Over his distinguished half-century career, Gregory Peck convincing played advertising executives, small-town lawyers, foreign correspondents, missionaries, generals, and even a Nazi murderer; however, the hard drinking, womanizing, big game hunter of Ernest Hemingway's "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" was a miscasting beyond his grasp. Peck plays best-selling author Harry Street, who lays gravely ill on the African plains beneath a snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro. As he tosses feverishly on his cot, Harry reviews his life, or rather his tumultuous romantic affairs, in bursts of memory-induced flashbacks.
Cool, remote, and polished, Peck is unconvincing as the adventurous hot-blooded lover of Ava Gardner, Susan Hayward, and Hildegard Knef; a man who shot rhinos in Africa and fought in the Spanish Civil War, without ruffling his hair. Based on Hemingway's 1936 short story, the film adaptation was directed by Henry King, a 20th Century Fox contract director, who elicited fine performances from Peck in "The Gunfighter" and "Twelve O'Clock High," and who would go on to direct another Hemingway adaptation, "The Sun Also Rises."
The choppy film jumps back and forth in time and place as Street's stream-of-conscious memories flit between Paris, Madrid, and Africa, between Gardner's dark haired Cynthia, Knef's blonde Countess, and Hayward's fiery red Helen; at least Harry likes variety. The three romantic liaisons portray three women who tolerate much in Street, who puts his writer persona first and his relationships second; when a handsome passionate Spanish flamenco dancer flirts with Gardner, one wishes the young dancer were playing Harry. Gardner's Cynthia was supposedly the love of Street's life, and Gardner is arguably the most memorable of the cast, although, as the wealthy possessive Countess, Knef is convincing, if unlikeable, while Hayward's caring rich widow, Helen, is typical Hayward. Unfortunately, Street's memories involve much talk and little excitement. The sole action sequence centers on Street's unexplained involvement in the Spanish Civil War, during which he appears to wander a battlefield dazed and charge the enemy armed with a rifle and a blank look; an improbable eye-rolling encounter on the field of battle passes unexplained.
This adaptation of Hemingway's story often strays from the original, although fleeting traces remain in an introductory narration and an intrusive hyena. However, the character of Cynthia was fabricated for the movie, and the endings are completely different. Although the cast evidently remained in Hollywood and obvious rear projection and long shots of doubles abound, the film boasts fine cinematography by Leon Shamroy and a Bernard Herrmann score. Unfortunately, saddled by a miscast Peck and a script that deviates too far from the short story, seeking out the Hemingway original may be a better option that looking for this film.
Cool, remote, and polished, Peck is unconvincing as the adventurous hot-blooded lover of Ava Gardner, Susan Hayward, and Hildegard Knef; a man who shot rhinos in Africa and fought in the Spanish Civil War, without ruffling his hair. Based on Hemingway's 1936 short story, the film adaptation was directed by Henry King, a 20th Century Fox contract director, who elicited fine performances from Peck in "The Gunfighter" and "Twelve O'Clock High," and who would go on to direct another Hemingway adaptation, "The Sun Also Rises."
The choppy film jumps back and forth in time and place as Street's stream-of-conscious memories flit between Paris, Madrid, and Africa, between Gardner's dark haired Cynthia, Knef's blonde Countess, and Hayward's fiery red Helen; at least Harry likes variety. The three romantic liaisons portray three women who tolerate much in Street, who puts his writer persona first and his relationships second; when a handsome passionate Spanish flamenco dancer flirts with Gardner, one wishes the young dancer were playing Harry. Gardner's Cynthia was supposedly the love of Street's life, and Gardner is arguably the most memorable of the cast, although, as the wealthy possessive Countess, Knef is convincing, if unlikeable, while Hayward's caring rich widow, Helen, is typical Hayward. Unfortunately, Street's memories involve much talk and little excitement. The sole action sequence centers on Street's unexplained involvement in the Spanish Civil War, during which he appears to wander a battlefield dazed and charge the enemy armed with a rifle and a blank look; an improbable eye-rolling encounter on the field of battle passes unexplained.
This adaptation of Hemingway's story often strays from the original, although fleeting traces remain in an introductory narration and an intrusive hyena. However, the character of Cynthia was fabricated for the movie, and the endings are completely different. Although the cast evidently remained in Hollywood and obvious rear projection and long shots of doubles abound, the film boasts fine cinematography by Leon Shamroy and a Bernard Herrmann score. Unfortunately, saddled by a miscast Peck and a script that deviates too far from the short story, seeking out the Hemingway original may be a better option that looking for this film.