On Thursday, Oct. 12 and Saturday, Oct. 14 at 2 p.m., Harbor Theater presents “The African Queen.” In 1967, when the LA Times asked its readers what movie they would most like to see again, the answer was “The African Queen.” So, as we launch the 2023-24 Harbor Theater Classic Film Series, “The Great Directors: The Early Years,” we will honor the desires of those Los Angeles movie lovers and begin with John Huston’s 1951 pairing of two of filmdom’s most unlikely and most beloved couples, the boozing riverboat captain and the missionary’s sister.

From today’s vantage point, it would appear to have been a no-brainer for success with Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn in the starring roles. But, in 1951, both were considered past their primes at the box office, and the movie actually revived their careers (with Bogart winning the Best Actor Oscar). As far as the plot goes, this was not a story that held great promise for strong audience appeal. Except for the bookending opening and closing action scenes, the entire movie follows the journey of Bogart and Hepburn floating down a river in Africa. And yet, under the direction of Huston, the characters of Charlie and Rose emerge as complex, flawed, smart, and funny individuals who, through the course of their journey with its many twists and turns (both literally and figuratively), we come to know and love. When Roger Ebert wrote about the film in 1968 he said, “It is an almost perfect illustration of how much a really good movie can please. Things happen on the screen that make you happy. You get involved.”

Join us at the Harbor Theater on Oct. 12 and 14 at 2 p.m. and journey downstream through the Congo with Charlie and Rose. We promise it will be the most fun boat ride you will have this winter.

Harbor Theater is at 185 Townsend Ave., Boothbay Harbor. For more information, visit https://boothbaycinema.org.