cross-cutting to create suspense. It never works. Especially silly are the shots of Gable standing in front of back-projected stock footage of a bull gorilla charging. I suppose these kinds of shots were impossible to fake anywhere near as well as we can do now. But I still find fault in it. It snapped my suspension bridge.
Unfortunately, the narrative aspects of the film are lacking. The story, about an adventurer (Clark Gable) who takes a married couple on a safari to study gorillas, is passable. Actually, the meat of the story lies in the budding relationship between Gable and the wife, played by Grace Kelly (perhaps her role in Rear Window, which came out a year later, was inspired by this film). Ava Gardener plays a second love interest, a society girl from NYC, brazen and witty. The problems don't really arise from the plot, but from the characters. They are two-dimensional. Ava Gardener's role is the best, but the script begins to keep her away from the other relationship, which is treated more romantically. Gable's role is too cliche. It's paper thin, and I just never cared much what happened to him. But I think the real problem is with Kelly and her role. Her character changes in wildly unbelievable ways. It's almost as if she falls in love with Gable because, well, that's what women do when Clark Gable's in a movie! It doesn't matter that she's the second one to do so in the first half hour of the film.
The film also fails because of the vast amounts of stock footage used to show the wildlife of Africa. Often, this is acceptable. It's obvious that that footage was taken at some other time and with some other type of film than the main footage, but I can suspend my imagination up to a point. However, one particular sequence involving gorillas is rather awful. The party has a face-off with a group of them, and there is a lot of cross-cutting to create suspense. It never works. Especially silly are the shots of Gable standing in front of back-projected stock footage of a bull gorilla charging. I suppose these kinds of shots were impossible to fake anywhere near as well as we can do now. But I still find fault in it. It snapped my suspension bridge.
Gable - still a catch after all those years
didi-516 April 2004
This fifties remake of Red Dust' casts Clark Gable again as the man trapped by the attention of two very different women. Instead of Mary Astor we have Grace Kelly as the repressed rich girl, while Jean Harlow's earthy character is portrayed by sensual Ava Gardner, a predatory animal in the hot jungle. The fourth player in the quartet (playing Kelly's husband) is Donald Sinden.
Aside from re-setting the action, changing the name of Gable's character, and giving the movie a Technicolor treatment, Mogambo doesn't update the 30s classic that much. Gable is still portrayed as irresistible to women as he was when twenty years younger, and the plot still simmers in the way it did before.
Naturally all the stars went on to other interesting things after this Gable left MGM to spend his last few years as a lucrative freelance; Kelly had a couple more major roles before marrying into Monaco royalty; and Gardner moved into more mature sexpot roles (such as her similar role opposite Richard Burton in The Night of the Iguana' a decade later). Sinden remains best known for his television work but on film he was more than adequate with the more showy co-stars in Mogambo.
This movie is not bad at all if you have a couple of hours to spend wondering how the various twists and turns will unfold.
Aside from re-setting the action, changing the name of Gable's character, and giving the movie a Technicolor treatment, Mogambo doesn't update the 30s classic that much. Gable is still portrayed as irresistible to women as he was when twenty years younger, and the plot still simmers in the way it did before.
Naturally all the stars went on to other interesting things after this Gable left MGM to spend his last few years as a lucrative freelance; Kelly had a couple more major roles before marrying into Monaco royalty; and Gardner moved into more mature sexpot roles (such as her similar role opposite Richard Burton in The Night of the Iguana' a decade later). Sinden remains best known for his television work but on film he was more than adequate with the more showy co-stars in Mogambo.
This movie is not bad at all if you have a couple of hours to spend wondering how the various twists and turns will unfold.
Romantic triangle drama in which the white hunter dallies with an elegant married woman and another with a dark past
ma-cortes12 February 2015
Although the original trailer for the film explains that "Mogambo" means "the Greatest," in fact, the word "Mogambo" has no meaning at all . It concerns Victor Marswell (Clark Gable but this lead role was originally intended for Stewart Granger ; Gable also starred in the 1933 original Red Dust by Victor Fleming) runs a big game trapping company in Kenya . Eloise Kelly (glorious charm from Ava Gardner who replaces Jean Harlow , though Deborah Kerr and Lana Turner were sought for the female leads and Maureen O'Hara was the first choice for Honey Bear Kelly) is ditched there , and an immediate attraction happens between them . Victor dallies with the attractive as well as jaded lady Eloise and must let her stay till the next boat arrives . But Victor, initially uninterested, soon succumbs to Eloise's ostentatious charms until the arrival of a marriage , a husband (Donald Sinden) , ill with fevers , and his refined but sensuous wife (Grace Kelly who has Mary Astor's part , though Gene Tierney was first choice for the role of Linda , she dropped out due to emotional problems which were now interfering with her work) . Then , Victor falls to the arms of the sophisticated married woman .
This lusty remake deals with classic loving triangle set in Africa and combines love , drama , thrills , action and adventure . Interesting script by John Lee Mahin who reworks his 1932 screenplay for ¨Red Dust¨ . Here we are seeing several African animals though the most turn out to be taken from an excessive utilization of stock-shots , thus : Gnus, Elephants, Impalas , Wild Boar , Gazelle Thomson , lions , Buffalos and Gorillas especially . The film was really censored in some countries , as the censors in Spain did not allow adultery to be shown on the screen. For that reason, MGM changed the relationship of the characters of Linda Nordley (Grace Kelly) and Donald Nordley (Donald Sinden) from wife and husband to sister and brother in the dubbed version released in Spain . However, they did not delete a scene in which both share a bed together. Nice acting by Clark Gable who repeats his character from 1932 , he becomes involved with the new wife of one of his employers . Clark Gable was unimpressed by the script and was wary of reprising his Red Dust (1932) role after 21 years . He only agreed to make the movie after Across the wide Missouri (1951) and Lone Star (1952) both flopped at the box office . Clark Gable and Grace Kelly began an affair on the set that lasted for several months . After filming had ended, they resumed the affair while Kelly was filming The country girl (1954). Ava Gardner steals the show , she is frankly wonderful in the role of the woman with a past . During filming Ava Gardner flew to London to have an abortion after she became pregnant with Frank Sinatra's child . Secondary cast is quite good such as Donald Sinden , Eric Pohlmann , Laurence Naismith and Denis O'Dea .
Marvelously shot by two excellent cameramen , Robert Surtees and Freddie Young . Being filmed on location in Mount Kenya, Mount Kilimanjaro, Kenya , Okalataka, Democratic Republic Of Congo , Tanganjika, Tanzania , Serengeti Plain, Tanzania ,Hell's Gate National Park, Kenya , Kagera River ,Uganda ,Thika, Kenya . Despite the high budget, most of the movie was actually filmed in the MGM studio in Hollywood, and especially in MGM British Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK . Lavishly produced by the great producer Sam Zimbalist , he came up with the title by altering the name of the Mocambo, a famous Hollywood nightclub . The motion picture was compellingly directed by John Ford , though he did not get along with Clark Gable during filming, and at one point walked off the set in protest at Ford's treatment of Ava Gardner . It's not great John Ford film but results to be worthwhile and enticing .
This lusty remake deals with classic loving triangle set in Africa and combines love , drama , thrills , action and adventure . Interesting script by John Lee Mahin who reworks his 1932 screenplay for ¨Red Dust¨ . Here we are seeing several African animals though the most turn out to be taken from an excessive utilization of stock-shots , thus : Gnus, Elephants, Impalas , Wild Boar , Gazelle Thomson , lions , Buffalos and Gorillas especially . The film was really censored in some countries , as the censors in Spain did not allow adultery to be shown on the screen. For that reason, MGM changed the relationship of the characters of Linda Nordley (Grace Kelly) and Donald Nordley (Donald Sinden) from wife and husband to sister and brother in the dubbed version released in Spain . However, they did not delete a scene in which both share a bed together. Nice acting by Clark Gable who repeats his character from 1932 , he becomes involved with the new wife of one of his employers . Clark Gable was unimpressed by the script and was wary of reprising his Red Dust (1932) role after 21 years . He only agreed to make the movie after Across the wide Missouri (1951) and Lone Star (1952) both flopped at the box office . Clark Gable and Grace Kelly began an affair on the set that lasted for several months . After filming had ended, they resumed the affair while Kelly was filming The country girl (1954). Ava Gardner steals the show , she is frankly wonderful in the role of the woman with a past . During filming Ava Gardner flew to London to have an abortion after she became pregnant with Frank Sinatra's child . Secondary cast is quite good such as Donald Sinden , Eric Pohlmann , Laurence Naismith and Denis O'Dea .
