Review of Hatari!

Hatari! (1962)
7/10
Reasonably interesting story with great scenery
27 November 2016
Sean Mercer (played by John Wayne) runs a business in East Africa. He and his team capture wild animals for zoos. It is dangerous work - on of his men almost dies after being gored by a rhino. He accepts a request from a photographer to join his business and capture their experiences but is very surprised, and bit inconvenienced, when the photographer turns out to be a woman. However, over time he grows fond of her. Meanwhile, plans to capture certain animals lead to all sorts of plans and adventures.

Pretty much John Wayne on safari, with a romantic twist or two, and it works pretty well. Plot development is largely fairly conventional, though the setting is very original, and stunning. However, the movie is reasonably funny, the adventures are quite entertaining and there is a decent degree of engagement with the characters. Some cute moments with the animals too, especially the baby elephants.

On that note, the movie gave the world the famous "Baby Elephant Walk" by Henry Mancini.

The romantic side of the movie had the potential to weigh it down and turn it into a plodding, schmaltzy mess. Fortunately, however, the romance isn't overwrought and is kept to the minimum.
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