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| Won: Academy Award - Best Actor |
Humphrey Bogart's victory for The African Queen checks off two common tenets that come with rewarding Academy Awards - the first being that Bogie defeated performances which've become much more iconic or revered in time, and the second being that Bogie won for a performance not widely perceived as being as "good" as other works in his filmography. Needless to say, I was not expecting to have much of a reaction to this particular performance, but was surprised to have liked it as much as I did.
The African Queen runs for over an hour and a half, with Bogie and Katharine Hepburn mostly floating down a river on a boat the entire time. And while I'm generally not a fan of situational films wherein characters are confined to a specific setting, the film's screenplay does a good job and pushing the picture along at a steady pace. It's up to the actors then to craft compelling enough characterizations that'll keep you invested, and Bogie certainly exceeded my expectations in terms of carrying the film - and doing so in an effortless manner.
We know Bogie can do stern pensiveness. And after watching him brood and grimace his way through the likes of Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, it almost comes as a shock to witness Bogie so naturally affable here. Who'd a thunk?
What's striking is how believable it all feels - after years of playing hardened, detached men, Bogie is pretty seamless as the personable, unsophisticated, oft-times goofy Charlie. You see him make silly faces while his stomach grumbles; you watch him chew scenery while drunkenly yelling at Rose - and it doesn't strike as atypical, even though it is. You watch him and Katharine Hepburn - much older than his prior on-screen loves Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, and Gloria Grahame - fall for one another, and the chemistry between the two feels natural. It's strange - I'm not saying that Bogie is the definitive actor to have played Charlie, but it would also seem that Charlie fits him like a glove.
I doubt that Bogie came into this picture gunning for an Academy Award - the performance doesn't take itself very seriously, which I believe also contributes to the end result: a simple but highly watchable performance that's also fun! "Overdue" politics aside, I can understand how Academy members might've been compelled to vote for him over his severely somber field of competitors that year. Not one for the ages, but just fine nonetheless - there've been worse winners!
I actually think this is a terrific performance and shows Bogart's range. It's more comedic than his usual, although his light touches in "Big Sleep' and "All Through the Night" make those performances thoroughly enjoyable. Here, he's entirely believable as the 'seen-better-days' Charlie and his chemistry with Hepburn is delightful. This is a beloved performance for many film-goers, myself included, and it may be a little more highly regarded than you think. In my opinion, it's a deserved win - although there's one other nominee from '51 who was just as deserving.
ReplyDeleteOpenly referring to Louella Parsons as 'the fat one,' and Hedda Hopper as 'the one with the hats,' Brando made it clear as can be he had no interest in playing the kiss-ass campaigning routine that precedes all Oscars. Fine. He wouldn't be the first or last gifted actor to take that attitude, particularly when success landed like lightning.
ReplyDeleteThus I have no disagreement with Bogart's win, either. It's a rewarding performance even if he might have been more deserving elsewhere. Brando would wait to be handed his first by Bette Davis, nor was he done provoking the Hollywood establishment.