Marvelously shot by two excellent cameramen , Robert Surtees and Freddie Young . Being filmed on location in Mount Kenya, Mount Kilimanjaro, Kenya , Okalataka, Democratic Republic Of Congo , Tanganjika, Tanzania , Serengeti Plain, Tanzania ,Hell's Gate National Park, Kenya , Kagera River ,Uganda ,Thika, Kenya . Despite the high budget, most of the movie was actually filmed in the MGM studio in Hollywood, and especially in MGM British Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK . Lavishly produced by the great producer Sam Zimbalist , he came up with the title by altering the name of the Mocambo, a famous Hollywood nightclub . The motion picture was compellingly directed by John Ford , though he did not get along with Clark Gable during filming, and at one point walked off the set in protest at Ford's treatment of Ava Gardner . It's not great John Ford film but results to be worthwhile and enticing .
It's Ava Gardner's World
and Everyone Else Just Lives in It
EUyeshima10 October 2008
Ava Gardner could hardly be considered anyone's second choice, but this is what director John Ford and screenwriter John Lee Mahin would have you believe in this overripe 1952 safari melodrama. Yet, she is the primary reason why this film is still worth a look 56 years later. Far more intuitively than Angelina Jolie these days, Gardner epitomized a primal sensuality and a hidden vulnerability, the combination of which was intoxicating in her prime. Ford captures this, as well as her dark beauty and sharp comedy sense, by casting her as smart-mouthed, carefree playgirl Eloise "Honey Bear" Kelly, who has come to a remote African outpost to meet up with a wealthy maharajah. Finding herself stood up, she is greeted by no-nonsense big game hunter Victor Marswell as she conveniently takes a shower al fresco. Before sparks can truly fly, a young British anthropologist and his prudish wife, Donald and Linda Nordley, arrive naively drawn to the flora and fauna.
Then a rather preposterous story turn occurs in which Marswell becomes smitten with Mrs. Nordley, and she with him since she swoons over the manly hunter over her milquetoast husband. Looking the patrician beauty that served her well during her brief movie career, a 24-year-old Grace Kelly plays Linda in typical melodramatic fashion. Her English accent is a bit overdone, and her character's motivations too simplistically presented for Kelly to shine, especially next to Gardner. As Marswell, the 52-year-old Clark Gable doesn't have quite the swagger he displayed so easily in his youth when he first played this role in 1932's "Red Dust" with Jean Harlow and Mary Astor in the Gardner and Kelly parts. However, it is a testament to his enduring appeal that he is at all convincing as a magnet for two much younger women.
But make no mistake that Gable, who has to maintain a stoic, man-of-mystery demeanor as Marswell, really hands the picture to Gardner. In particular, she has a fetching couple of scenes where she sings Robert Burns' "Comin' Through the Rye" and seems truly to enjoy interacting with the wild animals. It's all a hoot, and the location filming in Kenya and Uganda really brings the story to vibrant life. Ford handles the exotic background as well as he does Monument Valley in his classic westerns, and he makes sure to keep goosing the story with action elements so that the focus is not completely on the love triangle. Industry veteran Robert Surtees and David Lean's favorite cameraman Freddie Young shared cinematography responsibilities, and the look of the film is sumptuous even by MGM's high standards. The only extra with the 2006 DVD is the original theatrical trailer.
Then a rather preposterous story turn occurs in which Marswell becomes smitten with Mrs. Nordley, and she with him since she swoons over the manly hunter over her milquetoast husband. Looking the patrician beauty that served her well during her brief movie career, a 24-year-old Grace Kelly plays Linda in typical melodramatic fashion. Her English accent is a bit overdone, and her character's motivations too simplistically presented for Kelly to shine, especially next to Gardner. As Marswell, the 52-year-old Clark Gable doesn't have quite the swagger he displayed so easily in his youth when he first played this role in 1932's "Red Dust" with Jean Harlow and Mary Astor in the Gardner and Kelly parts. However, it is a testament to his enduring appeal that he is at all convincing as a magnet for two much younger women.
But make no mistake that Gable, who has to maintain a stoic, man-of-mystery demeanor as Marswell, really hands the picture to Gardner. In particular, she has a fetching couple of scenes where she sings Robert Burns' "Comin' Through the Rye" and seems truly to enjoy interacting with the wild animals. It's all a hoot, and the location filming in Kenya and Uganda really brings the story to vibrant life. Ford handles the exotic background as well as he does Monument Valley in his classic westerns, and he makes sure to keep goosing the story with action elements so that the focus is not completely on the love triangle. Industry veteran Robert Surtees and David Lean's favorite cameraman Freddie Young shared cinematography responsibilities, and the look of the film is sumptuous even by MGM's high standards. The only extra with the 2006 DVD is the original theatrical trailer.
what it is and what it is not
moonbus-982-51939811 April 2011
Warning: Spoilers
Mogambo, 1953, is bound to be compared with Red Dust, 1932. The two films are based on the same stage play by Wilson Collison; the same man, John Lee Mahin, wrote both screenplays, some of the lines are even the same; the three main characters and the love triangle (or quadrangle) they form is the same; the leading man is played by the same actor, Clark Gable; and if you saw the first film, then you already know the "bang-up" ending.
Many people will find the later film the weaker of the two, but I believe that if it is viewed for what it is, instead of for what it is not, it is not bad value for money. What made Red Dust a winner was Jean Harlow, her snappy witty lines, and the sweaty sensuality of the screen chemistry between her and Gable. That is what Mogambo is not; but it has a number of other things to offer instead. While most of the secondary characters in Red Dust, including the character of the adulterous wife (originally played by Mary Astor), are cast into the shadows by the sizzling repartee between Harlow and Gable, Mogambo allows the corresponding characters to develop and show some depth. In Mogambo, the motivations and inner conflicts of the adulterous wife (now played by Grace Kelly) are explored. The sappy jilted husband is given a great deal more depth in the later film than in the earlier one. And Gable's right-hand man, Brownie, is given a more substantial part as well. This makes the later film more rounded and the characters more believable, whereas the earlier film was basically a stage duel between the barbarian and the hooker. Red Dust has a sort of Who's-Afraid-of-Virginia-Woolf claustrophobia about it; it could have been entirely played out on a single indoor stage set. Mogambo features John Ford's typical outdoorsy-ness, some pretty spectacular wildlife photography (for 1950), and a rather tense confrontation with a tribe of angry, bare-breasted, spear-wielding natives (real Africans!). Not Ford's or Gable's best by any means, but a good solid show, worth 7 out of 10.
Gable plays the same boorish, over-confident, God's-gift-to-women type in both films, but mellowed a bit (like wine, I mean). Whether you like that kind of man or not, you have to admit that he played it with grace and poise, and he showed that he could still do it 20 years on. The Gable character has been criticized by other reviewers for being incoherent or sappy. I disagree: he shows himself to be a man of raw courage, facing down wild animals, a savage tribe, a storm, etc., but finds he has lost his nerve when it comes to confronting the wimpy clueless husband. It takes Gardner to show him it wasn't cowardice, but that he did the decent thing after all.
Grace Kelly takes over the role of the adulterous wife, a mere 27 years old (so we are told) and very naive; it takes Gable's experience, wisdom, and bluntness to make her see that she does not love her husband, whom she has known since she was five. Her performance has been criticized as confused and incoherent, and Gable too old to be attractive to her; but I can well believe that a sheltered girl who married her childhood-love would be pretty confused and dotty after the first 'real man' she had ever met had heroically saved her life twice in one week. Her distress and confusion are well played, and she screams well when confronted by a panther.
Ava Gardner--well, what can one say that hasn't been already? The scene in which Gardner darts into the tribal missionary church and genuflects while the rest of the safari party go on about their business, gives her character an unexpected dimension the Harlow character lacked. I think it shows grand professionalism on Gable's part that he apparently quite happily let Gardner steal scene after scene. I guess Gable didn't have to prove anything to anyone anymore.
Many people will find the later film the weaker of the two, but I believe that if it is viewed for what it is, instead of for what it is not, it is not bad value for money. What made Red Dust a winner was Jean Harlow, her snappy witty lines, and the sweaty sensuality of the screen chemistry between her and Gable. That is what Mogambo is not; but it has a number of other things to offer instead. While most of the secondary characters in Red Dust, including the character of the adulterous wife (originally played by Mary Astor), are cast into the shadows by the sizzling repartee between Harlow and Gable, Mogambo allows the corresponding characters to develop and show some depth. In Mogambo, the motivations and inner conflicts of the adulterous wife (now played by Grace Kelly) are explored. The sappy jilted husband is given a great deal more depth in the later film than in the earlier one. And Gable's right-hand man, Brownie, is given a more substantial part as well. This makes the later film more rounded and the characters more believable, whereas the earlier film was basically a stage duel between the barbarian and the hooker. Red Dust has a sort of Who's-Afraid-of-Virginia-Woolf claustrophobia about it; it could have been entirely played out on a single indoor stage set. Mogambo features John Ford's typical outdoorsy-ness, some pretty spectacular wildlife photography (for 1950), and a rather tense confrontation with a tribe of angry, bare-breasted, spear-wielding natives (real Africans!). Not Ford's or Gable's best by any means, but a good solid show, worth 7 out of 10.
