Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

Hatari!

Play trailer Poster for Hatari! 1962 2h 39m Adventure Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
65% Tomatometer 26 Reviews 76% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
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.
Watch on Fandango at Home Stream Now

Where to Watch

Hatari!

Critics Reviews

View More
Derek Smith Slant Magazine Dec 31
For all of Hatari!’s built-in references to so many of Howard Hawks’s films, it’s ultimately quite unlike anything else he ever made. Go to Full Review Peter John Dyer Sight & Sound 03/06/2020
That Hataril, for all its elements of self-parody, is never downright dispiriting is largely due to Hawks' tireless flair for buoyant comedy. Go to Full Review Richard Brody The New Yorker 03/14/2016
Politics take a back seat to sex, served up in a dazzling wealth of innuendo. Go to Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy 05/30/2021
3/4
[UPDATED 2025 4K + BLU-RAY REVIEW] Astonishingly, stunt performers were rarely used for the exciting sequences. Go to Full Review Penelope Gilliatt Observer (UK) 04/21/2021
It is filmed with every possible cliché, and the romantic-comedy situations barge towards their targets with the delicacy of a rhino hurling itself at its dinner. Go to Full Review Henry Stewart Brooklyn Magazine 04/13/2016
All dumb romance, immature jokes, (unconscious?) racism and a child's sense of adventure. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
Jim H @JimHawkins 04/09/2024 Great Adventure! Fun beyond dreams. Old school. See more Haydon B 03/14/2024 What on Earth is the plot of this movie? See more Alec B 02/20/2024 If you can look past the dated material (which there is a fair amount of) there's a lot of enjoyment to be found in this wonderfully meandering character hangout. Even on vacation Hawks could make a coherent and enjoyable movie out of the thinnest of concepts. See more Jack S 11/08/2023 Rousing action, sensational location photography, a memorable score and plenty of humor amount to an entertaining adventure film. What doesn't work here are the inter-personal relationships between some of the human characters (the animals are all fine, by the way), particularly the romance between Wayne and Martinelli—they simply have no chemistry together. Also, Kruger is unlikable, Buttons is sometimes funny but often annoying and Blain's character is completely irrelevant. However, it's worthwhile for the thrilling animal capture sequences alone. See more Christoffer J 08/23/2023 Its awesome with many animals and amazing movie See more Sheila F 05/25/2023 Just a good film. A bit silly. Not a tremendous storyline. Not john Wayne's best movie. Wasn't his best acting but he really wasn't a brilliant actor anyway. Overall worth a watch on a wet Sunday afternoon. All actors dead now. A film of its time. See more Read all reviews
Hatari!

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

View All

Howard Hawks

Director

John Wayne

Sean Mercer

Elsa Martinelli

Anna Maria 'Dallas' D'Allesandro

Red Buttons

Pockets

Hardy Krüger

Kurt Muller

Gérard Blain

Charles 'Chips' Maurey

More Like This

View All
The Naked Prey 86% 79% The Naked Prey Watchlist Reap the Wild Wind 80% 56% Reap the Wild Wind Watchlist The Devil at 4 O'Clock 67% 54% The Devil at 4 O'Clock Watchlist Beau Geste 92% 83% Beau Geste Watchlist Ride the Wild Surf 80% 50% Ride the Wild Surf Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More
View All

Hatari!

Hatari! (1962) Hatari! (1962) Hatari! (1962) Hatari! (1962) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis 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.
Director
Howard Hawks
Producer
Howard Hawks
Screenwriter
Leigh Brackett
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Production Co
Paramount, Malabar
Genre
Adventure
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jun 19, 1962, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Jun 15, 2011
Runtime
2h 39m
Most Popular at Home Now