Hatari!

HATARI! may be the most enjoyable of the Howard Hawks/John Wayne collaborations (their other pairings produced the classics RED RIVER and RIO BRAVO, and the RIO BRAVO 'remakes' EL DORADO and RIO LOBO), and is exceptional in several ways; at 157 minutes (2 hours, 37 minutes), it may be one of the longest 'buddy' films ever made; nearly all of the animal 'chase and capture' sequences involved the actual cast members (professional handlers serving as stunt doubles were only rarely used); and the filming began with virtually no script (which was written based on the 'on location' footage in Africa, after the cast returned to California). At 65, director Hawks was still in top form, and the risks he took paid off...HATARI!, despite it's length, is never boring!

The story focuses on a season with a team of professional hunter/trappers, capturing animals for zoos and circuses. With a breathtaking opening scene of a rhino chase, costing them the use of veteran driver, 'Indian' (legendary actor Bruce Cabot), the 'family' dynamic is quickly established, with rugged Sean Mercer (Wayne) both boss and father-figure to the group. As he and the rest of the 'family' (Red Buttons, Hardy Krüger, Valentin de Vargas, and Michèle Girardon) meet 'Indian's' replacement, 'Chips' (Gérard Blain), Mercer has an even bigger headache to deal with; beautiful photographer Anna Maria 'Dallas' D'Allesandro (Elsa Martinelli) has arrived, to shoot a magazine spread. A 'traditional' Hawks leading lady, 'Dallas' is feisty, sultry, and attracted to Mercer, and the older man, uncomfortable with the ease by which she fits into the group, as well as his own stirrings, tries to make it clear that romance has no place on his agenda (in much the same manner as he did with Angie Dickinson in RIO BRAVO...and with the same results).

While some elements of the story are dated and politically incorrect (shooting a baby African elephant, even as a 'mercy killing', would be a major offense, today, as it is an endangered species), the combination of spectacular 'hunt' sequences, and the warmth and easy camaraderie of the cast in the subplots make HATARI! a rich, rewarding experience.

A major plus for the film is a very atypical Henry Mancini score, combining tense, African-influenced themes for the chases, and the very funny 'Elephant Walk' to punctuate 'Dallas's' relationship with her adopted pachyderm 'children'. The baby elephant scenes are film highlights, as is the rocket capture of a tree filled with monkeys, and both rhino chases (which clearly shows Wayne in some real danger!)

From the opening rhino sequence to the closing 'Honeymoon' scene, HATARI! is a grand entertainment, and escapism at it's best!

The political attack on this film is bewildering and annoying; it's such a parody of outraged liberalism that I can't help wondering if it's not the work of right-wing trolls pretending to be liberal to anger readers here.

At any rate let's knock down the most obvious fallacies of this attack: 1. In the "Trivia" section here, it is charged that the film was made under an apartheid regime because John Wayne supported it. Hatari was filmed in Tanganika, and there was no apartheid in effect in that country at the time. ("Apartheid" was a legalized caste system only ever in effect in South Africa.)

2. While the native African populations are kept largely in the background, there are no denigrating remarks made concerning them, but instead an insistence that their traditions be respected. The film's social structure is actually constructed to emphasize cultural pluralism - the focal group is made up of a German, several French descendants, a Swiss-Italian, a Spaniard, a Native American, an American Jew (Buttons as "Pockets") and of course Wayne - an Irish Catholic playing the only WASP in the group.

3. The "homophobia" charge directed against the film has to do with a single line, when Dallas asks Pockets why Wayne's character "doesn't like women," and Pockets says she suffers under a "misapprehension." I'm sorry, this is "homophobic?" I watched this movie several times over the past 40 odd years and I never noticed this until I read it on IMDb? Well, maybe it's not really there.

4. It is charged that the film has been "censored" for homophobia, sexism, racism and smoking (?!) in television broadcasts. Maybe in the troll's fantasy world. The film has occasionally been shortened due to it's length.

5. The film, it is charged, is sexist, using women as mere objects. Of what? Dallas, the female lead, is aggressive about her job, about her desires to experience Africa, about her sexuality. And she's hip and intelligent, intimidating the older (and old-fashioned) Wayne on a number of occasions. If this defined sexism, there would never have been any need for feminism.

6. Smoking - it should be pointed out that smoking is as much a right-wing issue as a liberal concern (it insults fundamentalist Protestant aesthetics). There's no denying that a lot of smoking takes place in this film. It was made when the preliminary studies on the dangers of smoking were just coming out and their veracity contested by the tobacco companies, and after a long tradition of heavy smoking in the cinema. The smoking behavior of the characters is just one of the things one tolerates if one wants to see a good film of the era.

7. It is suggested that the animals - especially the elephants - were mistreated during the film and killed off afterwards. There's no evidence to suggest this, reports that the actors themselves were involved in the capture of the animals are counterfactual evidence against this charge (what you see is largely what actually happened), and it is known that the baby elephants died four decades later of natural causes in zoos.

Now onto the film itself: The acting is largely insufficient (as plagued most Hawks films of the '60s). It is episodic. The plot, such as it is, meanders. The conclusion does feel somewhat artificial.

But it's largely a fantasy about a real way of life that most of us hardly knew existed before watching the film. And it's a fascinating way of life, fantasy or real.

The film is a kind of "Western" set in Africa, without a villain but with chases aplenty. It's an adventure film and a romantic comedy. Its canvass is wide, its strokes are broad. And it is character centered - if you like these people (and I do) you will have no problem liking this film.

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!

John Wayne is in charge in this Howard Hawks directed African Western. His character reminds me of Sam McCord in "North To Alaska". This time around Elsa Martinelli is Wayne's romantic interest.

This is not your standard John Wayne movie. He doesn't get to use his fists once. The emphasis here is on comedy rather than violence. Veteran comedian Red Buttons is on hand for wise cracks and some very funny moments. His capture of hundreds of monkeys is one of the film's better moments.

Some of the action is almost slapstick in character. Elsa Martinelli's baby elephants steal the show. Martinelli's character seems to be a magnet for homeless elephants. Ultimately, they have a central role in the film's finale, a fast and very funny tour around a Kenyan town.

There is plenty of exciting wildlife photography in this film, perhaps too much. The film tells the story of one season on a game ranch that captures animals for zoos. There is little real plot. Much of the suspense revolves around the dangers of capturing rhinos. A rhino gores Bruce Cabot in one of the early scenes. Later, he cautions Wayne to avoid them. Wayne of course ignores him and ultimately they capture a rhino.

Although enjoyable, this film reminds me of a Disney real-life adventure. There is little character development, a slim plot and the whole thing takes far too long. Henry Mancini's score is very nice, particularly the cute "Baby Elephant Walk". There is also some great stunt work, including a jeep crash in which two lead characters are messed up. This film is exciting and worth watching, but don't expect any great moral message. It's not here.

HATARI! is a film I could watch over and over for all eternity. I've loved it since I was a kid. John Wayne and a great ensemble cast are fun to watch as they have adventures in Africa capturing wild game for zoos around the world. Most of the laughs come from Red Buttons's comic relief Pockets, who does everything from make sly comments to building a giant rocket in order to capture monkeys. The capture sequences with the larger animals (especially the first and second rhino chases) are thrilling, with the actors themselves right in there with the animals. The almost three-hour running time flies by before you even know it. Throw in one of Henry Mancini's greatest scores and two pretty girls, and you've got a fun-filled adventure the whole family can enjoy for years and years.