Gable plays the same boorish, over-confident, God's-gift-to-women type in both films, but mellowed a bit (like wine, I mean). Whether you like that kind of man or not, you have to admit that he played it with grace and poise, and he showed that he could still do it 20 years on. The Gable character has been criticized by other reviewers for being incoherent or sappy. I disagree: he shows himself to be a man of raw courage, facing down wild animals, a savage tribe, a storm, etc., but finds he has lost his nerve when it comes to confronting the wimpy clueless husband. It takes Gardner to show him it wasn't cowardice, but that he did the decent thing after all.
Grace Kelly takes over the role of the adulterous wife, a mere 27 years old (so we are told) and very naive; it takes Gable's experience, wisdom, and bluntness to make her see that she does not love her husband, whom she has known since she was five. Her performance has been criticized as confused and incoherent, and Gable too old to be attractive to her; but I can well believe that a sheltered girl who married her childhood-love would be pretty confused and dotty after the first 'real man' she had ever met had heroically saved her life twice in one week. Her distress and confusion are well played, and she screams well when confronted by a panther.
Ava Gardner--well, what can one say that hasn't been already? The scene in which Gardner darts into the tribal missionary church and genuflects while the rest of the safari party go on about their business, gives her character an unexpected dimension the Harlow character lacked. I think it shows grand professionalism on Gable's part that he apparently quite happily let Gardner steal scene after scene. I guess Gable didn't have to prove anything to anyone anymore.
Hey Eloise, would you like to pet my snake?
Ed-Shullivan9 September 2020
Clark Gable, Ava Gardner and Grace Kelly all in one adventure film out of Africa. What's not to like. Gable plays Victor Marswell, a great white hunter of the African big game, Marswell (Gable) who has not one, but two beautiful actresses pining over him. Even some near seventy (70) years later after its original release date (1953), this film holds up quite well. Both the story line and the scenery are epic, but it is the playful romance between this threesome that holds the audience's attention. Who will end up at the end of this adventure film embracing?
Well worth a watch, or even twice (I did).
I give it a 7 out of 10 IMDB rating.
Well worth a watch, or even twice (I did).
I give it a 7 out of 10 IMDB rating.
Ava's greatest performance.
David-2408 June 1999
"Mogambo" is a remake of "Red Dust" (1932) and is not as good, nor as funny, but it's still not bad at all. Poor Clark Gable must choose between Ava Gardner and Grace Kelly. With both actresses at the height of their beauty this is a tough call - but I would have taken Ava any day. She is stunning in this film - sultry, sexy and warm - very different to the flighty sex kitten that Jean Harlow played so brilliantly in "Red Dust". And Ava is photographed lovingly, in gorgeous colour, by Robert Surtees and Freddie Young. She deserved her Oscar nomination.
Kelly is good too as the rather prissy wife of a very English scientist. But she's too nice - Ava is much more real. Gable was a bit old for the role here - after all it was 21 years after he first played it in "Red Dust" - but his performance is strong.
Great African scenery and animals too - "Mogambo" got out of the studio that confined "Red Dust". Who could forget Ava trying to feed a very hungry baby elephant and a baby rhino at the same time? The gorilla sequence was a little weak - in that the film stock used to film the gorillas was completely different to that used to film the actors - and the actors were obviously in a studio. But most of the work is on location and stunningly shot.
You'll have fun with this one.
PS In the canoe scene are they really talking about female circumcision?
Kelly is good too as the rather prissy wife of a very English scientist. But she's too nice - Ava is much more real. Gable was a bit old for the role here - after all it was 21 years after he first played it in "Red Dust" - but his performance is strong.
Great African scenery and animals too - "Mogambo" got out of the studio that confined "Red Dust". Who could forget Ava trying to feed a very hungry baby elephant and a baby rhino at the same time? The gorilla sequence was a little weak - in that the film stock used to film the gorillas was completely different to that used to film the actors - and the actors were obviously in a studio. But most of the work is on location and stunningly shot.
You'll have fun with this one.
PS In the canoe scene are they really talking about female circumcision?
Apes of Wrath!
rmax30482323 November 2011
Warning: Spoilers
This is a remake of "Red Dust" from the 1930s and Clark Gable plays the same role -- the white professional guide through the African jungle who also collects animals for zoos and circuses. He's hired by a naive anthropologist and his wife, Kelly, to take them into the bush and shoot movies of gorillas and trap a baby gorilla to study back home.
Gable's dalliance with tough but good-natured Ava Gardner is interrupted but he doesn't mind, once he gets an eyeful of the delicate blond Grace Kelly. She's overwhelmed by the cloud of pheromones that follows Gable about and he, in turn, decides that this time it's for keeps.
But then there's that awkward business of letting the wimpy husband in on their plans. And that noisome Ava Gardner is always hanging around, all knowingly, making wisecracks about the new love affair. I mean, it gets racy too. Their truck passes a male elephant who trumpets and uncurls his trunk straight out into the air. "Reminds me of somebody I know," cracks Gardener.
In the end, Gable comes to his senses, tricks Kelly into loathing him, and marries the woman he was truly meant to be with, the one who is as resilient and durable as he is.
It wasn't an easy shoot. Director Ford was beginning to feel his age. Gable insisted on going off to hunt big game. Ford thought it was dangerous and stupid. Frank Sinatra, married to Ava Gardner at the time, showed up on location and everyone expected him to act like the Chairman of the Board -- "Here, pal, here's fifty; go take a hike." Instead, at Ford's request, he was put to use making spaghetti for the crew. Gable had been through much tribulation since "Red Dust", twenty years earlier, and had begun drinking, but he'd help up well, considering.
Grace Kelly should have been right for the part of the naive young wife. She looks appealing enough and seems frangible, as if anyone could break one of her long bones just be pressing it too hard, but she's allowed to overact. Ava Gardner never looked more attractive or sexier. Jean Harlow brought a note of stronger vulgarity to the role. Gardner seems a little too nice, despite the acidulous dialog.
The movie is entertaining and colorful but seems oddly dated. Every movie about Africa is compelled to give us shots of African animals that, I suppose, a hundred years earlier were still novel. Yes, that's a cheetah, alright. We saw a National Geographic Special about cheetahs just last week. Fastest mammals on earth, y'know? They're no longer gape worthy. They have to play some part in the story if we're going to pay attention any longer.
And I don't know why people don't leave gorillas and other primates alone. There aren't that many of them left. We're destroying them through habitat destruction and poaching. Why would anyone want to point a high-powered rifle at a great ape and shoot it dead? They don't do anything but eat fruit and vegetables. I wonder if humans might have more compassion for gorillas if they saw them naked and shaved, as I did when I studied comparative primatology. The male appendage is positively tiny compared to ours. Well, that probably wouldn't make us pause before killing them anyway. We'll stop when there are no more left.
Anyway, it's a satisfying movie that ought to interest the family, assuming the kids don't grasp the symbolic significance of elephant trunks. "Red Dust" -- studio-bound as it is -- is still better.
Gable's dalliance with tough but good-natured Ava Gardner is interrupted but he doesn't mind, once he gets an eyeful of the delicate blond Grace Kelly. She's overwhelmed by the cloud of pheromones that follows Gable about and he, in turn, decides that this time it's for keeps.
But then there's that awkward business of letting the wimpy husband in on their plans. And that noisome Ava Gardner is always hanging around, all knowingly, making wisecracks about the new love affair. I mean, it gets racy too. Their truck passes a male elephant who trumpets and uncurls his trunk straight out into the air. "Reminds me of somebody I know," cracks Gardener.
In the end, Gable comes to his senses, tricks Kelly into loathing him, and marries the woman he was truly meant to be with, the one who is as resilient and durable as he is.
It wasn't an easy shoot. Director Ford was beginning to feel his age. Gable insisted on going off to hunt big game. Ford thought it was dangerous and stupid. Frank Sinatra, married to Ava Gardner at the time, showed up on location and everyone expected him to act like the Chairman of the Board -- "Here, pal, here's fifty; go take a hike." Instead, at Ford's request, he was put to use making spaghetti for the crew. Gable had been through much tribulation since "Red Dust", twenty years earlier, and had begun drinking, but he'd help up well, considering.
