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.