This Henry Hathaway-directed jungle adventure was well past its sell-by date in 1967, and now plays like some bizarro parallel universe cinematic representation of Africa: even the baldly propagandistic South African films of the '70s and '80s were based in a firmer reality than The Last Safari! Stewart Granger plays Miles Gilchrist, an old-fashioned great white hunter bemoaning the arrival of snotty rich tourists who are sullying the sport of kings (shooting animals). The tourists are personified by Casey (charisma-free Kaz Garas), a crude and brash American who wants to go on a great adventure with Miles. Personality clashes ensue, but not before Casey plays chicken with a rhino and spends an evening in a night club listening to a very strange musical act, which seems to consist of Masai tribesmen playing a blend of western jazz and Afrobeat. At least their music is better than John Dankworth's miserably dull score. The only watchable element of this colonialist fantasy is beautiful Gabriella Licudi as the worldly young woman who accompanies Casey on his adventures.
Review of The Last Safari