Grace Kelly should have been right for the part of the naive young wife. She looks appealing enough and seems frangible, as if anyone could break one of her long bones just be pressing it too hard, but she's allowed to overact. Ava Gardner never looked more attractive or sexier. Jean Harlow brought a note of stronger vulgarity to the role. Gardner seems a little too nice, despite the acidulous dialog.
The movie is entertaining and colorful but seems oddly dated. Every movie about Africa is compelled to give us shots of African animals that, I suppose, a hundred years earlier were still novel. Yes, that's a cheetah, alright. We saw a National Geographic Special about cheetahs just last week. Fastest mammals on earth, y'know? They're no longer gape worthy. They have to play some part in the story if we're going to pay attention any longer.
And I don't know why people don't leave gorillas and other primates alone. There aren't that many of them left. We're destroying them through habitat destruction and poaching. Why would anyone want to point a high-powered rifle at a great ape and shoot it dead? They don't do anything but eat fruit and vegetables. I wonder if humans might have more compassion for gorillas if they saw them naked and shaved, as I did when I studied comparative primatology. The male appendage is positively tiny compared to ours. Well, that probably wouldn't make us pause before killing them anyway. We'll stop when there are no more left.
Anyway, it's a satisfying movie that ought to interest the family, assuming the kids don't grasp the symbolic significance of elephant trunks. "Red Dust" -- studio-bound as it is -- is still better.
Ava goes from uneducated vapid floozy to Rhodes Scholar
Somesweetkid16 July 2023
What a conundrum regarding John Ford and the writers' portrayal of Ava Gardner's "Kelly." Initially, she naively approaches the leopard and lion's cages with her face and hands planted inches away from them as if the cages were occupied by newborn kittens (before being roared away by their responses) and then does the same to the chimpanzee cage and attempts to give it a piece of gum before being stopped and reprimanded by Gable.
In addition to that idiotic scene, in later conversations she is stumped for pronunciations and meanings of the words "anthropologist" and "marsupial" and mistakes a baby rhinoceros for a baby kangaroo. Considering that she is 30+ years old, has obviously been around the block a few times and has been hanging out with the Maharajah of Bunganor, you would assume she was a little more "educated" than that, if nothing but by her association with royalty!
However, Ford inexplicably switches gears and Kelly is later throwing out references to Vassar, Dr. Livingston (I presume!) and Louisa May Alcott! Not to mention, she uses words such as monastic retreat and palpitating!
On another note, Clark Gable has two particularly cringeworthy so-called "romantic" scenes. The first is when he and Kelly are gazing at the moonlight on their hut's balcony. Kelly is standing in front of him with her back to Gable's Marswell and with all the subtlety and finesse of Harvey Weinstein, leers at her then forcefully grabs her, whirls her around, and plants a big obnoxious, nicotine-laced kiss.
The second romantically intended yet uncomfortable scene has him doing virtually the same move to Grace Kelly's character as they overlook the waterfalls. All I want to say is ooh how disgusting. I also found Grace Kelly's performance (and voice!) particularly annoying and grating!
My recommendation, bypass this and watch Gable, Harlow and Mary Astor in "Red Dust" - its much more worthy and highly rated predecessor.
In addition to that idiotic scene, in later conversations she is stumped for pronunciations and meanings of the words "anthropologist" and "marsupial" and mistakes a baby rhinoceros for a baby kangaroo. Considering that she is 30+ years old, has obviously been around the block a few times and has been hanging out with the Maharajah of Bunganor, you would assume she was a little more "educated" than that, if nothing but by her association with royalty!
However, Ford inexplicably switches gears and Kelly is later throwing out references to Vassar, Dr. Livingston (I presume!) and Louisa May Alcott! Not to mention, she uses words such as monastic retreat and palpitating!
On another note, Clark Gable has two particularly cringeworthy so-called "romantic" scenes. The first is when he and Kelly are gazing at the moonlight on their hut's balcony. Kelly is standing in front of him with her back to Gable's Marswell and with all the subtlety and finesse of Harvey Weinstein, leers at her then forcefully grabs her, whirls her around, and plants a big obnoxious, nicotine-laced kiss.
The second romantically intended yet uncomfortable scene has him doing virtually the same move to Grace Kelly's character as they overlook the waterfalls. All I want to say is ooh how disgusting. I also found Grace Kelly's performance (and voice!) particularly annoying and grating!
My recommendation, bypass this and watch Gable, Harlow and Mary Astor in "Red Dust" - its much more worthy and highly rated predecessor.
In Loving Memory of my Father
djmystiqueuk1 August 2005
I would like to share with those of you who might be interested to know that my Father Mr Abiodun Oke Hughes was part of the tribal cast in this film.
I remember growing up with that in mind and though I did a search for the cast tribe here on this site, unfortunately there wasn't one available to me.
So I wanted to do this, so all concerned would know how much we all still have the fondest memories of all his wondrous adventures while he was growing up.
Dad was only just in his 30's when this film was made and when I captured that 5 second shot of him out in the jungle, though it's only for a few seconds it still makes me proud to see it.
It still amazes me to know that my Dad worked along side the most unforgettable stars.
I guess I'm very proud to know the things I do about him. So I'd like to add my Father's memory for those of you out there, not only for my Family but also for my Dad. (may he rest in peace) So here's to you Daddy.
Abiodun Oke Hughes (19-12 to 19-86) We all love and Miss you
Ruth x
I remember growing up with that in mind and though I did a search for the cast tribe here on this site, unfortunately there wasn't one available to me.
So I wanted to do this, so all concerned would know how much we all still have the fondest memories of all his wondrous adventures while he was growing up.
Dad was only just in his 30's when this film was made and when I captured that 5 second shot of him out in the jungle, though it's only for a few seconds it still makes me proud to see it.
It still amazes me to know that my Dad worked along side the most unforgettable stars.
I guess I'm very proud to know the things I do about him. So I'd like to add my Father's memory for those of you out there, not only for my Family but also for my Dad. (may he rest in peace) So here's to you Daddy.
Abiodun Oke Hughes (19-12 to 19-86) We all love and Miss you
Ruth x
Ava Gardner is perfection!
djrein29 April 2003
I was drawn to this movie because I love any movie about African safaris because of the beauty of the land, sounds of the animals, and african music, and beautiful colors. I wasn't disappointed. Moving on, the reason I an writing this review is to recommend it to anyone who is unfamiliar with Ava Gardner. Yes, I knew she was a big star back then, but I never had seen her act. She blew me away! I have watched movies made from 1930's to the present, and never actually felt the way I felt when this movie was over. As silly as this sounds, I absolutely fell in love with her. Great actress.Check.Beautiful.Check.Sexy.Strong.Vulnerable.Funny.Witty.Warm.Independent.Adventurous.Confident.Intelligent.Gentle. I could go on. I know I fell in love with her character, not her, but man she is one special lady! Monroe,Harlowe, Hepburn,or Basinger, Stone, or whoever, can't top this lady. Yes, its time to search IMBD. I WILL see every movie she made! Oh Yeah, Gable fans and John Ford fans (I love Ford movies) should like this.
Three great stars go to Africa and nothing much happens
hall89511 May 2010
Clark Gable, Ava Gardner and Grace Kelly are of course Hollywood legends. Unfortunately Mogambo proves that you can throw three Hollywood legends together, and even give them a legendary director too in John Ford, and still end up with a disappointing movie. It's interesting to see these three great stars together but once you get past the undeniable star power there's not much there in Mogambo. The movie looks great, it's a beautifully shot time capsule look at 1950s Africa. However while it may work as an African travelogue of sorts it never really works as a movie. There's just not enough entertainment value here, not enough of a story to really engage the audience. If the movie featured a cast of no-names it would have long since been forgotten. But the big stars on display make the movie, if not ultimately satisfying, at least noteworthy.
Mogambo's paper-thin plot centers around Gable's character of Victor Marswell, who works in an exceptionally remote African outpost capturing animals and selling them on to zoos for large profit. He doesn't need distractions but distraction arrives on his doorstep one day in the person of Honey Bear Kelly, played by Gardner. She doesn't belong there, is hopelessly out of place, and will be on the first boat out. But in the days before that boat arrives she and Marswell kind of fall for one another. However when the boat arrives Marswell is ready to bid Honey Bear adieu and move on to the next pretty young thing. That would be Linda Nordley, young and exceedingly beautiful wife of rather oblivious scientist Donald who has hired Marswell to take him on safari. The Nordleys arrive. Honey Bear departs but only briefly. She'll be back before you know it and the romantic entanglements ensue.
