Runtime: 116 minutes
Directed by: John Ford
Starring: Clark Gable, Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly, Donald Sinden, Philip Stainton
From: MGM
It was time for me to clear some space on the DVR, to see more John Ford, and to talk about an older film for the Letterboxd mutuals that mainly watch older films. I had this on the DVR since August so it was time. I have seen Red Dust, the 1932 film that was the first time the story was brought to the silver screen, and Clark Gable reprised his lead role.
Like in Red Dust, he was of the grouchy sort. Unlike the Indochina setting of Red Dust, Mogambo was set and filmed in Africa. Gable was a big game hunter-I know, that’ll be a deal-breaker for some even if he captures animals to sell to zoos rather than killing them for sport. Via circumstances, Ava Gardner, a nightclub singer nicknamed HONEY BEAR is stranded in that remote area. Understandably, our lead male falls for her, but then Grace Kelly appears; if only I could be able to romance either Gardner or Kelly, let alone both the same time. I certainly don’t look nor act like Gable, which is unfortunate.
Yeah, Red Dust is better, yeah, both leading ladies are stereotypical in not the most progressive ways-especially Kelly’s character-and yes the movie is overall a product of its time, for better or for worse. Be that as it may, I was entertained by this piffle which had some wacky characters, funny sniping between feuding characters, and some adventure amongst the romance in a lovely exotic setting, where a zoo’s worth of animals are seen throughout. Ford as a director of course is always a nice asset along with the leads. For my tastes, the bold, saucy Gardner character was the more appealing of the two love interests.
Perhaps I’m being a tad kind to Mogambo; nevertheless, while this is not top-tier Ford by any means, enough likable qualities are present (including a score done via African instruments) that were able to charm my pants off even if I typically prefer my John Ford to not be romance-heavy.
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