, which features in my earlier article on Wayne\u2019s WWII movies, in which I deliver my verdict on Mr. Wayne\u2019s lack of terpsichorean talent.<\/span><\/p>\nThere\u2019s some attempt at drama less than twenty minutes before the end of the film when one of the Japanese aristocrats is assassinated for indicating a preference to sign a treaty with America, but it\u2019s just too little and too late. <\/span><\/p>\nThe climax of the movie is a successful vote for the treaty, that\u2019s how negligible the story is. The only impressive thing about this film \u2013 apart from co-star Sam Jaffe\u2019s apparent fluid command of Japanese \u2013 are the outlandish sideburns that JW sports.<\/span><\/p>\nWhilst avoiding the overt racism of Blood Alley \u2013 although Sam Jaffe\u2019s observation that \u2018they can\u2019t pronounce the letter L\u2019 skates pretty closely against the tide of political correctness – JW keeps hitting his head on the low beams of his house, emphasising that the Japs are considerably smaller than the average cowboy. <\/span><\/p>\nThere\u2019s no other way to put it so I guess I\u2019m going to have come clean here, but I found this film very, very, VERY boring, although the sight of JW being thrown around by a small vertically challenged Japanese person is something I thought I\u2019d never live to see. Then he appears wearing a naval commander\u2019s getup complete with a Navy tricorn hat after which I gave up and lost the will to live.<\/span><\/p>\nA waste of Huston and Wayne\u2019s talent I\u2019m afraid.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Hatari](\"\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/hatari-4.jpg\" "\\"hatari-4\\"")
<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span>Hatari! (1962)<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\nAlthough on the surface a romantic comedy drama concerning a group of wild-life hunters who capture animals for the zoo, it\u2019s really just another opportunity for director Howard Hawks to yet again explore the dynamics of a group of alpha males, with one or two women thrown in for good measure. <\/span><\/p>\nJust as in Rio Bravo, Wayne\u2019s character, Sean Mercer, is the leader of the group \u2013 naturally \u2013 but in reality he\u2019s just an observer and ring leader who looks on in bemusement at the antics of the other characters, played by Red Buttons, Bruce Cabot \u2013 stepping into the shoes of Paul Fix as ubiquitous JW sidekick and co-star – as well as Hardy Kruger, to name just a few.<\/span><\/p>\nInto this near all-male enclave saunters saunters wild-life photographer Anna Maria D\u2019Allesandro, hitherto known as Dallas, played by the delightful (and sadly recently deceased July 2017) Elsa Martinelli. <\/span><\/p>\nAgain, as in a lot of other Hawks films, most of the character\u2019s sport nicknames such as Pockets, Chips, Brandy and The Indian. And just to reinforce the director\u2019s penchant for constantly referencing his previous movies, there\u2019s a reprise of the song Whisky Leave Me Alone, first heard in the Kirk Douglas vehicle The Big Sky.<\/span><\/p>\nMartinelli is the interloper in the group, as was Angie Dickinson in Rio Bravo, and Jean Arthur in Only Angels Have Wings. Wayne\u2019s character follows the same story trajectory as Dean Martin in Rio Bravo, having suffered a broken heart in a previous relationship. <\/span><\/p>\nUnable to articulate his feelings for Dallas, JW eventually woos her by using a group of baby elephants to prevent her leaving. Cue the cute Henry Mancini tune baby Elephant Walk \u2013 Mancini also wrote lyrics for the song which you can find on the internet. <\/span><\/p>\nThe location shots were filmed in Tanganyika, which now forms part of Tanzania, and the animal capture sequences are quite impressive with Wayne strapped to the front of the jeep attempting to lasso any unfortunate creature that wanders across his path. <\/span><\/p>\nI note Cliff Roberson is uncredited as Wayne\u2019s double for some of these scenes but you can definitely see at times that JW is actually handling his fair share of the stunts. <\/span><\/p>\nIf I have a complaint I\u2019d have to say the film is a bit too long. There\u2019s also a superfluous musical number a la Rio Bravo thrown in for good measure, with Buttons on harmonica and Martinelli appearing to be playing playing boogie woogie piano for real. <\/span><\/p>\nA couple of dance sequences also get thrown into the mix to show how hep to the scene these groovy cats are. Apart from that it\u2019s a pleasant way to pass two and half hours if you\u2019re in the mood. <\/span><\/p>\nThe screenplay is by Leigh Brackett who delivers an affable easy-going storyline, very much as she did with Rio Bravo. Hatari! Isn\u2019t exactly in the same league as that film, but it\u2019s enjoyable just the same.<\/span><\/p>\nBy the way, did you know Hatari is Swahili for danger? No, I didn\u2019t either.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Donovans](\"\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Donovans-Reef-3.jpg\" "\\"Donovans")
<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span>Donovan\u2019s Reef (1963)<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\nWhen you consider that John Wayne and John Ford started working together back in 1939 (excluding Wayne\u2019s bit parts in Ford\u2019s late silent films), I guess it\u2019s inevitable that the occasional lesser effort will surface every now and then, and Donovan\u2019s Reef falls into that category. <\/span><\/p>\nIt\u2019s not an unwatchable film by any means, and the fact that the year before they partnered on the classic Western The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, indicates that, given a good story and decent budget, late JW \/ JF films could compete with the best that Hollywood had to offer at the time. <\/span><\/p>\nIt\u2019s just that, with Donovan\u2019s Reef, Wayne is really only going through the motions in a part that he could have played with his eyes closed. <\/span><\/p>\nAdd to this he was by then about 22 years older than his love interest opposite number, Elizabeth Allen, and the cracks are starting to show. Having said that, Dorothy Lamour, who plays Lee Marvin\u2019s on-off girlfriend, was at least 10 years older than Marvin at the time so the film should be applauded for being an exercise in equal opportunity when it comes to inappropriately aged elder partners <\/span><\/p>\nI like the actual look of the film, shot mainly on location in Hawaii, which gave Ford the opportunity to sail his beloved yacht Arraner over from California to guest star in the film. <\/span><\/p>\nI note that a review of the DVD on Amazon states that the film \u2018subtly deals with moral issues such as racial bigotry, corporate greed, American belief of societal superiority and hypocrisy.\u2019 The film must be very subtle indeed, either that or my critical faculties were not sufficiently engaged enough by the source material to recognise the presence of those elements within the narrative. <\/span><\/p>\nThere\u2019s one laugh-out loud moment when Elizabeth Allen as a snooty Bostonian company board member sits in the back of a jeep as it races down the road. <\/span><\/p>\nThe jeep hits a bump which sends her up in the air whilst the vehicle continues on it\u2019s way, unceremoniously dumping her \u2013 or more accurately her stand-in \u2013 on her backside in the middle of the street.<\/span><\/p>\nThere\u2019s also an amusing reference to contemporary culture in which a group of small children break out into an impromptu demonstration of the twist dance craze of the time, but it\u2019s not enough to push what would turn out to be the last time Wayne and Ford worked together towards classic status. <\/span><\/p>\nThe best I can say is that it fits the bill perfectly for the post roast meal \/ booze up down the pub Sunday afternoon asleep in the armchair slot.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Get comfy and grab a coffee for this the next of 5 more John Wayne Movie reviews from the late 1950’s. They’re not all good. Feel free to comment below or head over to our Facebook page. Jet Pilot (1957?) … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3109,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[59,4,54,42,60,103],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3101"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3101"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3101\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3187,"href":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3101\/revisions\/3187"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Jet](\"\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/jet-pilot-1.jpg\" "\\"jet")
<\/span><\/p>\n