At the start of the First World War, in the middle of Africa’s nowhere, a gin soaked riverboat captain is persuaded by a strong-willed missionary to go down river and face-off a German warship.
And so Mr. Huston merits credit for putting this fantastic tale on a level of sly, polite kidding and generally keeping it there, while going about the happy business of engineering excitement and visual thrills.
– Bosley Crowther,
New York Times,
20 May 2003
fresh:
Impossible to deny this film's entertainment value...
– Geoff Andrew,
Time Out,
24 Jun 2006
fresh:
The direction is often questionable, but the screenplay (by James Agee, John Collier, Huston, and Peter Viertel from C.S. Forester's novel) is a model of tight construction.
– Don Druker,
Chicago Reader,
28 Jun 2007
fresh:
It is a picture with an unassuming warmth and naturalness...
– William Brogdon,
Variety,
28 Jun 2007
fresh:
Five minutes in, and cowriter-director John Huston has already set the stage for something besides your typical '50s jungle-bwana boogie.