A great white hunter’s complicated love life is further disrupted by the arrival of a married socialite on his African safari.
Professional hunter Victor Marswell (Clark Gable) is surprised by the arrival of Eloise “Honey Bear” Kelly (Ava Gardner), a boisterous American showgirl who was stranded after her date stood her up. A flirtation develops just as anthropologist Donald Nordley (Donald Sinden) and his elegant wife Linda (Grace Kelly) arrive for a safari. An immediate and powerful attraction forms between Victor and the married Linda, creating a tense romantic triangle played out against the backdrop of the African plains and the dangers of the expedition.
A Technicolor remake of the 1932 pre-Code film Red Dust, Mogambo features Clark Gable reprising a version of his own earlier role, swapping Jean Harlow for two formidable new screen partners. Director John Ford stages the romantic conflict with assurance against the authentic backdrop of the African landscape. The film’s primary function is as a vehicle for its stars; it pits Ava Gardner’s fiery, world-weary wit against Grace Kelly’s cool patrician beauty. Both actresses received Academy Award nominations for their efforts, and their battle for Gable’s affections gives the adventure its dramatic core. The production itself was rugged, with Gable famously earning the title “Bwana” from a local tribe after killing a crocodile that had been threatening them.
Production Co: MGM / 115 mins / 1953
Director: John Ford
Screenplay: John Lee Mahin, Wilson Collison
Main Cast: Clark Gable (Victor Marswell), Ava Gardner (Honey Bear Kelly), Grace Kelly (Linda Nordley), Donald Sinden (Donald Nordley)
