HATARI! (1962, USA, 157m, U) ****
Action, Adventure, Drama, Romance
dist. Paramount Pictures; pr co. Malabar; d. Howard Hawks; w. Leigh Brackett (based on a story by Harry Kurnitz); pr. Howard Hawks; ph. Russell Harlan (Technicolor | 1.85:1); m. Henry Mancini; ed. Stuart Gilmore; ad. Carl Anderson, Hal Pereira.
cast: John Wayne (Sean Mercer), Hardy Krüger (Kurt Muller), Elsa Martinelli (Anna Maria ‘Dallas’ D’Allesandro), Red Buttons (Pockets), Gérard Blain (Charles ‘Chips’ Maurey), Bruce Cabot (Little Wolf aka The Indian), Michèle Girardon (Brandy de la Court), Valentin de Vargas (Luis Francisco Garcia Lopez), Eduard Franz (Dr. Sanderson).
A Tanganyka-based group of hunters (Red Buttons, Hardy Kruger, Gérard Blain) led by Sean Mercer (John Wayne) trap wild African animals for zoos. A curvaceous reporter (Elsa Martinelli) documents their exploits while having epic clashes with the gruff Irishman. She is initially frozen out of the testosterone-filled group until her strong-willed personality endears her to the men. Vastly entertaining adventure has no plot and instead asks you to spend two-and-a-half hours in the company of likeable characters doing dangerous work in an exciting location. Hawks taps into his trademark themes of group camaraderie. Whilst the performances are mixed – some of the younger cast are a little wooden – there is much to enjoy in the central performances of Wayne, Martinelli and Buttons. Mancini contributes a playful score – notably during the “Elephant Walk”.
