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.

---

Plot Keywords:

zoo | chase | wildlife | drunk | savannah | 

---

Taglines:

Danger! Excitement! Romance!

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Romance

---

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

At the beginning of the production, all Howard Hawks knew was that he wanted a movie about people who catch animals in Africa for zoos, a dangerous profession with exciting scenes the likes of which had never been seen on-screen before. Hawks increased his knowledge on animal catching from the work of the famous South African animal conservationist, Dr. Ian Player. In 1952, South Africa was eliminating all large wild animals to protect livestock, and only 300 white rhinos survived. Player then invented his famed rhino catching technique to relocate and save the white rhinos. Player's project was called "Operation Rhino" and it was recorded in the renowned documentary film Operation Rhino. Hawks studied this film closely and incorporated aspects of it into his film.

---

Goofs

Side shots of Dallas standing in a red shirt under a porch with two other people show them all in shadow, while the frontal shots are all in direct sunlight.

---

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.

---

Connections

References Mogambo (1953)

---

Soundtracks

Old Folks at Home
aka "Swanee River" (uncredited)
Written by Stephen Foster

User Reviews

One of a Kind

I am somewhat surprised at a few of the negative comments in this forum regarding the movie. Although I see 95% positive, the ones that dislike the movie because of the romance between Dallas and John are particularly distasteful.

They point out an age discrepancy, and call John "Grandpa Wayne", good grief! John Wayne was 59 yrs old at the making of this movie, and the actress that played Dallas was 27. In real life those kind of romances happen all the time, why would anyone be surprised when they happen in fiction?

The animal scenes are exquisite. I doubt there will ever be a movie like this made again. This is how animals get into the zoos, they just don't walk in there and say "sign me up!"

I like everything about this movie; it is a diversification for Wayne, who was already maybe the most diverse actor in Hollywood history. (consider The Conquerer vs. The Quiet man). It has love, comedy, drama, and animals!

Plus all the actors in the movie were given great character depth. I am sure many people have heard of the baby elephant walk, but did not know it came from this movie.

Its such a fun movie, I have to give it a 10, because there is no way to make it any better. What a great achievement of direction, producing, and animal filming!