Hatari!

"You have been drinking a little, hm?"

"No ma'am. I've been drinking a lot."

American Sean Mercer (Wayne) leads a team that spends several months in African capturing wild animals for zoos around the world.  The team consists of Pockets (Buttons) who drives the main truck and is afraid of animals, Kurt (Kruger) a former race car driver who drives the catching car, Luis (deVargas) a former bull fighter, Little Wolf (Cabot) "The Indian" who is a womanizer, and Brandy (Giardon) who was raised in Africa.  The team works well together, until The Indian is stabbed by a rhino and hospitalized.

Meanwhile, the San Diego zoo sends photographer Dallas (Martinelli), to ride along on the captures and take pictures of the catching experience.  She has never been in Africa, can't speak the language, doesn't know the work, and doesn't want to carry a gun.  They also need to hire a replacement for The Indian, so they hire Chips (Blain), his blood donor who is quick with a gun.  Will they fill all their orders and survive the summer, or will egos and romance get in the way?


As I mentioned (in my Top 10 John Wayne Films), I have a healthy love for John Wayne films and this is one of my favorites!  It has a little bit of everything: action, suspense, humor, romance, and a great score by Henry Mancini.  Mancini wrote the song "Baby Elephant Walk" for the film, which continues to be a well-known song.

Each character has a personality (and nationality) and gets some funny quotes.  Comedian Red Buttons stands out with some funny reactions and little comments throughout the film, especially when it comes to catching the monkeys.  They work well as a group, but all stand out.  The animals are also a big part of the film.  The baby elephants are cute and have their own show stopping moment in the film.

The movie was filmed in Africa, and the settings are beautiful.  It is a funny film and outside of the Duke's usual repertoire (of Westerns).

Hatari! (1962) 157 minutes
Director: Howard Hawks
Starring: John Wayne as Sean Mercer
Hardy Kruger as Kurt Muller
Elsa Martinelli as Anna Maria "Dallas" D'Allesandro
Red Buttons as Pockets
Gerard Blain as Chips
Bruce Cabot as Little Wolf "The Indian"
Michele Girardon as Brandy de la Court
Valentin de Vargas as Luis

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