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You are here: Home / Katharine Hepburn / The Making of the African Queen by Katharine Hepburn

The Making of the African Queen by Katharine Hepburn

October 1, 2019 By Joi

The Making of The African Queen by Katharine Hepburn

The Making of The African Queen

One of my guiltiest of pleasures is getting inside of Katharine Hepburn’s head.

What a place!

Whether it’s listening to interviews, coming across her quotes, or (my favorite) reading her memoirs – getting a front row seat to the intriguing thoughts of one of our greatest actors/actresses of all time is a treat I never pass up.

Needless to say, I collect all Katharine Hepburn biographies, memoirs, autobiographies, magazines… if she’s in it, I’m on it.

One of my favorites is The Making of The African Queen. In this larger-than-life account (Let’s face it, what associated with Katharine Hepburn isn’t larger-than-life?), she tells, in her own priceless words and in her own delicious way, everything that went on behind the scenes of this legendary film. She tells of Bogie and Bacall’s great love for one another, the time she basically told John Huston to scram… only to become very close to him…. how they all made the absolute best out of difficult situations, etc.

As luck has it…

  • Katharine Hepburn is one of my favorite actresses.
  • Humphrey Bogart is one of my favorite actors.
  • Lauren Bacall is one of my favorite actresses.
  • John Huston is one of my favorite directors.
  • The African Queen is one of my favorite movies.

No wonder I love this book – it was practically written for me! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Continued below the legends…

Katharine Hepburn and John Huston The Making of the Aftican Queen

 

I’ll tell you a few of the things I love the things I love most about Katharine Hepburn:

  1. She was a straight-shooter. She didn’t mollycoddle anyone or anything. If she didn’t like something, she said so. If she did like something, she said so.
  2. She knew who she was and didn’t need anyone’s approval and she darn sure didn’t need their permission.
  3. She was one of the greatest actors/actresses EVER. I’ll go a step further – there will NEVER be another like her.
  4. While she was deliciously frank and honest, she was also uncommonly fair and positive. Yes, positive… and in VERY positive. She seems to have an image (when it comes to some people, anyway) as being kind of “hard” and edgy. Here’s the facts: I read a lot…. a lot a lot a lot a lot…. of Old Hollywood biographies and autobiographies. Seriously, I couldn’t even begin to count the number I read in just a year, let alone over a lifetime. I always have at least three going at any given time. Of all the stars’ memoirs I’ve read or quotes they’ve given, I have never read a star who was more giving to those they worked with or more positive about their experiences than Katharine Hepburn. In fact, I could count on one hand, probably, stars who were AS positive. It’s simply the way she was and I love it.

Not only is The Making of The African Queen fascinating because of the firsthand details our wonderful author gives us, it is also fascinating because of the wonderful pictures – many never seen anywhere else.

As you know, when it comes to my movie reviews and my book reviews, I like to keep things short and sweet when possible and I detest the thought of giving away too much information that I want you to come across on your own – heck, I refuse to spoil your fun! I will keep this review short and sweet as well. If you love Katharine Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, John Huston, The African Queen or simply are a fan of Old movies… you need to add this book to your collection. When you click through to Amazon, be sure to look at the “Used” books available.

I’ve gotten to where I always buy “Used” books on Amazon (I’m just sure to mark “excellent” or “very good” as determiners). I figure that saving money on one book simply means I can buy two or three!

And there you have it… a look inside my devious, plotting, book-greedy mind!

~ Joi

P.S. If you don’t know much about Katharine Hepburn, please start reading more about her – particularly in her own words. She was a fascinating, larger-than-life, inspiring, one-of-a-kind woman and the more you get to know her, the more you’ll love her. This would make me unspeakably happy.

Filed Under: Katharine Hepburn, Old Hollywood Book Reviews Tagged With: Katharine Hepburn, Old Hollywood Book Reviews, The African Queen



I try to keep my posts, book reviews, and classic movie reviews as short as possible. I want to share my thoughts and (more importantly) shine a spotlight on the stars that mean so much to us, however I don't want to take up too much of your precious time. My goal is to give you information, trivia, and photos that will put a smile on both your face and your day! ~ Thank you for being here, you honor me with your presence, Joi ("Joy")

Welcome to Hollywood Yesterday!

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Ann Sheridan
My name is Joi (“Joy”) and I created Hollywood Yesterday as my personal tribute to Old Hollywood. It’s my effort to help keep the stars from Old Hollywood, Classic Television, and Old Radio Shows alive and shining forever. Old Hollywood was positively magical and I see no reason for the magic to ever die.

Be warned, I am (by nature) overtly positive, I never take anything too seriously, I say extraordinary so often you’d think I invented the word, and I overuse exclamation points to distraction. I’m perpetually over-caffeinated.. we’ll blame that.

Read more about Hollywood Yesterday (and see my personal favorites) here!

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See the Old Hollywood Actors page for the index of Old Hollywood and Classic TV actors.

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I love reading old Hollywood biographies and memoirs as much as I love watching classic movies, and that’s truly saying something!

To see my Old Hollywood book reviews, please see the index listed here: Book Reviews.

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Priorities, y’all.

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Also, please know that I try to keep my posts (except for book reviews) short and to the point, so you can enjoy the pictures, grab the information, and get back to your life. I don’t appreciate anything that’s overly wordy, so I don’t want to do that to others. For better or worse, I write as I talk, so if you ever feel like you’re reading the words of someone who’s a cross between Lucy Ricardo, Daisy Duck, and a Jerry Lewis character, that’s just because you are!

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Aside from pictures of books I review, I do not claim to have taken any of the pictures on this website, nor do I own the pictures – the ones of the stars or the affiliate (product) pictures.  Other, far more talented photographers than me have the credit for the beautiful photos you see. If you would like credit for a photograph or would like one removed, please e-mail me (joitsigers@gmail.com).

Movie posters and promotional photos are used in the belief that they qualify for the Fair Use law. Fair use is a doctrine in the law of the United States that permits limited use of copyrighted material without having to first acquire permission from the copyright holder. Fair use is one of the limitations to copyright intended to balance the interests of copyright holders with the public interest in the wider distribution and use of creative works by allowing as a defense to copyright infringement claims certain limited uses that might otherwise be considered infringement.

When you click through an affiliate (product, book, dvds..) link, I earn a small portion of the money you spend IF you purchase anything. This does not cost you any extra money, of course. This is how I am able to work from home and support my cats! – Joi (“Joy”)

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