This love triangle (or rectangle I suppose if you include hapless Donald) is basically it as far as story goes in Mogambo. And it's not enough to really sustain things. You never get the sense there's any great drama. Our key characters, in addition to having to deal with the romantic permutations, are also threatened by wild animals and, in at least one instance, by some rather ticked-off native folk. But for whatever reason things always seem rather mundane. Matters are not helped by the fact that two of the three big stars are not in peak form. By this point in his career Clark Gable was probably a little old for this sort of thing. It had been fourteen long years since Rhett Butler and the years show. Watching this guy in his early fifties sweep any young beauty he chooses off her feet strains credulity a bit. And while Gable is perhaps a little too experienced Grace Kelly, in playing Linda Nordley, is maybe not experienced enough. It was only Kelly's second big role and she comes across a bit stiff and unnatural. Her manner of speaking doesn't fit, it's like she's putting on airs. Basically she acts like a princess. Ironic I know. It's Ava Gardner who comes across best. What life the movie has mostly comes from her portrayal of Honey Bear. She's excellent but most of what surrounds her does not rise to her level. Mogambo ends up being a good-looking picture which ultimately fails to entertain. Enjoy the scenery. Enjoy the animals. Where else will you see pineapple-eating gorillas? But sadly the story is not nearly as good as the visuals.
Mogambo's paper-thin plot centers around Gable's character of Victor Marswell, who works in an exceptionally remote African outpost capturing animals and selling them on to zoos for large profit. He doesn't need distractions but distraction arrives on his doorstep one day in the person of Honey Bear Kelly, played by Gardner. She doesn't belong there, is hopelessly out of place, and will be on the first boat out. But in the days before that boat arrives she and Marswell kind of fall for one another. However when the boat arrives Marswell is ready to bid Honey Bear adieu and move on to the next pretty young thing. That would be Linda Nordley, young and exceedingly beautiful wife of rather oblivious scientist Donald who has hired Marswell to take him on safari. The Nordleys arrive. Honey Bear departs but only briefly. She'll be back before you know it and the romantic entanglements ensue.
This love triangle (or rectangle I suppose if you include hapless Donald) is basically it as far as story goes in Mogambo. And it's not enough to really sustain things. You never get the sense there's any great drama. Our key characters, in addition to having to deal with the romantic permutations, are also threatened by wild animals and, in at least one instance, by some rather ticked-off native folk. But for whatever reason things always seem rather mundane. Matters are not helped by the fact that two of the three big stars are not in peak form. By this point in his career Clark Gable was probably a little old for this sort of thing. It had been fourteen long years since Rhett Butler and the years show. Watching this guy in his early fifties sweep any young beauty he chooses off her feet strains credulity a bit. And while Gable is perhaps a little too experienced Grace Kelly, in playing Linda Nordley, is maybe not experienced enough. It was only Kelly's second big role and she comes across a bit stiff and unnatural. Her manner of speaking doesn't fit, it's like she's putting on airs. Basically she acts like a princess. Ironic I know. It's Ava Gardner who comes across best. What life the movie has mostly comes from her portrayal of Honey Bear. She's excellent but most of what surrounds her does not rise to her level. Mogambo ends up being a good-looking picture which ultimately fails to entertain. Enjoy the scenery. Enjoy the animals. Where else will you see pineapple-eating gorillas? But sadly the story is not nearly as good as the visuals.
Exciting jungle adventure, boasting outstanding direction and first-rate performances (especially Ava Gardner's)
rmears16 July 2001
In all earnestness, can you imagine a more enjoyable way of spending two hours than journeying through the jungles of Africa with Clark Gable, Ava Gardner and Grace Kelly, in a film directed by the legendary John Ford? Neither can I, and `Mogambo' does not disappoint.
It is a remake of `Red Dust,' a film made by Gable over twenty years earlier, and here (remarkably enough) Clark reprises his role from the first film, with a few small changes. This time around he plays Victor Marswell, a rugged big game hunter and safari leader. Into his African camp comes Gardner, a wisecracking American chorus girl stranded in the jungle and none too happy about it. She and Gable have a brief affair, but the arrival of a British anthropologist and his sheltered wife (Kelly) quickly puts an end to it. Gable agrees to lead the anthropologist on an expedition into gorilla country, and along the way he falls deeply in love with Kelly, and she with him. Gardner, feeling rejected by Gable, first tries to make his life miserable with constant innuendos, but later admits defeat and becomes his ally. In the midst of the gorilla hunt, Gable and Kelly try to find a way to explain their situation to her husband.
Their main problem is that the husband is just too likable. He is a decent, good-humored man who loves Kelly dearly and is filled with admiration for Gable, so neither wishes to hurt him. Meanwhile, developments occur in the Gardner character she once loved and lost, and is now on the lookout for another man, setting her sights on the macho Gable. She, too, is impossible to dislike, with her sharp wit and ability to size up every situation. She knows where she stands.
This is one of the few remakes in Hollywood history to equal, and in my opinion surpass, its predecessor. Of course, this film is not constrained by indoor sets as was the previous one, but there is much more to it than that. `Red Dust' was directed by Victor Fleming, certainly a competent filmmaker, but Ford was a master. He cleverly decided not to use a musical score, but instead to rely on jungle sounds and tribal chants for the soundtrack. Gable is more confident here than before, replacing his earlier smugness with a more mature and hard-bitten performance. Kelly, on the brink of achieving stardom, is rightly prim and proper but still produces a strong, rich characterization.
However, the film belongs to Gardner, who admittedly has all the best lines but makes even the mundane ones sound appealing. She lights up every scene she is in, and unfortunately those she is not in are weaker by comparison. Her performance is at once radiant, robust, perceptive and exuberant, and yet somewhat sad. She really gets under the skin of her character and gives arguably the finest performance of her career.
The bottom line is that this movie is downright fun. Everyone involved does a top-notch job, and not once does the story drag. It is beautifully photographed in Technicolor, and the animal sequences are exciting and well paced. It's a joy to watch from start to finish, and is highly recommended to all those who love movies. Enough said.
It is a remake of `Red Dust,' a film made by Gable over twenty years earlier, and here (remarkably enough) Clark reprises his role from the first film, with a few small changes. This time around he plays Victor Marswell, a rugged big game hunter and safari leader. Into his African camp comes Gardner, a wisecracking American chorus girl stranded in the jungle and none too happy about it. She and Gable have a brief affair, but the arrival of a British anthropologist and his sheltered wife (Kelly) quickly puts an end to it. Gable agrees to lead the anthropologist on an expedition into gorilla country, and along the way he falls deeply in love with Kelly, and she with him. Gardner, feeling rejected by Gable, first tries to make his life miserable with constant innuendos, but later admits defeat and becomes his ally. In the midst of the gorilla hunt, Gable and Kelly try to find a way to explain their situation to her husband.
Their main problem is that the husband is just too likable. He is a decent, good-humored man who loves Kelly dearly and is filled with admiration for Gable, so neither wishes to hurt him. Meanwhile, developments occur in the Gardner character she once loved and lost, and is now on the lookout for another man, setting her sights on the macho Gable. She, too, is impossible to dislike, with her sharp wit and ability to size up every situation. She knows where she stands.
This is one of the few remakes in Hollywood history to equal, and in my opinion surpass, its predecessor. Of course, this film is not constrained by indoor sets as was the previous one, but there is much more to it than that. `Red Dust' was directed by Victor Fleming, certainly a competent filmmaker, but Ford was a master. He cleverly decided not to use a musical score, but instead to rely on jungle sounds and tribal chants for the soundtrack. Gable is more confident here than before, replacing his earlier smugness with a more mature and hard-bitten performance. Kelly, on the brink of achieving stardom, is rightly prim and proper but still produces a strong, rich characterization.
However, the film belongs to Gardner, who admittedly has all the best lines but makes even the mundane ones sound appealing. She lights up every scene she is in, and unfortunately those she is not in are weaker by comparison. Her performance is at once radiant, robust, perceptive and exuberant, and yet somewhat sad. She really gets under the skin of her character and gives arguably the finest performance of her career.
The bottom line is that this movie is downright fun. Everyone involved does a top-notch job, and not once does the story drag. It is beautifully photographed in Technicolor, and the animal sequences are exciting and well paced. It's a joy to watch from start to finish, and is highly recommended to all those who love movies. Enough said.
