Il paradiso nella giungla

'Hatari' with a motley crew of plane crash survivors now at the mercy of the African wildlife and a band of crooks in mostly inept slapstick scenarios. It's fairly typical of South African comedy of the era, basic sight gags, cartoonish characters, a ubiquitous chimp and a savvy native kid (Dakile) who's smarter than the dim-witted adults. Sometimes uncomfortable to watch the animal performers harassed to such an extent, even if their scenes with the stricken travellers are impressively choreographed.

With all the animal interaction and location action, it must have been a difficult shoot, sadly that effort doesn't translate into cinematic glory. I only recognised Jim Mitchum as the washed-up pilot recruited as part of an insurance ruse (and who seems to be enjoying himself in an especially physical role), and Werner Porcath, an Austrian actor who appeared in a number of Italian (Giallo) and English speaking-films before his untimely death in the mid-nineties.

There's a message beneath the madness, and it's mostly tame, cheesy fun, gets a AAA rating for absurd African adventure.