Hatari!
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| Hatari! | |
|---|---|
 original movie poster |
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| Directed by | Howard Hawks |
| Produced by | Howard Hawks Paul Helmick |
| Written by | Harry Kurnitz Leigh Brackett |
| Starring | John Wayne Elsa Martinelli Hardy Krüger Red Buttons |
| Music by | Henry Mancini |
| Cinematography | Russell Harlan |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 1962 |
| Running time | 157 min |
| IMDb profile | |
Hatari! is a 1962 American film directed by Howard Hawks and starring John Wayne. It was filmed on location in what is now northern Tanzania. Many scenes were filmed near Arusha, Tanzania on a hunting ranch, Ngongongare Farm, at that time owned by actor Hardy Krüger.
The film gathers its several characters from different parts of the world: Sean Mercer (John Wayne), Anna Maria 'Dallas' D'Allesandro (Elsa Martinelli), Kurt Mueller (Hardy Krüger), Brandy De la Court (Michele Girardon), Charles 'Chips' Maurey (Gerard Blain), Luis Francisco Garcia Lopez (Valentin De Vargas) are, respectively, from USA, Italy, Germany, France France and Mexico. The title means "danger" in Swahili, which was mentioned in the film as well.
The plot involves a group of Western expatriates catching wild animals in Africa and selling them to zoos. A female wildlife photographer (Elsa Martinelli) arrives to take photos of the captures for the zoo which will be buying the bulk of that season's captures, and in the process becomes known as Momma Tembo (Mother of Elephants) for her efforts to save three baby elephants, culminating in a chase through the streets of Arusha in Tanzania. As the animals frequently refused to make noise 'on cue' (in particular, the baby elephants refused to trumpet inside populated areas), local Arusha game experts and zoo collectors were hired to do 'animal voice impersonations'. Several romantic subplots between the various characters at times threaten to dominate an interesting if antiquated portrait of Africa still dominated by non-Africans.
Hatari! has a very loose script and, like many other major works of Hawks, is principally structured on the relationships between the (non-African) characters. Much of the film centers around scenes of chasing chasing animals in jeeps and trucks across the African plains. The chased animals are also all live, wild, and untrained, a procedure banned today over concerns of exhausting and killing the targeted animals.
The script was written by Hawks' favorite writer, Leigh Brackett, after the group returned from Africa with the hunting scenes. Some consider that Hatari! belongs among her better works, like Rio Bravo and Red River.
Hawks has stated in interviews that he had originally planned to star both Clark Gable and Wayne in the film until Gable's death two years before the film was finally produced ruled that out.
Hatari! introduced the memorable Henry Mancini tune "Baby Elephant Walk".
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