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 2 nominations.

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:

For People Of All Ages! A Wonderful New World Of Entertainment!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | 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

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.

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Goofs

Several of the animals (especially the rhino) make sounds that they don't make in the wild.

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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 The Simpsons: The Fat Blue Line (2019)

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Soundtracks

Just For Tonight
Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
Music by Hoagy Carmichael

User Reviews

Sensational and wonderfully filmed story about zoo-suppling animal hunters in Tanganyka

¨Hatari¨ is an awesome mixture of moving action , sunny adventure and light comedy about some wild-animal trappers , and in Swahili language it means ¨Danger ¨. A team of professionals who holds each other to high standards in their job have a common objective , the animal trapping in Tanganyika . As it follows the travails of a group (Hardy Kruger , Red Buttoms, Michelle Girandon , Gerard Blain , Elsa Martinelli, Bruce Cabot among others) of safari hunters led , of course, by John Wayne , undergoing adventures , risks , and amusing situations . They form a lively community , preservationists working a game reserve and interwoven with friendship ,camaraderie, integration , professionalism , romance and self-respect .

Superb blend of adventures and comedy ; effortlessly switching between love story and humor . This is a fascinating flick upon a sympathetic group in that includes adventure ,crisp banter, romance, and noisy action . It contains Hawks' usual issues as a community decided to build their aim on a dangerous territory , friendship , conflict and attraction between men and women, importance of the group and comradeship among people and ample shots over prairies and African savanna . Though John Wayne acted his part in about a thousand ways for Hawks over decades , and he could not be more exciting as intrepid hunter . Impressive chase scenes through its riveting footage of the real capture of wildlife in that the risk of the hunt are stunningly evoked . This Howard Hawks's adventure-comedy is mainly the same, loosely plotted story Hawks made over and over again for years . As this could easily be seen as ¨Only Angels have wings¨ transferred from the Andes to the African savanna. Furthermore , ordinary improvisation , and free-screenplay for that reason many scenes were spontaneously realized by Hawks who was continuously telephonying to screen-writer Leight Bracket to America . It only Hawks had been able to do as he wished and stars Clark Gable and John Wayne , but the King passed away and stood Wayne at his best .

Colorful cinematography by Russell Harlan who won Academy Award nomination with dangerous shooting in which animals destroyed three cameras . As we are watching several African animals , without use of stock-shots, but they are actual Hyenas, Gnus, Elephants, Crocodiles, monkeys ,Buffalos and spectacular Rhino hunts . Marvelous score by Henry Mancini with notable and popular themes as ¨ Baby elephant walk¨ and song titled ¨Just for tonight¨ by Carmichael and Johnny Mercer . The picture has the usual Howard Hawks message¨: ¨Every time get real action , then you have danger¨ and all his habitual themes emerge naturally and gently. This phenomenal film results to be one of the best productions about Africa chase and is developed in relaxed pace and tone , constituting a real masterpiece.