Classic Film Review: Mogambo (1953)

Mogambo stars Clark Gable as Vic Marswell, a big game trapper in Kenya. His equilibrium is disturbed first by the arrival of Eloise 'Honey Bear' Kelly (Ava Gardner), a woman who arrives for a safari only to find the man she was meant to be meeting has stood her up. An immediate attraction springs up but Vic is determined to get rid of Kelly on the next boat and get back to normal. However, that doesn't work when the boat is shipwrecked. In the meantime, married couple Linda (Grace Kelly) and Donald Nordley (Donald Sinden) arrive for their safari. Demure Linda also catches Vic's eye, causing tensions as the group travels up to gorilla country.

Ava Gardner steals this film from Gable. Every scene in which she doesn't appear is lifeless. She brings an energy to the screen that's sadly lacking in the rest of the film. Kelly's fish-out-of-water tendencies are brilliant, especially her introduction to Joe, the camp snake, and her 'cute pussycats' moment near the big cats. However, her scene with a baby elephant and a baby rhino is probably the highlight of the film. Grace Kelly isn't boring as such but the character is. There's never a sense that Linda and Vic belong together, making their romance very difficult to stomach. On the other hand, Kelly's boisterous nature is in complete contrast to Vic with his work ethic, creating a very well-suited pair. Equally, the supporting character of Brownie (Philip Stainton) works well in scenes with Kelly.

The other major character in Mogambo is Kenya. The time spent on location was certainly worth it, creating vivid and memorable scenes. However, the difference between the location shots and the studio ones are so obvious at times that it's off-putting. Like many films of this era, it treads a tightrope between location and studio and sometimes comes up short. The inclusion of native tribes creates some odd interludes with no bearing on the plot but which, I suppose, add to the overall authenticity of the film.

What makes Mogambo exciting is, quite simply, Ava Gardner. What diminishes the power of the film is the lacklustre relationship between Vic and Linda and Donald Sinden as Nordley, who is either completely miscast or the character is just flat and useless. Every memorable moment in this film comes from Gardner. Apparently John Ford was irritated about having to cast Gardner in the film and yet she turns out to be one of the only highlights - how amusing!

Classic Film Review: Bhowani Junction (1956)

Bhowani Junction stars Stewart Granger as Colonel Rodney Savage, one of the British officers facilitating the withdrawal of the British from India in 1947. Sorry to see them go are the Anglo-Indians who have enjoyed some privileges from their British cousins and are concerned about their place in the new India. One of these is Victoria Jones (Ava Gardner), a WAC. She finds herself disgusted by Savage's treatment of Indians engaging in protest and receives unwanted advances from Lieutenant Graham McDaniel (Lionel Jeffries). Following an incident, she slips into the world of Ranjit Kasel (Francis Matthews) whose mother poses more of a danger to her than she realises.

This is Victoria's story. It jars a little to hear it narrated by Savage because it feels as though it's detracting from the fact that her experiences are central to the plot. On the other hand, as they went down the 'framing' route with Savage telling the story to a colleague on the train as he leaves Bhowani Junction, I suppose this makes sense. However, Victoria is the character we see and sympathise with. She embodies the conundrum of the person 'in the middle' with no heritage to speak of and constantly trying to define her place in the world. Gardner portrays this conflict admirably, with only a few slips into melodrama. Her Victoria is personable and, most importantly, coherent. Her feelings may change but we often see the reason why.

Aside from the narration aspect, there was only one other thing that really bothered me: the long-winded introduction by Savage about what was going on at the time. It could have been explained much more naturally in dialogue, and that goes for Savage's periodic interruptions to tell us 'what's going on'. The film was actually doing a decent job of conveying that and so the interruptions felt redundant and, again, removed focus from Gardner's Victoria.

There is one scene that stands out from all the rest and Gardner doesn't say a word. Victoria's in the temple with Ranjit and begins thinking about all the things that have been said to her and by her that have brought her to this moment. Gardner doesn't speak but her facial expressions do the work for her. You don't need words in that moment to have a full understanding of the character and that's rather special.

I don't think that the Granger/Gardner pairing was particularly inspired in that their arguments were more exciting that their supposed attraction but, overall, this was an interesting and colourful film that built to a conclusion I actually cared about.