Sunday 22 December 2019

Hatari! (1962 Howard Hawks)

Wonderful though long safari action-comedy, in which all the animal captures were filmed with the actors - the rhino escaping and being re-captured was for real. There's some scary camera moments of the rhino smashing into the trucks, and one shot of the camera fixed at ground level to the side of the jeep with the rhino alongside - I hope that camera wasn't manned.

And then clearly those baby elephants loved 'Dallas' (Elsa Matinella) - this nicknaming of the (strong) female characters is a very Hawksian thing - we also have a 'Brandy' Michele Girardon. It makes a great ending.

That rocket which fires the net over the tree was also done for real, in one take, by a very nervous technician!

Joining this multi-cultural cast are Hardy Kruger, Red Buttons, Gerard Blain, Bruce Cabot, Valentin de Vargas. And John Wayne - who really is sitting up front on the jeep, and roping Rhino. It was photographed by Russell Harlan in Tanganyika.



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