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 ~The African Queen~  reigns supreme (see below)  - 

 The African Queen - Book Cafe Premier
   
A Night at the Flicks
 Friday 23rd November 2007
 
What's on in Cambridge
 
Cinemas in Cambridge
For listings of films showing at the three local cinemas, please look at Arts Picture House, Cineworld and Vue Cinema

On Friday cinema devotees were out in number to see the Book Café’s premier showing of John Huston’s fifties classic, “The African Queen” starring Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn.
 
Yes, it’s possible to have your own DVD’s fed into the plasma screen in the comfort of the family sitting-room but there’s nothing as delightful as being part of that larger shared experience - a night out at the flicks!
If ever there were a story-line that demands that we suspend our disbelief then the improbable tale of “The African Queen” is it. But that’s what communal viewing does – and does so effectively: Mr Bogart doesn’t sound Canadian, even if he’s supposed to be, and Miss Hepburn is even further away from the received pronunciation of a gel from the English midlands, but it doesn’t matter. These two stars still shine brightly even as they recede into the distance of the Hollywood constellation.

Robert Morley’s supporting role as an English Methodist missionary working in a remote part of German East Africa seems especially on target. The bigger screen reveals his considerable skills and though a brief one, his performance is absorbing and finely tuned. Of particular note is the photography of the Africa hinterland and its people: unleashed is a broad view of the untamed rivers, plunging rapids, glimpses of wildlife and most startling, although only captured in a few shots, the authentic faces of African folk.
 It was a tremendous start to what we hope may be a season of films. Thank you to everyone who responded to our short questionnaire. It will help us, we hope, to think of subsequent titles to set before us all.

If you enjoyed the evening out at the cinema then why not look out for the next performance – sometime in the New Year? Space is limited but we can offer seats to a few more movie fans, so, as they say, “Watch this screen”.