Hatari! (1962)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Howard Hawks

Writers:

Harry Kurnitz (story)
Leigh Brackett (writer)

Release Date:

19 June 1962 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Wayne means adventure!

Plot:

A group of men trap wild animals in Africa and sell them to zoos. Will the arrival of a female wildlife photographer change their ways ?

Plot Keywords:

Zoo | Animal | Photographer | Hospital | Africa

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win

Cast

John Wayne	...	Sean Mercer
Hardy Krüger	...	Kurt Muller (as Hardy Kruger)
Elsa Martinelli	...	Anna Maria 'Dallas' D'Allesandro
Red Buttons	...	Pockets
Gérard Blain	...	Charles 'Chips' Maurey (as Gerard Blain)
Bruce Cabot	...	Little Wolf aka The Indian
Michèle Girardon	...	Brandy de la Court (as Michele Girardon)
Valentin de Vargas	...	Luis Francisco Garcia Lopez
Eduard Franz	...	Dr. Sanderson
Queenie Leonard	...	Nurse (scenes deleted)

Runtime:

157 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Swahili

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #19999) | Australia:G | Portugal:M/12 | West Germany:12 (f) | Finland:S (cut) (1972) | Finland:K-12 (uncut) (1962) | Sweden:11 | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Arusha National Park, Tanzania

Company:

Malabar

Trivia:

Composer Henry Mancini wrote a brief piece of incidental music to go with a scene where a baby elephant is taken for a walk. The simple little song became an international hit as "Baby Elephant Walk", and has been recorded by a large number of artists and in many different styles.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: The aforementioned missing left windshield of the catching truck, when in place, is also hinged along the top. Sometimes, from the passenger side of the vehicle you can see the hinge and a visible gap between the windshield and the cab frame. In addition, the windshield cracks partway open at the film's beginning. Racing across the uneven terrain of the Ngorongoro Crater, the catching truck goes hurtling over a ridge, and as it slams down, the left panel windshield comes ajar.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Sean Mercer: [over two-way radio] Kurt, can you hear me?
Kurt Muller: Go ahead, Sean.
Sean Mercer: At about eleven o'clock... right in the middle of that herd of wildebeest - see him?
Kurt Muller: Oh, that's a good one.
Sean Mercer: Let's go; start out easy.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Summer in the City (1970)

Soundtrack:

Baby Elephant Walk

Hatari

This, among others, is one of my favorite movies. I have the movie and my Granddaughter and I watch it often. She likes all the animals in it. Being an animal lover myself, this is the perfect movie with a perfect cast. John Wayne was remarkable in making this; he acted as if what he was doing was something he did everyday. Very natural.

Red Buttons was cute, funny and great in the role of "Pockets". The casting director couldn't have done a better job by putting him in this part. As far as that goes, all the actors were made for the parts they played.

The scenery is exceptional. Not sure if they were actually in Africa or not. Even if it wasn't made in Africa, you believed they were there. The music was what brought the whole thing together. Gave it feelings.