Visually sumptuous, and the sterling cast make up for a so-so story
TheLittleSongbird9 June 2010
This is a remake of Red Dust, and while it is inferior, having a so-so story and a less humorous script, it is still worth seeing for the location shooting and the cast. The location shooting is absolutely gorgeous, with exotic scenery and stunning cinematography, and the direction is above decent.
It is in the performances though where Mogambo scores highest. Clark Gable plays his role with crusty demeanour and wit, and Grace Kelly looks really beautiful, but it is Ava Gardner's show all the way with the actress in one of her lovelier performances along with Showboat.
Overall, it is definitely worth watching for the cast and locations. 7/10 Bethany Cox
It is in the performances though where Mogambo scores highest. Clark Gable plays his role with crusty demeanour and wit, and Grace Kelly looks really beautiful, but it is Ava Gardner's show all the way with the actress in one of her lovelier performances along with Showboat.
Overall, it is definitely worth watching for the cast and locations. 7/10 Bethany Cox
No "Red Dust"
blanche-211 January 2007
Clark Gable stars in the remake of a film he did in the '30s, "Red Dust," now called "Mogambo." Gable plays Vic, a big game capturer this time (last time he made rubber) who sells animals to zoos and circuses. Already I was turned off. He meets a young woman, "Honeybear" (Ava Gardner), who is as tough and streetwise as he is. When Donald and Linda Nordley appear to go on safari so they can study gorillas, Vic falls for Linda (Grace Kelly).
This film was done on location in Africa, so there are some unbelievable scenes with animals and with African tribes speaking their language and going through their rituals. At a down period in his career, Frank Sinatra was in Africa with Ava waiting on his screen test for "From Here to Eternity," which he got thanks to Ava's appeal to Mrs. Harry Cohn. I'm sure his presence did not contribute to a fun time on the set. When he got the role and didn't need Ava to hold his hand anymore, he left.
You can probably enjoy this film a) if you don't compare it to "Red Dust," and b) if you don't care about seeing animals trapped in nets. It didn't look all that humane to me, and I found it distasteful. Ava Gardner has the Jean Harlow role in "Red Dust" and makes it her own. She is less funny than Harlow was; Harlow was more childlike and overtly sexual. Ava is beautiful as always and very earthy, and in her way is as good with Gable as Harlow. Honeybear is the most likable and best drawn character in "Mogambo." Gable is 20 years older than his first time around but still darn attractive and sexy. Which brings me to the real problem I have which is Grace Kelly. There is no unearthly reason why Vic would have been attracted to the staid and priggish Linda. Kelly is not particularly good. Yes, she's beautiful but her bright overenthusiasm doesn't play. I actually didn't get Gable's attraction to Mary Astor either, but she was much more believable in the role.
"Mogambo" doesn't have the spunk of "Red Dust" but shot in color and on location in Africa, it's watchable with the above caveats.
This film was done on location in Africa, so there are some unbelievable scenes with animals and with African tribes speaking their language and going through their rituals. At a down period in his career, Frank Sinatra was in Africa with Ava waiting on his screen test for "From Here to Eternity," which he got thanks to Ava's appeal to Mrs. Harry Cohn. I'm sure his presence did not contribute to a fun time on the set. When he got the role and didn't need Ava to hold his hand anymore, he left.
You can probably enjoy this film a) if you don't compare it to "Red Dust," and b) if you don't care about seeing animals trapped in nets. It didn't look all that humane to me, and I found it distasteful. Ava Gardner has the Jean Harlow role in "Red Dust" and makes it her own. She is less funny than Harlow was; Harlow was more childlike and overtly sexual. Ava is beautiful as always and very earthy, and in her way is as good with Gable as Harlow. Honeybear is the most likable and best drawn character in "Mogambo." Gable is 20 years older than his first time around but still darn attractive and sexy. Which brings me to the real problem I have which is Grace Kelly. There is no unearthly reason why Vic would have been attracted to the staid and priggish Linda. Kelly is not particularly good. Yes, she's beautiful but her bright overenthusiasm doesn't play. I actually didn't get Gable's attraction to Mary Astor either, but she was much more believable in the role.
"Mogambo" doesn't have the spunk of "Red Dust" but shot in color and on location in Africa, it's watchable with the above caveats.
At 52, Gable was still 'King of the Jungle', with two 'Janes ' to choose from.
estherwalker-3471017 November 2021
Warning: Spoilers
This John Ford Technicolor remake of the 1932 B&W "Red Dust", also starring Clark Gable, takes place in East Africa. It was made for the aging Gable, who came across as his often roguish self, tempered by age. Along with 1950's "King Solomon's Mines", and 1951's "The African Queen", it was a pioneering effort in satisficing the public's desire for color adventures by familiar stars in 'darkest' Africa, remembering that TVs were then still B&W. All of these films were hits with the public when released, although "The African Queen" has a significantly higher mean IMDB rating today. One of the pluses of this film is the lush colors and great cinematography, including some great shots of wildlife and native tribesmen en mass with spears or paddling their long, skinny, canoes, for example. I think you will agree that the most exciting segments are when the other primate 'King of the Jungle': mountain gorillas, are encountered. This must have scared some of the audience out of their seats! Although Gable calmly stands steadfast, ready to shoot if he feels the need, Grace Kelly, as the pampered, fragile, Linda , is scared out of her wits, and drops to the ground, cowering behind Gable: good acting by Grace. ...............Turning to the romance angle, we have 2 interlocking love triangles: one centered on Gable's character(Vic), the other centered on Grace Kelly's character(Linda). It seemed clear to me that Vic's dangerous secret liaisons with the married Linda was mostly only a lark to him. Of course, away from the camera, Grace and Gable were carrying on a real affair, both during shooting, and for a while afterward. I think that, both in the film, and in real life, Gable eventually came to his senses, and realized that Grace, at 28 years younger, was simply too young for him as a prospective wife, it being more like a father/daughter relationship. He was also swayed by the depth of love for Linda that her husband articulated. I think Eva Gardner's character, Eloise, also saw it that way. More psychologically and physically rugged than Linda, as well as significantly older, she intuitively knows that she, not Linda, is Vic's soul mate, and that Vic will eventually come back to her. Vic and Linda's affair comes apart when Linda catches Vic and Eloise snuggling in his tent, and Linda's husband soon enters the tent, having been recently informed of the affair between his wife and Vic. Linda shoots Vic in the upper arm, for good measure, to emphasis her outrage. Despite the profuse bleeding, Vic takes this calmly, as if he were expecting it!(Fortunately, we are spared the consequences of this indisression for the married couple). Ironic that, in real life, Grace was the single one, while Eva was unhappily married to Sinatra, who was mostly present in the on-site shooting locations, acting as cook for the crew, with his Italian dishes, and presumably keeping a watchful eye on Gable and Eva. This was during the low point in his career. Believe it or not, he was so poor that Eva had to buy his plane tickets! Rumor has it that Ford often treated Eva harshly, presumably because she took the place of his choice for playing Eloise: Mareen O'Hara. Also, interestingly, Stewart Granger, who starred in the previous "King Solomon's Mines", was the original choice to play Vic, before he was bumped in favor of Gable. In his memoires, he criticizes Gable's acting............Incidentally, the name Mogambo may sound African, but actually it was invented by the producer, as the slightly modified name of a nightclub!............ Given the still strict Hollywood moral code against portraying apparent infidelity, I'm very surprised the screenplay passed the censor board! When "Red Dust" was released, in 1932, this wasn't a problem.
African Queens and King
kenjha6 December 2006
Gable reprises his role from "Red Dust" twenty years earlier in this remake by Ford. He is a third of a love triangle completed by Gardner and Kelly. It's a little hard to buy the concept of both women lusting after Gable because he looks older than both of them combined! The stars are fun to watch, with Gardner giving the best performance. It's entertaining enough although there isn't much of a plot and it goes on too long. The location cinematography by Surtees and Young is quite beautiful. This would make a nice double-bill with Hawks' "Hatari," which has a similar setting and plot, including a May-December romance involving John Wayne.
Unusual John Ford
bkoganbing20 August 2004
This is a strange, but good picture coming from John Ford. It's not about the usual themes he normally tackles, it lacks the usual supporting cast from a Ford film. Yet it is a good piece of movie making.
In a biography of John Ford by his grandson he said that Gable and Ford were friends for years, not particularly close, but friends nonetheless. Whenever they were together Ford and Gable talked about working together. Finally Gable got MGM to get Ford for his next film and it was Mogambo.
I like Mogambo because it was the start of a trend in Hollywood to show some realism when dealing with Africa. To this day there are people in the United States whose knowledge about things African were gained from Tarzan movies. African Queen, King Solomon's Mines, and Mogambo were all shot on location and all show the native Africans in reality. I was a kid at this time and my first bit of education about Africa came from Ramar of the Jungle. This is light years better.
