The Snows of Kilimanjaro gives Gregory Peck a privilege afforded only Gary Cooper previously, a second chance to be an Ernest Hemingway hero in a film. Just as Cooper had done A Farewell to Arms and For Whom the Bell Tolls, Peck had previously starred in The Macomber Affair.
This was also his second film with both Susan Hayward and Ava Gardner. It's a pity that the film did not call for the two of them to be sharing any scenes, that would have made it a better film.
Peck is novelist Harry Street, a man modeled by Ernest Hemingway on the character of Ernest Hemingway. Or at least some of the less attractive aspects of him. He's at a safari camp at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro in Kenya and slowly dying of blood poisoning while his second wife, Susan Hayward attends him and awaits for a plane that can do a medical evacuation, hopefully in time.
Hayward knows that she's always come up second best in Peck's eyes to his first wife Ava Gardner. In his feverish delirium Peck's mind starts wandering back over his life and especially to his early days in Paris as part of Hemingway's lost generation. And the relationship with his first wife.
The problem I find with this film is that Peck's character is so self involved that I can't see why these two beautiful women are falling all over for him. Maybe that's an occupational hazard with authors or artists of any kind, but it prevents The Snows of Kilimanjaro from being a first rate film or first rate Hemingway.
Nevertheless the stars are just fine in their parts and another part you should look for is that of Leo G. Carroll who is Peck's uncle and mentor. It's a kinder, gentler version of Elliott Templeton from The Razor's Edge. For that reason I'm sure it must have been offered to Clifton Webb.
There are some gorgeous sets and terrific color cinematography and not surprising that The Snows of Kilimanjaro was nominated for Oscars in both categories.
If you want to see Gregory Peck as a Hemingway hero, check out The Macomber Affair before this one. And if you want to see Ava Gardner as a Hemingway heroine, check out The Sun Also Rises. As for Susan, this was her one and only shot with Papa.
This was also his second film with both Susan Hayward and Ava Gardner. It's a pity that the film did not call for the two of them to be sharing any scenes, that would have made it a better film.
Peck is novelist Harry Street, a man modeled by Ernest Hemingway on the character of Ernest Hemingway. Or at least some of the less attractive aspects of him. He's at a safari camp at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro in Kenya and slowly dying of blood poisoning while his second wife, Susan Hayward attends him and awaits for a plane that can do a medical evacuation, hopefully in time.
Hayward knows that she's always come up second best in Peck's eyes to his first wife Ava Gardner. In his feverish delirium Peck's mind starts wandering back over his life and especially to his early days in Paris as part of Hemingway's lost generation. And the relationship with his first wife.
The problem I find with this film is that Peck's character is so self involved that I can't see why these two beautiful women are falling all over for him. Maybe that's an occupational hazard with authors or artists of any kind, but it prevents The Snows of Kilimanjaro from being a first rate film or first rate Hemingway.
Nevertheless the stars are just fine in their parts and another part you should look for is that of Leo G. Carroll who is Peck's uncle and mentor. It's a kinder, gentler version of Elliott Templeton from The Razor's Edge. For that reason I'm sure it must have been offered to Clifton Webb.
There are some gorgeous sets and terrific color cinematography and not surprising that The Snows of Kilimanjaro was nominated for Oscars in both categories.
If you want to see Gregory Peck as a Hemingway hero, check out The Macomber Affair before this one. And if you want to see Ava Gardner as a Hemingway heroine, check out The Sun Also Rises. As for Susan, this was her one and only shot with Papa.