MovieChat Forums > Hatari! (1962) Discussion > The cheeta's tail

The cheeta's tail

posted 18 years ago by nerd-1
19 replies | jump to latest

When Red Buttons walks in on Duke and Elsa he accidentally steps on Sonja's (The cheeta) tail. OK I just can't imagine that was in the script. Even a "tame" big cat could tear you to shreds in 2 seconds. In freeze examination he seems to really step on her tail.

The reaction by the other actors, busting up laughing, gives the impression that it was a mistake.

Does any body know if it was scripted or one of those bloopers that turn out better than whatever was on paper.

[–] c-huddleston 18 years ago

I doubt it was scripted unless the Cheetah was drugged, which it clearly was not. Red Buttons undoubtedly adlibbed himself out of a blooper and it would have been kept in as nobody was hurt as a result.

[–] emotionalgoat 18 years ago

I always was fascinated by this scene, too. I think it was unscripted, too.

[–] truffleshuffle03 18 years ago

I was watching tcm or amc and they actualy talked about that sceen. It was a blooper but it worked so well they kept the sceen in.

Ari: Lets hugg it out bitch
rip: croc hunter 1962-2006

[–] Mr_McLaurel 17 years ago

That was the funniest part of the movie. It figures that it was a genuine blooper.

What's the Spanish for drunken bum?

[–] darcyprez 17 years ago

Borracho.

[–] amazon423 16 years ago

I always thought "Poor Sonya" (the Cheetah) when her tail was stepped on. She must have been hand-raised from birth to not have a really violent reaction to having her tail stepped on and have a good temperament to boot. She was definitely a sweetheart but I wonder how many people thought they had to have a cheetah as a pet because of this wonderfully tempered one in "Hatari?" By the way for all of you who mispelled Cheetah it does have an "H" on the end. Remember Tarzin's chimp Cheetah? He is now in his mid 70's in a sanctuary in California. Just a bit of trivia and spelling correction.

[–] c-huddleston 16 years ago

Can't speak for everyone else but I can spell "Cheetah", thanks. But I don't go around correcting everyone all the time.

But in your case, since it's so important to you, I'll make an exception - it's Tarzan - with an "a", not an "i".

[–] amazon423 16 years ago

Thanks for correcting the mis-spelling.Sometimes at that hour in the morning I am thinking of 6 AM when I have to get up 45 girls for the day and get them out on time for class. I try and miss occasionally.

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] KATZ1216 11 years ago

I just watched the movie again, and each time I have to wonder about the cheetah's tail being stepped on was a accident, or was scripted, and have concluded for myself that it had to be a accident that worked out perfectly for that scene in the movie. If you listen to the laughter, from earlier scenes and the laughter in that scene, the laughter in each scene is different in sound and quality, like no laugh track in the stepped on cheetah tail scene. Regardless if it was by accident or by design, its a great scene, it works out perfectly in/for the movie, and I really can't imagine that scene being scripted, as who would be foolish enough to actually, and deliberately step on a big cats tail like that, and think that they would get away with it after several times of shooting and reshooting the scene, because of showing that persons fear of the big cat's action/reaction of having it's tail being stepped on 1+ plus times.
On a scale of 1-10, it gets 10 big MEOWS from me for working out so well in/for the movie and all involved !!! 🐯

[–] MovieMystro 11 years ago

Bravo Mr. Red Buttons!

[–] rsimmonds 11 years ago

Hi All,

I am probably the only person still alive who knew Sonja personally and probably better than most of the film crew and can assure you that she would never have reacted violently or torn anyone to shreds because they had stepped on her tail. Sonja was a completely tame, domesticated and well trained cheetah from Namibia and would never have harmed a human. (I wouldn't have trusted her near a small dog though.)

As it turnes out, I was the one who put her on the plane to fly up to make the film Hatari. At the pilot's request she and I had jogged up and down one of the disused runways at Eros Airport in Windhoek to "tire her". After about an hour I was pretty tired, but Sonja - not so much. I tried to talk the pilot into letting her fly sitting on one of the seats but he was not that brave so into her specially constructed crate she went and the rest is movie history. Just for interest trying to script this tail stepping event would never have worked so an accident it definitely was.

My father owned a shipping and forwarding business in Namibia and had a reputation that any animals he undertook to transport around the world would arrive well, healthy and alive. While I was still at school I often helped him with this side of things and handled different wild and tame animals several times a week. Three years after sending Sonja off I bumped into Susannah York at the same airport in Windhoek. She was making the film "Sands of the Kalahari" at the time and seemed bored to tears waiting for her next scene. We chatted for a bit and I must say she was lovely.

I will stop now before this "tail" grows any longer.

[–] joegerardi-1 10 years ago

What a great story! Thanks for sharing that.

..Joe

[–] BlackiesDad 10 years ago

Thanks for sharing this great story.

[–] cold_sky 10 years ago

Wonderful story, so glad I got the chance to read it!

I thought this movie was excellent, probably one of my favorite of Hawks's films.

[–] yeti_chic 9 years ago

Thank you for sharing your memories. I greatly appreciate it. "Hatari!" was very influential upon me as a child.

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[–] yeti_chic 9 years ago

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7ngOXKmJagI/T8A9g6N8ZaI/AAAAAAAAEvA/uqv7LP1MzbI/s1600/john-wayne-cheetah-hatari.jpg
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[–] rsimmonds 9 years ago

This is a lovely picture and not one I had seen before. Thanks for posting it.

I remember soon after I got married, taking my wife out to the farm where Sonia was raised. The farmer's wife let us into a pen occupied by 36 rescued cheetahs (of which only 4 were tame domestic cheetahs). This was an experience my wife has never forgotten. Incidentally, it was easy to tell the tame ones from the wild ones - the ones that rubbed up against your legs while purring were the tame ones.
They also had a tame Bengal tiger on the farm that was a rescued pet but the tiger was kept in her own pen with a swimming pool. The trouble with tigers is that simply turning your back to them can trigger an attack. Unlike lions and cheetahs, tigers are always risky.

The film Hatari had a lot of scenes with rhinos which I was less fond of. I helped raise a young adult male black rhino as a teenager. I soon learnt that this was a highly intelligent animal that was naturally very affectionate provided you behave nothing like a hunter might. Approaching with the wind from behind so he can recognise your smell, speaking loudly from a distance and wearing noisy boots and he would come trotting up with his tail wagging to eat food out of my hand. Rhinos are sadly very misunderstood. It is often claimed that they are solitary creatures but again this is only by day. At night they love to socialise with other rhinos and that is usually when mating occurs. Saving the Southern African white rhino from almost certain extinction was another project my father was involved with, but that's a long story.

I am rambling on again so will stop now. Thanks again all.

[–] joegerardi-1 8 years ago

"Operation Rhino," right?

..Joe