Gable was criticized for reprising a role he did 20 years earlier in Red Dust. The plot line stays the same, but in Red Dust, Gable is the hard-nosed manager of a rubber plantation in Malaya. Gable as Vic Marswell here is a world weary and cynical game hunter and safari guide. Both portrayals are very good and very different.
By all accounts it was not a happy set. The usual problems with location in Africa presented themselves. In addition Frank Sinatra was on the set. He was waiting on word whether he would get the part he sought in From Here To Eternity. At the time he was married to Ava Gardner and there's was one of the most tempestuous marriages in Hollywood history. He was jealous of Gable as he was of all Gardner's leading men. To be just Ava kind of encouraged the jealous. When Harry Cohn gave him the word about From Here To Eternity he left with the gratitude of Ford, Gable, Gardner and everyone else, he'd become a royal pain in the neck.
Ava Gardner was one of the most beautiful women God ever created and a lot of times she could get by with that. But when called on to act she could. As Eloise "honeybear" Kelly she's as cynical in her own way as Gable was. They were a perfect fit. This was the last of three films she and Gable made.
I don't think Grace Kelly is shown to best advantage here. Her British accent was a bit affected. I'm not sure why MGM just didn't cast a British actress like Deborah Kerr in the part. Of course she also was involved with From Here To Eternity if I remember.
Mogambo because of the location shooting and much bigger budget is better than its predecessor Red Dust. For all the unhappiness on the set, the stars and its director did some good work.
In a biography of John Ford by his grandson he said that Gable and Ford were friends for years, not particularly close, but friends nonetheless. Whenever they were together Ford and Gable talked about working together. Finally Gable got MGM to get Ford for his next film and it was Mogambo.
I like Mogambo because it was the start of a trend in Hollywood to show some realism when dealing with Africa. To this day there are people in the United States whose knowledge about things African were gained from Tarzan movies. African Queen, King Solomon's Mines, and Mogambo were all shot on location and all show the native Africans in reality. I was a kid at this time and my first bit of education about Africa came from Ramar of the Jungle. This is light years better.
Gable was criticized for reprising a role he did 20 years earlier in Red Dust. The plot line stays the same, but in Red Dust, Gable is the hard-nosed manager of a rubber plantation in Malaya. Gable as Vic Marswell here is a world weary and cynical game hunter and safari guide. Both portrayals are very good and very different.
By all accounts it was not a happy set. The usual problems with location in Africa presented themselves. In addition Frank Sinatra was on the set. He was waiting on word whether he would get the part he sought in From Here To Eternity. At the time he was married to Ava Gardner and there's was one of the most tempestuous marriages in Hollywood history. He was jealous of Gable as he was of all Gardner's leading men. To be just Ava kind of encouraged the jealous. When Harry Cohn gave him the word about From Here To Eternity he left with the gratitude of Ford, Gable, Gardner and everyone else, he'd become a royal pain in the neck.
Ava Gardner was one of the most beautiful women God ever created and a lot of times she could get by with that. But when called on to act she could. As Eloise "honeybear" Kelly she's as cynical in her own way as Gable was. They were a perfect fit. This was the last of three films she and Gable made.
I don't think Grace Kelly is shown to best advantage here. Her British accent was a bit affected. I'm not sure why MGM just didn't cast a British actress like Deborah Kerr in the part. Of course she also was involved with From Here To Eternity if I remember.
Mogambo because of the location shooting and much bigger budget is better than its predecessor Red Dust. For all the unhappiness on the set, the stars and its director did some good work.
An Interesting Remake; Like Red Dust Better
phawley-251-11592122 September 2021
Warning: Spoilers
This was an interesting remake with Clark Gable in both leads, Red Dust 1932 and Mogambo 1953. He is commanding in both and interesting to see the similarities in his acting and the changes 20 years later. I admire that Clark took it on again, and it's great to have 2 different perspectives over 20 years!
Red Dust is for sure my favorite. Clark is just coming into fame here, and they are finding out how to utilize his strengths. He has a strong character, commands the scenes, is direct and also breaks into laughter. A great dynamic with he and Harlowe.
In both movies, I didn't quite get how he meshed with the young, tight, married wife. During this movie in real life, Grace Kelly and he had a big affair that went on after for awhile but he would never admit. I had no problem with the age difference in the film. Clark could command the scene.
I do think how he grabbed/commanded women didn't quite seem as smooth or authentic as his younger years (he was always commanding) and it seemed a little aggressive/pushy. He lost part of the commanding but gentle he manifested in Red Dust. Here, he just seems rough. Perhaps it's more of the grizzly older man, which I see.
The uptight character/married woman (Grace Kelly here) seemed to just lose her stars when she met him and it didn't quite make sense to me... They didn't really seem to mesh. It also showed his character's (lack of) willing to mess with a marriage that was strong enough coming in.
Having said that, the international scene, the strong character work, the star power, were all very solid. I enjoyed it but not a top favorite. It was great to see him reunite with Ava at the end... they seemed to come from a more relaxed life style, she could go with the flow, she "met" him more and he could be more himself with her. Whereas with Grace it was like a conquest and interest. I can't see how that would work out longterm.
In this movie, a little painful how Ava throws himself at him and gets so tied to him after such a short time. I was not a big fan. It's also hard to have a movie about capturing animals, which would not be popular today...
A good solid movie but I recommend Red Dust. It's much more cohesive and flows easier. Clark and Harlow have a great dynamic!
Red Dust is for sure my favorite. Clark is just coming into fame here, and they are finding out how to utilize his strengths. He has a strong character, commands the scenes, is direct and also breaks into laughter. A great dynamic with he and Harlowe.
In both movies, I didn't quite get how he meshed with the young, tight, married wife. During this movie in real life, Grace Kelly and he had a big affair that went on after for awhile but he would never admit. I had no problem with the age difference in the film. Clark could command the scene.
I do think how he grabbed/commanded women didn't quite seem as smooth or authentic as his younger years (he was always commanding) and it seemed a little aggressive/pushy. He lost part of the commanding but gentle he manifested in Red Dust. Here, he just seems rough. Perhaps it's more of the grizzly older man, which I see.
The uptight character/married woman (Grace Kelly here) seemed to just lose her stars when she met him and it didn't quite make sense to me... They didn't really seem to mesh. It also showed his character's (lack of) willing to mess with a marriage that was strong enough coming in.
Having said that, the international scene, the strong character work, the star power, were all very solid. I enjoyed it but not a top favorite. It was great to see him reunite with Ava at the end... they seemed to come from a more relaxed life style, she could go with the flow, she "met" him more and he could be more himself with her. Whereas with Grace it was like a conquest and interest. I can't see how that would work out longterm.
In this movie, a little painful how Ava throws himself at him and gets so tied to him after such a short time. I was not a big fan. It's also hard to have a movie about capturing animals, which would not be popular today...
A good solid movie but I recommend Red Dust. It's much more cohesive and flows easier. Clark and Harlow have a great dynamic!
The Natives Are Restless, Bwana--And You Will Be, Too!
museumofdave17 February 2013
Western director John Ford was more or less asleep at the wheel on this jungle epic, with the stars given a tepid script rife with fifties clichés about the roles men and women play in the moral scheme of things. Gable had done the same role some 20 years earlier in the hugely entertaining, zippy precode Red Dust with sassy Jean Harlow and salty Mary Astor, but Grace Kelly and Ava Gardner, while holding their own in the beauty department, are given next to nothing to work with, except perhaps for Ava's tussle in the mud with a baby elephant. Gable goes through the motions of being The Great White Hunter with his customary professionalism, but looks fairly bored. The idea of hunting down and killing gorillas is certainly as outmoded today as the romantic clichés--but there is some excellent footage of native African dances and some nice scenery,though nothing one can't see to more advantage in a National Geographicspecial. Recommended only for star fans as Saturday matinée material.
I enjoyed it but prefer Red Dust
mgmstar12828 July 2009
I won't rehash what so many of my fellow reviewers have said about the plot, but I will focus on some of their comments.
I found Clark Gable, still handsome and virile, to be too old to be the love interest for Grace's "27 year old" character. I suppose some might feel it worked, but I didn't.
I have never been a huge Grace Kelly fan, but she turned in a good performance here. I have no complaints. Her husband in the film was fine too.
Ava was the best overall. She seemed very natural and believable. Her sex appeal was transmitted well with her comic flair.
I found the first half of the film to be more interesting than when they leave and go on their gorilla expedition.
