Mogambo is sexist, misogynistic, and plain offensive in its portrayal of women. Yet, John Ford manages to make it look good. It stars Eva Gardner, Grace Kelly, and Clark Gable in the African countryside, all of them looking fine except for a slightly rotund Gable. He's graying and mean in this film. He always has a condescending smirk across his face as one of the two leading ladies throws themselves mercilessly in his arms (God help them. Under normal circumstances I would say, "go girl!" but Gable is nothing but offensive in appearance and attitude this time around.)
Set against the African landscape, Mogambo essentially is a western. The jungles and hills of eastern Africa are featured prominently in Ford's compositions, aligning it with the American western landscape. Instead of cowboys we've got hunters and tourists. Gable is a hunter by trade. He keeps caged lions and tigers and other animals with large fangs and a growl right there on his property, just outside his front door. Inside he's got a pet snake (a huge phallus if there ever was one) named Joe. Plus he is angry. Not the snake, Gable, and when Ava suddenly appears for a quick vaca from the city (she's from New York, you can tell by her snarky accent) he lets her know it.
The two sort of hit it off. If by "hit it off" you mean "Ava is desperately lusty for Gable but he is too macho and mean to acknowledge her affection as more than a childish adoration." In that case, yes, they really do hit it off. Ava's traipsing around in a deep, scoop neck green shirt that keeps falling off her shoulders, and is barely kept up by the points of her breasts, which are also prominent features in the film. She's wearing high heels and a long draped skirt, not exactly the right look for some African R&R. Though, Ava's body is precisely the point of her being there anyway; she is sex on two long, balletic legs. If only she'd use them to kick Gable where it counts.
The best (i.e. most offensive) part of the story happens when society girl Grace Kelly shows up with her husband, begging Gable to tour them through Gorilla country. Suddenly Kelly falls out of love with her husband and in love with Gable, but the order may be switched on that. I remain baffled why or how this attraction exists between Kelly and Gable. She has no reason to like this man. Perhaps it is because Gable embodies all that Kelly has been taught to fear or despise--is it this that makes him so terribly attractive to her? Either way, like a little girl, Kelly turns into her most naive persona ever seen on film; she behaves like a schoolgirl who has been betrayed by her crush. In the end Gable plays the two women at once, the fine gentleman that he isn't.
Here is a spoiler, so don't read this paragraph if you want the surprise. Grace Kelly shoots Gable when she catches them drunk and reeking of repressed sexual desire together. Shot him right in the arm, and you know what? He smiles when she does it. He turns to Ava and smiles, that condescending grin back across his face again as Ava fumbles with the first aid kit. Grace finally leaves with her hubby. You thought your relationship was dysfunctional.
Though, like I said, through all of this dysfunction and misogyny Ford does make the movie look beautiful. The stock footage of jungle animals gets a little clunky as it's intercut with the smoothness of his original shots, and on a formal note, the blocking of his images is painterly. There must be a mythic tale of the West hidden somewhere in the narrative, but I was too ticked-off by the characters' relationships to give a damn.
Also check out this poster for the movie printed in Spanish. The artist rendering makes Grace Kelly look like Kirk Douglas, and the gorilla look as big as King Kong. Awesome.
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