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The Snows of Kilimanjaro

Released Aug 18, 1952 1h 57m Adventure List
75% Tomatometer 8 Reviews 51% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
The life of celebrated American writer Harry Street (Gregory Peck) flashes back before his eyes as he lies dying from a wound suffered at the foot of Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro. As he is tended to by his traveling companion, Helen (Susan Hayward), he recalls many things: his first wife and Paris literary inspiration, Cynthia Green (Ava Gardner) ; his second wife, Countess Liz (Hildegarde Neff) ; and his formative years with uncle Bill (Leo G. Carroll).
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The Snows of Kilimanjaro

Critics Reviews

View All (8) Critics Reviews
Kate Taylor Globe and Mail Rated: 3/4 Feb 10, 2012 Full Review Robert Roten Laramie Movie Scope It turns out to be a flawed, but not entirely unsuccessful, adaptation of Hemingway's short story. It appears the movie would have benefitted if it had stuck closer to its source material. Rated: C Sep 24, 2022 Full Review Nell Dodson Russell Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder Snows of Kilimanjaro gets off to one of the slowest starts I have ever seen on the screen, but when It does get going it manages to turn Into a picture well acted and beautifully presented In technicolor. Dec 15, 2021 Full Review Manny Farber The Nation The Snows of Kilimanjaro is mainly lacking in a sense of when enough is enough. Nov 25, 2020 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews The star-studded cast makes the flawed film watchable. Rated: B- Sep 11, 2009 Full Review James Plath Movie Metropolis Plays better on the page than on stage or screen, but Peck and Gardner give it their all. Rated: 3/5 Sep 16, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Blu B It's one of the most boring things from the 50's I've seen. The actings alright. None of the charactersa re that likeable. Peck doesn't really have that much chemistry with anyone and his trademark stoicness is missing here. This is probably the worst I've ever seen him. The cinematography is alright enough I guess too, but the stock wildlife scenes are very noticeable. Also, the fact they are all sets and not actually Africa itself makes it clash with with the stock footage so noticeably. The direction is very basic also. The music isn't that good. It plays in the background a lot in this and it feels very sappy, over played lots of times, and just makes the boredom even worse it feels like. And the editing and pacing aren't good either. The plot is very meandering. It never is able to tie the 3 romances together into a cohesive story. It feels like stuff just happens and if you removed any one of the romances down to a 30 second expose describing them nothing would be lost really. The flashback storytelling doesn't really add anything either and makes it feel very meandering and pointless even more. It's no that this doesn't make sense but it's just there really feels like there is no point to any of it. This should've either been a cool survivor story or a much better romance focused on one relationship or a love triangle. This doesn't commit to either. Skip This. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 08/13/24 Full Review Steve D Nonstop downer with good acting, Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/23/24 Full Review nick s I couldn't get past half way. The actors were very good but the story seemed rudderless. There was a lot of dialogue, some of which felt redundant. I don't think the director was a disciple of the "show, don't tell" mantra. I'm sure it got better near the end but too much of a slog for me. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 11/20/23 Full Review Russ G Virtually anything showcasing Miss Gardner's beauty, with the possible exception of The Barefoot Contessa, is worth three stars. Susan Haywood is easy on the eyes, too; I've only seen her in B&W films before this but you have to see her in Technicolor. Peck portrays a 1st Class, OK, maybe 2nd Class, heel, but then Pappa Hemingway was no paragon of virtue, either. How any man could even think about jeopardizing a romance with Ava Gardner is rather implausible. If there's one everpresent flaw in this it's the use of sound stage shots with location backdrops; those might have been acceptable seven decades ago but they're visually distracting as they eye picks up the fakery immediately. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/06/23 Full Review Audience Member Oh what a stinker! I can't think of one redeeming quality. It's interminable. The plot is non-existent. It reminds me of the English Patient with the main character languishing on his death bed...only, he doesn't die; he only languishes and languishes and languishes... Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Audience Member One of the worst quality prints of any film I've ever seen. Horrid acting and set design. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Snows of Kilimanjaro

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis The life of celebrated American writer Harry Street (Gregory Peck) flashes back before his eyes as he lies dying from a wound suffered at the foot of Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro. As he is tended to by his traveling companion, Helen (Susan Hayward), he recalls many things: his first wife and Paris literary inspiration, Cynthia Green (Ava Gardner) ; his second wife, Countess Liz (Hildegarde Neff) ; and his formative years with uncle Bill (Leo G. Carroll).
Director
Henry King
Producer
Darryl F Zanuck
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Production Co
20th Century Fox
Genre
Adventure
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 18, 1952, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 7, 2011
Runtime
1h 57m
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