It was an interesting film with luscious Technicolor worth seeing but don't expect too much except for Ava who is the best thing in the film.
I found Clark Gable, still handsome and virile, to be too old to be the love interest for Grace's "27 year old" character. I suppose some might feel it worked, but I didn't.
I have never been a huge Grace Kelly fan, but she turned in a good performance here. I have no complaints. Her husband in the film was fine too.
Ava was the best overall. She seemed very natural and believable. Her sex appeal was transmitted well with her comic flair.
I found the first half of the film to be more interesting than when they leave and go on their gorilla expedition.
It was an interesting film with luscious Technicolor worth seeing but don't expect too much except for Ava who is the best thing in the film.
Gorilla footage best part
Tashtago25 February 2007
There isn't a lot of footage of Gorillas in the wild and as these poor animals are becoming rarer and rarer it might be that this film represents some of the last filmed record of Gorillas in their natural habitat. Okay that's the most interesting thing about this film . Otherwise it could have been set anywhere as what it amounts to is a love triangle and hard to believe one at that. Sure Gable is cool, but I can't imagine either of these beauties (Grace Kelly and Ava Gardner) falling for him. Great performance from Ava though, reminded me a lot of her in "Night of the Iguana" and from what I've read of her life it is very close to her true character. Grace Kelly is a great beauty no doubt, but is there anyone else out there who feels, like me, that her voice with that fake English accent is annoying?
Movie stars struggle to find a story
davidmvining23 January 2022
Reminding me of Howard Hawks' far superior Hatari! From a decade later, John Ford's Mogambo is a story in Africa of a game hunter dealing with women. However, the central story is muddled (possibly because one particular role was cast with too large of a star and another too small) and there's an artificiality in some key moments with animals that Hawks would later do so much better by actually having John Wayne and cast capture live animals. It's easy to see how the idea of the film appealed to Ford. The Africa setting was exotic and, at the same time, seemed to fit in with the common motif from his work about life on the edges and outside of civilization, but it just simply doesn't come together in the final product all too well.
Victor (Clark Gable) is a big game hunter in Africa when Eloise Kelly (Ava Gardner) shows up out of the blue expecting an audience with the Maharaja who left a week before back to India without letting her know. Stuck there without her expected meeting, Eloise attaches herself to Victor, going from flippant social climbing socialite to trying to be the kind of person who can live the hard life in Africa. There's an implied sexual encounter between the two, but then it's time to send Eloise off back to the civilized world. She gets on the boat and is seemingly out of the picture.
In walks an anthropologist and his wife, Donald (Donald Sinden) and Linda (Grace Kelly), who have employed Victor's company for a safari, but Donald wants to go much further, into gorilla country, than originally agreed. When he comes down with a feverish reaction to his Tsetse fly shot, Victor and Linda are mostly left alone to look deeply into each other's eyes. It becomes obvious to Victor that perhaps the married couple love each other, but their relationship lacks any passion. And then Eloise shows back up because the boat crashed and she had to make it back.
That is the makings of two related love triangles, and the dynamic might have been interesting had Donald not essentially been a non-entity for huge stretches of this movie. He's first in bed, and then he's quite simply ignored except to say the occasional nice thing about his wife and be completely oblivious to the stirring sexual chemistry between his guide and his wife. Much more prominent is Eloise who simply pines for Victor impotently. None of this works particularly well, and we're left with the safari.
The cast and crew did go to Africa to film for a few weeks, finishing the production on sound stages in Los Angeles, and it was apparently an eventful time. Ava Gardner was married to Frank Sinatra at the time, and they fought and made up constantly. Clark Gable and Grace Kelly apparently started and largely ended an affair during production. Wild animals walked into tents. Gable got a gum infection. Sinatra brought large spaghetti dinners. There were investigations of the size of the native men's penises by the two female costars. And, also, there was some filming of stuff in Africa. There were a lot of running shots of animals traipsing through the plains. They used locals heavily to fill out the party as well as provide great color and texture to a pair of stops along the way.
Those stops include a visit with a priest who runs a local school and a tense moment at a local fort that had been overrun with antagonistic locals that barely let the party escape. All the while this stuff happens, there are doe-eyes between Victor and Linda while Eloise pouts and Donald has no idea.
Then they actually get to gorilla country and the relative strengths and weaknesses of the film flip. The outdoor filming gives way to crosscutting between studio filming and footage of gorillas, creating an artificiality in key moments of the finale that shouldn't be there, and the confused double love triangle suddenly gains focus when Donald figures out what's going on. It's far to late to save the movie as a whole, but the brewing anger and rivalry between Donald and Victor that miraculously appears is kind of great. I just wish that sort of intensity had been present before the movie was 10 minutes away from ending. It's the center of the drama of the whole film, and yet it gets ignored until the very end.
The movie's not very good, but that final confrontation between the two male leads keeps me from saying it's actually bad. There's enough colorful Africa photography to provide some thin entertainment while the confused love story putters along. Acting is capable throughout, though nothing is all that memorable.
It feels like a production that kind of went awry. There was a lot of drama behind the scenes, and it seems like Ford took a liking to Ava Gardner (after his initial and stock meanness to her) which, considering his penchant for not sticking to scripts, might be why her role ended up so big in the film because it doesn't seem to fit the story all that well. It's a middling picture, and a bit of a disappointment from Ford at this point in his career.
Victor (Clark Gable) is a big game hunter in Africa when Eloise Kelly (Ava Gardner) shows up out of the blue expecting an audience with the Maharaja who left a week before back to India without letting her know. Stuck there without her expected meeting, Eloise attaches herself to Victor, going from flippant social climbing socialite to trying to be the kind of person who can live the hard life in Africa. There's an implied sexual encounter between the two, but then it's time to send Eloise off back to the civilized world. She gets on the boat and is seemingly out of the picture.
In walks an anthropologist and his wife, Donald (Donald Sinden) and Linda (Grace Kelly), who have employed Victor's company for a safari, but Donald wants to go much further, into gorilla country, than originally agreed. When he comes down with a feverish reaction to his Tsetse fly shot, Victor and Linda are mostly left alone to look deeply into each other's eyes. It becomes obvious to Victor that perhaps the married couple love each other, but their relationship lacks any passion. And then Eloise shows back up because the boat crashed and she had to make it back.
That is the makings of two related love triangles, and the dynamic might have been interesting had Donald not essentially been a non-entity for huge stretches of this movie. He's first in bed, and then he's quite simply ignored except to say the occasional nice thing about his wife and be completely oblivious to the stirring sexual chemistry between his guide and his wife. Much more prominent is Eloise who simply pines for Victor impotently. None of this works particularly well, and we're left with the safari.
The cast and crew did go to Africa to film for a few weeks, finishing the production on sound stages in Los Angeles, and it was apparently an eventful time. Ava Gardner was married to Frank Sinatra at the time, and they fought and made up constantly. Clark Gable and Grace Kelly apparently started and largely ended an affair during production. Wild animals walked into tents. Gable got a gum infection. Sinatra brought large spaghetti dinners. There were investigations of the size of the native men's penises by the two female costars. And, also, there was some filming of stuff in Africa. There were a lot of running shots of animals traipsing through the plains. They used locals heavily to fill out the party as well as provide great color and texture to a pair of stops along the way.
Those stops include a visit with a priest who runs a local school and a tense moment at a local fort that had been overrun with antagonistic locals that barely let the party escape. All the while this stuff happens, there are doe-eyes between Victor and Linda while Eloise pouts and Donald has no idea.
Then they actually get to gorilla country and the relative strengths and weaknesses of the film flip. The outdoor filming gives way to crosscutting between studio filming and footage of gorillas, creating an artificiality in key moments of the finale that shouldn't be there, and the confused double love triangle suddenly gains focus when Donald figures out what's going on. It's far to late to save the movie as a whole, but the brewing anger and rivalry between Donald and Victor that miraculously appears is kind of great. I just wish that sort of intensity had been present before the movie was 10 minutes away from ending. It's the center of the drama of the whole film, and yet it gets ignored until the very end.
The movie's not very good, but that final confrontation between the two male leads keeps me from saying it's actually bad. There's enough colorful Africa photography to provide some thin entertainment while the confused love story putters along. Acting is capable throughout, though nothing is all that memorable.
It feels like a production that kind of went awry. There was a lot of drama behind the scenes, and it seems like Ford took a liking to Ava Gardner (after his initial and stock meanness to her) which, considering his penchant for not sticking to scripts, might be why her role ended up so big in the film because it doesn't seem to fit the story all that well. It's a middling picture, and a bit of a disappointment from Ford at this point in his career.
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