Writer Harry Street reflects on his life as he lies dying from an infection while on safari in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro.
Gregory Peck
Harry Street
Susan Hayward
Helen Street
Ava Gardner
Cynthia Green
Hildegard Knef
Countess Liz
Leo G. Carroll
Uncle Bill Swift
Torin Thatcher
Johnson
Ava Norring
Beatrice
Helene Stanley
Connie
Marcel Dalio
Emile
Vicente Gómez
Gitarrist
Richard Allan
Spanish Dancer
Leonard Carey
Dr. Edmund Simmons (uncredited)
Amanda Ambrose
Pianist (uncredited)
Sugarfoot Anderson
(uncredited)
Salvador Baguez
Stretcher Bearer (uncredited)
Charles Bates
Harry at Seventeen (uncredited)
Nina Borget
Girl (uncredited)
Maurice Brierre
Waiter (uncredited)
Arthur Brunner
Accordion Player (uncredited)
Charles Brunner
Guest (uncredited)
Ernest Brunner
Accordion Player (uncredited)
Benny Carter
Alto Sax Soloist (uncredited)
Monique Chantal
Georgette (uncredited)
André Charlot
Guest (uncredited)
Edward Colmans
Clerk (uncredited)
George Davis
Servant (uncredited)
James Davis
Abdulla (uncredited)
Amapola Del Vando
Spanish Ambulance Driver (uncredited)
Victor Desny
Waiter (uncredited)
John Dodsworth
Compton - Cynthia's First Man (uncredited)
Arthur Dulac
Beggar (uncredited)
Wade Dumas
Native (uncredited)
Elzie Emanuel
Paddler (uncredited)
Lisa Ferraday
Vendeuse (uncredited)
Paul Fierro
Spanish Officer (uncredited)
Bert Freed
American Soldier (uncredited)
Martín Garralaga
Spanish Officer (uncredited)
Janine Grandel
Annette (uncredited)
Agnès Laury
Margot (uncredited)
Ivan Lebedeff
Marquis (uncredited)
Joseph Lenzi
Guest (uncredited)
Jay Loft-Lynn
Servant (uncredited)
Alphonse Martell
Valet (uncredited)
George Navarro
Stretcher Bearer (uncredited)
Constance Purdy
Guest (uncredited)
Tito Renaldo
Dying Soldier (uncredited)
Julian Rivero
Old Waiter (uncredited)
John Roy
(uncredited)
Emmett Smith
Molo - African Servant (uncredited)
Ann Staunton
Guest (uncredited)
Paul Thompson
Witch Doctor (uncredited)
Bertil Unger
Guest (uncredited)
Maya Van Horn
Princess (uncredited)
Paula Vernay
Gambler (uncredited)
Cecil Weston
Guest (uncredited)
Victor Wood
Charles (uncredited)
Director
Roy Ward Baker
Director
Henry King
Screenplay
Casey Robinson
Short Story
Ernest Hemingway
September 22, 2020
6
_**An agglomeration of Hemmingway stories with Peck, Hayward and Gardner**_
In the shadow of Mt. Kilimanjaro, a wounded writer (Gregory Peck) deliriously reflects on his past loves & adventures in Paris, the French Riviera and Spain during the Spanish Civil War.
“The Snows of Kilimanjaro” (1952) is a melodramatic drama/romance/adventure, the quaint blueprint for future flicks like “Legends of The Fall” (1994). It’s an assemblage of several unrelated Hemmingway stories, including the title one (obviously), as well as his nonfiction book Death in the Afternoon (1932).
The Peck character, Harry Street, is basically a fictional version of Hemingway, who was an author/journalist attracted to traveling, adventure, war and women. He was a volunteer ambulance driver in Italy during WW1 where he was wounded by shrapnel in both legs, which is depicted in the well done “In Love and War” (1996). As a journalist, he was in Spain during much of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), hunted on safaris in Africa and was fascinated by bullfighting in Spain & Mexico.
Harry Street comes across as a self-absorbed drama queen who treats gorgeous women dubiously. But the African scenery helps assuage some of the monotony, like the hippos on the river, but the rhinoceros killing is painful to watch because I hate the unnecessary killing of animals, especially mighty ones who could easily kick the hunter’s axx if he didn’t have a rifle.
If you’re not in the right mode, this can be a ponderously episodic bore. But it’s rescued by featuring two of Hollywood's most beautiful ladies, Susan Hayward and Ava Gardner, not to mention Hildegard Knef. Susan’s pal, Hedy Lamarr, was originally offered the role Ava eventually took.
The film runs 1 hour, 54 minutes and was shot in Nairobi, Kenya; Cairo, Egypt; and the French Riviera; as well as 20th Century Fox Studios, Century City, Los Angeles.
GRADE: B-/C+
Status:
Released
Original Language:
English
Budget:
$0.00
Revenue:
$0.00