Remake of Red Dust which works on its own terms - they keep the basic story but give it a fresh location, in Kenya, and while Clark Gable is back, his age means the interpretation of the role is very different.So too does the casting of Ava Gardner as Jean Harlow and Grace Kelly as Mary Astor.
This film needs stars to work and has great ones. Gable is perfect as an aging old rogue. I like Gardner as a shady lady off to see a Maharajah - her character is softened from Harlow, who was just a hooker; Gardner is given this backstory how her husband was killed in the way, and is basically a decent person. It's not as fun as the original but it does work on it's own terms.
Kelly is superb - the good girl with a fire in her loins. She really comes alive in her kissing scenes with Gable - she clearly wants him. It's very sexy. You can see why this turned her into a star and it's amazing MGM could never find her another role as good (she would be wasted in decorative parts and play her great roles outside the studio).
The location shooting in Kenya helps and it's nice that Kelly's husband Donald Sinden is on a science exploration not shooting people. Africa seems genuinely dangerous here - snakes everywhere, rain, hot weather. The blacks of course don't get much of a look in.
It doesn't feel obviously like a John Ford movie. But it is enjoyable.
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