Mogambo *** (1953, Clark Gable, Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly, Donald Sinden) – Classic Movie Review 2753

Director John Ford’s 1953 MGM romantic adventure comedy movie stars the great, sexy team of Clark Gable, Ava Gardner and Grace Kelly, whose lustrous allure is the film’s evident recommendation.

Based on the play Red Dust by Wilson Collison, this is the third bite at the tale of a Kenyan-based hunter called Victor Marswell (Gable) who runs a big game trapping company. He goes chasing gorillas on safari with a sexy showgirl named Eloise Kelly (Gardner), an icy lady called Eloise Kelly (Kelly) and her stuffy anthropologist husband Donald (Donald Sinden).

This is an entertaining, colourful, prettily photographed (by Robert Surtees and Freddie Young) Technicolor remake of Gable’s own 1932 hit movie Red Dust. It is smoothly directed and capably acted by a special cast whose mere presence adds the kind of lustre you just don’t get any more.

But why would Gable have wanted another go at this old stuff, even with top director John Ford? The antique tale may be creaky and showing its age, but then, with this cast, who cares?

Also in the cast are Laurence Naismith, Philip Stainton, Denis O’Dea, Eric Pohlmann and Asa Etula.

It holds a strange record of being one of only two MGM films not to have a scored musical soundtrack.

The same story had cropped up, to lesser effect, reworked as 1940’s Congo Maisie. Gardner and Kelly both gained Oscar nominations, respectively as Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress.

Gable clashed with director Ford and walked off the set in protest at his treatment of Gardner. Gable was also angry because Ford made several remarks about his age and weathered appearance.

It starts with a credit: ‘MGM is grateful beyond measure to the government officials of Kenya Colony, Tanganyika, the Uganda Protectorate and the Republic of French Equatorial Africa, whose limitless co-operation made this motion picture possible.’

© Derek Winnert 2015 Classic Movie Review 2753

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