Mogambo (1953)

Directed by John Ford, this better than average remake of screenwriter John Lee Mahin's adventure drama Red Dust (1932) also stars Clark Gable in the leading male role, but replaces Jean Harlow with Ava Gardner and Mary Astor with Grace Kelly as well as altering the story. Instead of Gable running a rubber plantation for its owner, and having an affair with the owner's wife, Gable is a big game hunter who has a dalliance with one of his client's wives.Donald Sinden plays the cheated on husband that Gene Raymond played in the original. Gardner plays a former showgirl (in lieu of the "on the run" prostitute that Harlow played) that loves and understands "Gable" more than the "pristine" wife, blonde Kelly in this one vs. Astor, that falls for his testosterone oozing, if somewhat crude character which provides a stark contrast to her more proper husband.It's a credit to Gable that his sex appeal endured for so long, such that he could credibly play the role in both films. Gardner, who sings "Comin' through the Rye", earned her only Academy Award recognition with a Best Actress nomination; Kelly (Best Actress in The Country Girl (1954) a year later) received her first (and only other) with a Supporting Actress nod.Lots of great African scenery action from three time Oscar winning Color Cinematographer Robert Surtees and Freddie Young, who would go on to win three Oscars for his work, starting with Lawrence of Arabia (1962)).

There sure are Enough Spicy Ingredients in this Romantic Adventure Stew to Make it a Tasty Dish. Speaking of Tasty Dishes, Ava Gardner Steals the Show from the African Animals and Landscape as She Tries to Steal Clark Gable back from the Demure and Somewhat Snooty Grace Kelly.African Locations are not Only Naturally Beautiful, Like Ava and Grace, but are Sure to Release Pheromones and that can be a Good and Bad Thing Depending. Certainly Grace Kelly's Caged Libido is Released into the Wild and just being there Made Her Mad and Unbridled for the First Time.A Remake of Red Dust (1932) this is an Adequate Film with Chirpy Dialog and Sexual Innuendos and Director John Ford is Pleasurably Restrained as He is No Longer in America and His Heavy Patriotic Hand does not Overwhelm the Beauty of the Landscape.The Uneven Director just Lets the Mega-Stars and the Charming Animals Say it All and He Even Gives the Native Tribes some Dignity for a Change.

