Maps of Movies
The African Queen (1951)
Where The African Queen says it takes place, and where it was really shot.
The river that never was: the rapids and the fort were built in a London tank, while the real boat was found on Lake Albert
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Scenes and places
Rose plays the organ in the mission church (1914)
Rose accompanies the hymn at the little Methodist church while her brother Samuel preaches. Charlie rolls up with the mail and the supplies, and the prim missionaries put up with his coarse manners.
Set in Kungdu mission church, German East Africa — The mission church in the fictional village of Kungdu, where the story opens in August 1914.
Kungdu is the film's invented village. The film gives no real place for it.
War news reaches Kungdu (1914)
Charlie warns the Sayers that war has broken out between Germany and Britain. They stay, and German troops burn the village and march the villagers away.
Set in Kungdu village, German East Africa — The mission village where the Sayers choose to stay after the war news.
German East Africa was a German colony covering mainland Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi.
The African Queen sets off down the river (1914)
Charlie and Rose leave in the African Queen after burying Samuel. Charlie mentions the German gunboat on the lake downriver, and Rose comes up with a plan to turn the old boat into a torpedo boat.
Set in Start of the river — The point where the African Queen starts down the river toward the lake. The film does not name it.
Ubundu was called Ponthierville in the Belgian colonial period.
Filmed at Ubundu, Belgian Congo (now DR Congo) — Location work in Africa was based in Ubundu. The place stands in for the river stretch in the story; the exact riverside spot is not recorded. Google Maps · Apple Maps
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The first set of rapids (1914)
With Charlie in the engine and Rose at the rudder, the boat shoots the first rapids with only a little water aboard. Rose finds her nerve.
Set in First rapids — Rapids on the river that the film does not name.
Worton Hall in Isleworth was a film studio from the 1930s to the 1960s.
Filmed at Worton Hall Studios, Isleworth, London — The rapids were shot as a small-scale model in the studio tank, not in Africa. Google Maps · Apple Maps
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Under the guns of Fort Shona (1914)
German soldiers open fire as the boat passes the fort. A pressure hose is damaged and the boiler takes a hit.
Set in Fort Shona — The German fort overlooking the river. It is an invented place.
The fort is part of the story's invented geography.
Filmed at Worton Hall Studios, Isleworth, London — The fort is a plaster-covered scaffolding set built in the studio. Google Maps · Apple Maps
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The second set of rapids (1914)
Charlie reattaches the pressure hose just in time. The boat rolls and pitches, and more water floods the deck. Afterwards Charlie and Rose find themselves in an embrace.
Set in Second rapids — The second stretch of rapids.
Isleworth lies on the Thames west of London.
Filmed at Worton Hall Studios, Isleworth, London — Another studio-tank run with the model boat. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The riverbank forge (1914)
The third rapids damage the propeller shaft. On the shore the two rig up a primitive forge, and Charlie straightens the shaft and welds a new blade on the propeller.
Set in Riverbank forge — A makeshift workshop on the shore after the third rapids.
No real place is given for this scene.
Lost in the reeds (1914)
Near the river mouth the boat sticks in mud and dense reeds. With no supplies left and no drinkable water, Rose and a feverish Charlie fall asleep. Heavy rain raises the river and floats the boat into the lake.
Set in Reed beds at the river mouth — Reed marsh where the river meets the lake.
A rumour puts these reeds in Dalyan, Turkey, but the film's lead actress wrote that the reed shots were taken in Africa.
Night on the lake (1914)
Charlie and Rose prepare for two days, then steam out onto the lake in the dark to set the boat on a collision course. A strong storm hits and water pours in through the torpedo holes.
Set in The big lake — The lake patrolled by the German gunboat. The film does not name it.
Lake Albert lies on the Uganda-DR Congo border in the Albertine Rift.
Filmed at Lake Albert, Uganda — Much of the film was shot on Lake Albert. The point given is the lake's centre, not a filming spot; the scenes of the boat in the water were done in the London tanks. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The gunboat Königin Luise (1914)
The German gunboat patrols the big lake, so nothing can cross it. Rose's torpedo plan is meant to sink her.
Set in The big lake, German gunboat — The Königin Luise, the German gunboat that rules the lake in the story.
The film's ship was the steam tug Buganda from Lake Victoria; the name Königin Luise comes from a real German steam ferry of 1913.
Characters
- Rose Sayer — An English missionary in German East Africa who turns a river trip into a war plan.
- Charlie Allnut — The Canadian mechanic who captains the steamboat African Queen.