lee188's reviews

This is one on John Wayne's better early western movies. The plot is very good and the movie moves along at a good pace. It has all the elements of a good western movie. Bad guys against the good guys. John Wayne is the stranger in town that no one knows and two women want. Ella Raines plays one of the women who is just as tough as the Duke. And she is just absolutely beautiful in this movie. The chemistry between John Wayne and Ella Raines is right on the money. Audrey Long plays the more timid woman, who is controlled by her aunt.

It doesn't take long for things to heat up in this movie. There is good humor supplied by none other than the great Gabby Hayes. Ward Bond plays the low down dirty lawyer/judge. Paul Fix (pre Rifleman) as one of the bad men. A must see movie

Hatari is one of the best non cowboy films John Wayne ever made. And the supporting cast is superb. This one is a must see for the entire family. Red Buttons brings the humor, John Wayne the adventure and Else Martinelli the romance. All you need is the pop corn. The kids will get a big kick out of this movie as I did growing up. Many funny scenes in this movie. We have rockets going off, monkeys being trapped and a rhino that just wont give up. And don't forget the two baby elephants running thru the streets.

And yes, there is plenty of action for the adults too. This picture was made in Africa and has beautiful cinematography. And the actors preformed their on stunts in this movie. John Wayne can not only rope a horse, but a rhino too. I don't want to give the movie away if you haven't seen it. The movie is about three hours long, but it will fly bye. It is a fast pace movie. And by the way, Hatari means danger in Swahili.

This film is not one of Johns best but it ranks pretty high. It's good to see John Wayne in something besides a cowboy movie. It has a great supporting cast. Lee Marvin out does his self in his role as the out cast friend who has the same birthday as John Wayne. Cesar Romero plays his part brilliantly as the French Ambassador. And the kids in this film could not have been cast better. Jacqueline Malouf plays her part as the teen age daughter of Jack Warden so convincingly you forget she was 22 at the time. And Cherylene Lee is the cutest little girl who ever played a part in the movies.

The plot is a little lame and Elizabeth Allen is a little young to be playing John Wayne's love interest. John Wayne appears to look the oldest of the three Americans who stayed on the island to help the inhabitants during WWII. But the movie comes off pretty good if you can over look the age difference. Besides, Wayne and Allen do work well together. I like to watch this movie from time to time. It's a feel good movie were everything comes out good in the end.

The Cowboys could leave you a little sore in the saddle. Definitely not one of Johns best movies. Don't get me wrong, with any John Wayne move there is always some good spots. And this one has it's fair share. But over all the picture moves slow and just doesn't live up to the aspirations it could have been. Bruce Dern again does an outstanding job as the villain. Roscoe Lee Brown is another bright spot in the movie. The kids in the movie were average but could have been cast better. This would be a good movie for the eight to fifteen year old movie goers.

This would be a good family move to watch with your children. Just be aware, there is a couple of scenes that you may want to take a look at before you let the young ones see it. But most kids that I know who have seen the movie like it. Maybe it's because they get to see kids their age do all the grown up work.