Introduction
Hawks said Wayne admitted being scared during some of the action scenes, and “had the feeling with every swerve that the car was going to overturn as he hung on for dear life, out in the open with only a seat belt for support, motor roaring, body jarring every which-way, animals kicking dirt and rocks and the thunder of hundreds of hooves increasing the din in his ears.” Wayne felt it was unpredictable with the terrain’s hidden holes and obstacles which could have been disastrous.
When Hawks interviewed de Vargas, he told him it would be very dangerous and showed him a documentary. De Vargas had no double and like the rest of the cast played in the animal catching shots. One evening Buttons and Wayne were playing cards outside and a leopard came out of the bush towards them. When Buttons mentioned the approaching leopard, Wayne said, “See what he wants.” De Vargas said technical adviser Willy de Beer was mauled by a loose baby leopard that sprang on him from a tree, “He came back with his arm covered in bandages and throat completely wrapped, but he just shrugged it off.”
As the animals frequently refused to make noise “on cue” (in particular, the baby elephants refused to trumpet inside populated areas), local Arusha game experts and zoo collectors were hired to do “animal voice impersonations”.