Hatari! (1962)

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

Director:

Howard Hawks

Writers:

Leigh Brackett (screenplay), Harry Kurnitz (story)

Stars:

John Wayne, Elsa Martinelli, Hardy Krüger

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
John Wayne	...	Sean Mercer
Hardy Krüger	...	Kurt Muller (as Hardy Kruger)
Elsa Martinelli	...	Anna Maria 'Dallas' D'Allesandro / Mama Tembo
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)

Storyline

Sean Mercer (played by John Wayne) runs a business in East Africa. He and his team capture wild animals for zoos. It is dangerous work - on of his men almost dies after being gored by a rhino. He accepts a request from a photographer to join his business and capture their experiences but is very surprised, and bit inconvenienced, when the photographer turns out to be a woman. However, over time he grows fond of her. Meanwhile, plans to capture certain animals lead to all sorts of plans and adventures.

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Plot Keywords:

zoo | chase | wildlife | drunk | savannah | 

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Taglines:

Hatari means Fun! Hatari means Adventure! Hatari means Thrills!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Swahili

Release Date:

19 June 1962 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tanganyika

Filming Locations:

Lake Manyara, Manyara, Tanzania

Box Office

Gross USA:

$14,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Malabar

Technical Specs

Runtime:

157 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The caching vehicle bears the badge "EA/T" for East Africa / Tanganyika. The license plate begins with AR, which means it is registered for Arusha, which is near Mr. Kimimanjaro. "Killy" can be seen in the background of the hunting lodge.

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Goofs

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.

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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.

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Connections

Referenced in Contempt (1963)

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Soundtracks

Baby Elephant Walk
Written by Henry Mancini

User Reviews

Geography, blankets, and Swahili

Since I recently spent two weeks in Tanzania, I wanted to add some information to the reviews that have already been posted. These comments are mostly related to geography. The film credits state that it was shot in Tanganyika. Tanganyika joined with the island of Zanzibar in 1964, the year after Zanzibar gained independence, and adopted the name Tanzania. So, we can now say that "Hatari!" was filmed in Tanzania. In the opening rhino chase, the vast, stream intersected plain with the lush green hills in the back ground is most probably in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Ngorongoro Crater is the floor of a huge, collapsed volcano. The inside of the crater is approximately 10 by 16 kilometers and is surrounded by the remnants of the crater which are 600 meters high. After the accident John Wayne's character radios "Arusha Control". He mentions that it will take 5 hours to "get out of this crater" and drive to Arusha. Arusha is also in Tanzania. The Arusha Clock Tower is visible at least twice in the "chase scene" near the end of the film, confirming that filming was indeed done in Arusha. Snow capped Mount Kilmanjaro is visible in the distance at 41 minutes into the film as "the Frenchman" walks into the compound. The next time we see a shot in that direction, Kili is hidden by clouds. It is perhaps interesting to note that the Maisii in Northern Tanzania now wear "Maasai blankets" that are factory made. In "Hatari!" they are wearing ocher colored cloth. There is some Swahili spoken in the film. "Hatari!" is a great film to look at either before or after a trip to Northern Tanzania.