The Snows of Kilimanjaro was a lavishly produced hit in 1952, starring Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner. Produced by Darryl Zanuck, it strayed immeasurably from Ernest Hemingway’s short story and the famous author was never able to bring himself to watch it during the course of his life. This screenplay is more true to the original story’s vision.
In this version, the protagonist is a writer who has lost touch with his once stellar talent. As he lies wounded on a hunting expedition in Africa he relives his years of adventure, love and warfare. Like so many of Hemingway’s works, Snows very much is autobiographical. The script weaves into the fabric additional material from his real life as well as other texts about his experiences in Africa and the colorful generation of bohemian expatriate artists and writers of 1920’s Paris. In summary, this adaptation has more content from Hemingway’s life and writings than any other movie ever made.