Harry Street (Gregory Peck) lies in a cot on the savannah beneath Kilimanjaro and ponders his life. He finds now a good time to ponder as he is dying. His wife, Helen (Susan Hayward), is upset by his dire prediction and fretful that it might be true. Ignorant or uncaring of his wife's feelings, he blathers on about his impending death from gangrene before nodding off. His mind travels back to his youth and the first girl whose heart he broke. His drive to be a successful writer meant that he had to experience as much as he could. He would be a wanderer. In Paris, Cynthia Green (Ava Gardner) caught his fancy. She was the love of his life, if only he had realized that sooner. In fact, he met Helen on account of she looked like Cynthia. So much left to write and so little time.
Harry is thoroughly unlikeable. He is a worthless cad, a man blind to all that is in front of him. He is so eager to absorb experiences about which he can write but learns nothing from his extensive experience with women. Of course, the women aren't much better. Cynthia is too afraid to tell him she's pregnant but brave enough to tumble down a staircase to miscarry. Countess Liz (Hildegard Knef) is noxious, showing that Harry has terrible taste in women. Or, more likely, he is willing to endure wealthy women. Indeed, Helen is rich. Has Harry parlayed his moderate fame as an author into several gigs as the kept man of affluent women?
The role did not suit Gregory Peck. Harry is a lowlife, while Peck has the stature of an upstanding citizen of high morals. Despite having been a heavy drinker in life, he offers unconvincing evidence of it in acting. Serious and stern were Peck's bread and butter in acting. Foolishness and high spirits are unconvincing. Really, he comes across as a mediocre actor here. There is something to be said for typecasting. I was reminded of Arabesque, another film where he did not fit the role.
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