What a title! When I learned that "Mogambo" meant 'passion' in Swahili, the translation was so satisfying I didn't even want to check.And yes indeed, "Mogambo" is one of the hottest and most sensual adventure-films from Hollywood's Golden Age, and if some movie buffs refer to it as that John Ford's film (or remake, for the experts) set in Africa, I can't see it otherwise than the film with perhaps the best love triangle ever, Clark Gable, Ava Gardner and Grace Kelly, all of them in the American Film Institute's Top 50 Movie Legends… and what I love the most about that awkward tale of ambiguous love is the conclusion. You got it, I'm a fan of Ava Gardner.Ava Gardner was once named the 'most beautiful animal' and "Mogambo" sweeps off any derogatory undertone from that nickname for there is something magnetically bestial in the attraction that woman exudes, from her feline temper to her voluptuous curves, there's no way not to look at Ava Gardner as the ultimate incarnation of forbidden delights, especially since she never acts as if she was aware of that power, she's natural, earthy, sincere, she's what you can call a 'woman's man's woman'. So, it is only fitting that the man she falls in love with is a tough and virile game hunter played by Clark Gable, the ultimate macho icon, the one who's stronger, taller, bigger, gentler, funnier than any other man in the surrounding cast.And it's only fitting that the theater of their romance is the African wildlife, perhaps the only setting to give a warm welcome to that beautiful 'animal' … and reciprocally, Ava sure has a way with them animals… from playful baby elephants to towering giraffes. Besides, the setting of the African country gives a whole other dimension to the chemistry going between good old Victor and good old Kelly (that's their names), it is not to just about sending flowers and playing serenades, it's the good old 'rumble in the jungle', the "you Clark, me Ava", the game that plays between all the animals and make the strongest one get the girl.At one moment, she gets in his arms, scared by good old Joe, the name of Victor's pet snake, but savoring that tender moment on his torso, she concedes that a man like Victor wouldn't need old Joe to get a girl in his arms. If there's no sexual innuendo behind that, then I haven't seen enough movies in my life. But still, this would be too easy, if Kelly and Victor were alone on that safari, no sir, in the animal world, it's all about earning your love, like two hippos fighting to get the female. But in the case of "Mogambo", it's two girls who fight for good old Gable, and the second one is the perfect match for the volcanic brunette, it's the classy blonde. And both were so invested they earned the two only Oscar nominations of the film.Grace Kelly is Linda Nordsley, the wife of Donald (Donald Sunden), an anthropologist who came to film gorillas, he's given the lousiest role as the cuckolded husband who can't see his woman fooling around. But this is Grace Kelly we're speaking of, and although she does fall in love with Gable and that love is mutual, we'll never cast the stone on her. Gable dwarfs any man in comparison, and being the king of the jungle, the wildlife expert and the most competent hunter to protect the weak female, all the knowledge, all the kindness in the world wouldn't compete with that.It all ends up with Gardner as Kelly becoming her greatest rival, she's in love with Victor because she's an earthy straight-forward woman, like him, and Linda loves him because he completes her. I'm not sure whether we're supposed to be similar or complementary, but I felt so sorry for Donald that I wished Linda wouldn't end up as Victor's trophy hunt from the safari, and what made me love Victor is that he felt guilty about it, too. And this leads to perhaps the greatest conclusion ever, precisely for its anticlimactic effect, Gable wants to get rid of Linda for her own good, so he gives her the best slap in the face since the D-word to Vivien Leigh, and if Grace Kelly can get away by being an unfaithful wife, Gable can get away with being rude with a woman.That was as perfect a conclusion as it could ever get … because the passion, the 'mogambo' thing the film is about, is that fluid going between Gable and Gardner, perfect for each other. They love nature, animal, tropical setting, because they got it in their veins, they're travelers, adventuring from place to place, heart to heart, until finding themselves through one's heart, in a way, they were their own trophy hunt. And somewhat, you can feel the Fordesque touch, Gable is to the jungle what Wayne is to Silicon Valley, and if a man like Victor had to end with a princess like Linda, well as Wayne would say, "that'll be the day".Now, of course, it would be easy to discuss of all the colonial, borderline racist, elements dating the film, and I concede there are several, but this film is about escapism, it provides some of the greatest shots of African wildlife and in its own way, can be seen as a perfect documentary matching the quality of National geographic, not that it was intended, but the film has a pedagogical value and for that, Ford deserves credit.So it's irrelevant to discuss about racism because the film is like a Vaudeville in Safari-land, with so much fun that it's clear it doesn't take itself seriously, it's all about the burning passion between three of the era's hottest stars in the world's hottest place, making "Mogambo" the hottest thing Hollywood Golden Age could ever express.

Clark Gable reprises his original role in "Red Dust" for this 1953 film.Ava Gardner comes across as a tempestuous, yet common woman who is stood up in Kenya and winds up in the Gable camp. He portrays a game hunter in this film.Romance between the two is interrupted when Grace Kelly arrives with her British scientist husband,who is in Africa to study the gorillas.While you hear the traditional native African songs during this safari, the film certainly isn't about animal hunting. It deals with Gable being torn by Gardner and Kelly.Gardner lets down her hair and reveals that she is a war widow. Kelly is an erudite British lady with an authentic British accent to boot.Good thing there is romance blossoming here; otherwise, this would have made for one dull film. Kelly's performance as a straight-laced British lady smitten by Gable and therefore undergoing a complete personality change is engrossing. She is a repressed woman and this makes for some interesting fireworks among all concerned.