John Wayne stars as Sean Mercer, leader of the “big game wranglers” who capture and stock the world’s zoos with rhino, giraffe, zebra and the like that they chase across the East African savannah. With names like Pockets (Red Buttons) or The Indian (Bruce Cabot), the crew’s testosterone flow is threatened by the appearance of “a woman photographer” (Elsa Martinelli) sent by a zoo in Switzerland to provide pictures of the animal captures.

The Italian photographer tries to win the attention of the typically macho, insensitive Duke, while his second-in-command Kurt (Hardy Kruger) vies with a Frenchman for the affection of Brandy (Michele Girardon), daughter of the ranch owner they all used to work for before he was killed by a rhino.

Directed by Howard Hawks and written by Leigh Brackett from a story by Harry Kurnitz, Hatari! stands out with an epic running time – 157 minutes – and the fact that it features little in the way of a plot. There are no bad guys, no larger story about saving the environment, no message. This unforced, unhurried quality becomes part of the film’s immense charm.

While today’s adventure movies are more hyperactive than a teen’s Myspace page, Hatari! lopes along like a hiker walking across Tanzania. Hawks allows us time to absorb the unspoiled beauty of Africa through its landscape and wildlife. And at day’s end, we get to hang out at the Safari Bar sipping martinis, singing, and trying to hit it off with a pretty dame. Few movies make you want to jump into the screen and take part in the action like this one.

This film belongs to a different time, and it’s a time when general audiences thought nothing of a leading man being thirty years older than his love interest. Hawks had difficulty generating anything in the way of chemistry between Wayne and his leading ladies in their five films together. In this one, Elsa Martinelli was young enough to be the Duke’s daughter, and his awkwardness with her in their kissing scenes shows.

Another feature of the time is the treatment of native people. This was long before we cared about the plight of the Third World, and filmmakers generally needed one thing from indigenous people: to stay out of the shot. Hawks does include a Warusa tribal ceremony in the film, and showcases their magnificent well system in another, but to watch this film, you’d think America ran things in East Africa.

PETA wasn’t around to protest in 1961, so the production was able to tear ass across the savannah and rope wild animals on film. Hawks managed to shoot most of these sequences for real, keeping matte shots at a minimum. The actors – not stuntmen or handlers – participated in most of the driving, roping and corralling, including the scenes with the rhino. Because of this the movie achieves a terrific sense of realism.

There is no self-indulgence or fluff here. Every action scene is exciting, the banter back at camp is charming, and animals are worked into scenes in clever ways. There’s a nice bit where a cheetah walks in on Elsa Martinelli as she bathes, and Red Buttons bursts in to protect her, before it’s revealed that the cat is the camp mascot and harmless. Very popular with families over the years – the Duke never even punches anybody in this – Hatari! is one of my favorite Hawks films.

Henry Mancini provided a tremendous jazz-themed score that adds considerably to the film’s breezy, euphoric atmosphere. “Baby Elephant Walk,” kooky little tune that isn’t even introduced until the two hour mark, became one of the prolific composer’s most popular compositions.