Hatari! (1962) is a romantic adventure film, with a touch of comedy, that takes place in Africa and focuses on a group of friends who capture animals that are then sold to various zoos around the world. Directed and produced by Howard Hawks, in part as an excuse to have an all expense vacation in Tanganyika (modern day Tanzania). Howard Hawks is considered one of the best directors in the film industry during the 20 th century (along with John Ford and a very few others). Although an enjoyable film, it is fairly obvious that Hawks was doing more for having fun in East Africa than making a great film.
Hatari! poster - IMDB
Leading the international cast is John Wayne as Sean Mercer, and his leading lady and love interest Elsa Martinelli as Anna Maria D’Allesandro (yes, I had to look up the spelling of that last name on IMDB), aka Dallas. Mercer is a hard driving career bachelor, with a bit of an “Irish temper”, while Dallas is a photographer hired by a zoo to take photos of the animals captured. Trouble ensues as Dallas doesn’t understand how dangerous a line of work that Mercer and his friends pursue.
Supporting cast members include Hardy Krüger, Bruce Cabot, Red Buttons (providing comedy relief), Gérard Blain, Michèle Girardon, and Valentin de Vargas as Mercer’s friends and main help in capturing animals to send to zoos.
From Hatari! - cropped for size - IMDB
The film as two main focuses – capturing wild animals in Africa providing the dventure component, and then romantic comedy. For the first part, it does highlight the dangers of Mercer and friends pursuits, at the same time providing the backdrop for the romantic comedy. It is all nicely handled, and the capture sequences shot on the fly, with the assistance of a team of experts assisting the actors in performing the captures, and wrangling the critters. The dangers are illustrated early on when Mercer’s crew is attempting to capture a rhino, with Little Wolf (Cabot) getting seriously injured.
trailer for Hatari! from Paramunt on youtube
Hatari! features quite a bit of African wildlife, from the birds, including ostriches, to crocodiles (which provide some threat to the group); giraffes, leopards (including a tamed leopard, Sonia, that is a pet on the ranch), and, very importantly, elephants. It is important to note that this film was made before the development of effective animal tranquilizers that could be used to subdue the animals for capture (noted from Wikipedia). Thus one of the reasons this film would not be made today, at least not in the same fashion. Some of the language would also be unfit today, including Little wolf’s nickname.
Elsa Martinelli, John Wayne, and baby elephants - cropped for size - IMDB
Speaking of elephants, Henry Mancini wrote the music for Hatari!, including the song “Baby Elephant Walk” which became a big hit upon release of the film. The elephants also play an important role in the film for both Dallas and Mercer, providing some mild conflict between the two and their developing romance and the climax at the end of the film.
I have to admit that I do enjoy watching Hatari!, even after watching this week with a more analytical eye. Maybe that’s because I am a bit of a Neanderthal (Me Caveman) still, and my Bonnie Bride watched it with me. It’s a fun film, even if the romantic parts are a bit unrealistic. This used to be a favorite film of my daughter, Little Miss, but she chose not to join us, doing her homework instead (good choice, there. I must be doing something right).
Before I forget, I have to mention that the screenplay was written be Leigh Brackett. Brackett was an accomplished Science Fiction writer going way back to the ‘30s and ‘40s. I’ve read some of her stories over the years. She also had a hand in writing the screenplay for The Empire Strikes Back (along with a bunch of other writers) in the early writing phases. I’ve also seen a number of films that she worked on as well, including The Big Sleep.
I think that’s a wrap for this time around. If, like me, you are a big John Wayne fan, and up to watching something that is a fun filled adventure with a bit of silliness, Hatari! may just be up your alley.
This post came about thanks to the CineTV community writing prompt for films about Wildlife. You can find out more about CineTV at - @cinetv/weekly-writing-prompts-by-cinetv-18
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