ita! Stop frightening the children!

Kristin, I don't know about surgical steel, but I plate my platinum wedding set with rhodium every couple of years. It's the only way.

Erin, I now have a vision of you, holsters full of glads. "Ka-CHING! Draw, pardner!"

Fours pages written. It's a start.

I am not looking at that other link.

Hee. That belt would look lovely which my stocking cap, sarong and fuzzy slippers, which is what I'm currently wearing.

If hurling flowers doesn't work, I can pelt people with my space heater.

Deb--I don't know anything about budgets, sorry. I am sure there were still lots of WWII jeeps floating around Africa in 1954. Here's a link of movies released that year from IMDB:

[link]

Once again, the wife reminds me I write too slowly.

Robin, you know what's weird, about the leftover Jeeps? They featured fairly prominently in the prologue to my fourth series books, as well. All this research for about four lines and a mental image...

I wonder what movies on location actually cost back in the when old days?

Did you get a piercing? Or is it ears?

Erin, I've had my belly pierced for ten years, but I took it out about 5 years ago because "it kept getting infected". What I later found out was really happening was a wicked nickel allergy...I knew I had this issue with earrings, but I thought surgical steel was nickel-free. Turns out nsm.

I just got it re-tapered and am now in search of pretty new ones.

African Queen had a 1.5 mil budget. Impressive for those days, but 2 big stars.

I'd love to get my hands on that thng about Rita Hayworth and Aly Khan, that Erin found

Deb, I think I've seen Champagne Safari at Le Video. Only takes a phone call to check. Also, I know I've seen home movies shot during the making of The African Queen. Maybe on a Biography special on John Huston or Kate Hepburn? Maybe on a special edition of AQ?

A step further out, there's also the movie White Hunter, Black Heart which is a fictionalized account of the movie shoot for The African Queen.

deb, I found this: [link]

"The most notable incident in the history of the park was the season that Hollywood moved into Momella Lodge to make the movie Hatari! [link]

So it might be worthwhile to look for making-the-movie memoirs by the producer/director Howard Hawks.

The time frame is only off a little bit: [link]
Sadleir, Randal
Tanzania, Journey to Republic 1999 [link]
Page Number: 204a Extract Date: 1957 Hatari 1957
"Also in the main street were Arusha's two famous hotels. The New Arusha displayed a board announcing that it was exactly midway between Cape Town and Cairo, and the Safari Hotel boasted an unusual copper topped bar to which a baby elephant had been led in for a drink in a recent Hollywood film Hatari (Danger). Mount Meru overlooked the pretty garden town beyond the golf course and the main road to Nairobi to the north."

(marking posts like a mad thing) And I am so going to rent that Hayworth Khan thing. Perfect for what I need in the way of visuals.

White Hunter, Black Heart

I loved that damned thing with a passion. Had forgotten it existed. And I do remember some of the documentary things about making the African Queen - which sits in my alltime top five most loved movies, three of which happen to have Kate Hepburn in them - and for some reason, what always sticks in my head is Bogart's breakdown rant about how cool and calm and professional and goodhumoured and unflappable Hepburn is. "GODDAMN that woman! She's got tsetse flies in her hair and ants in her underwear and LOOK AT HER!" or something along those lines.

$1.5 million. Just about enough to buy Tom Cruise's cigars.