In Tanganyika during the 1960s, the Momella Game Company specializes in capturing animals for zoos and circuses, relying on off‑road vehicles, lassos, and cages to corral creatures for transport. The crew is a colorful mix: John Wayne as Sean Mercer, the Irish‑American leader who drives the capture expeditions; Bruce Cabot as Little Wolf, a Native American sharpshooter nicknamed “The Indian”; Gérard Blain as Charles “Chips” Maurey, a fearless marksman who offers his skills after a tense first encounter with Sean; Hardy Krüger as Kurt Muller, a retired German race car driver who adds speed and precision to the team; Valentin de Vargas as Luis Francisco Garcia Lopez, a Mexican bullfighter whose bravado blends with the team’s rough practicality; Red Buttons as Pockets, a woefully nervous former NYC cabbie; and Michèle Girardon as Brandy de la Court, the French businesswoman who runs point with the client zoos. The crew is rounded out by native Tanzanians and the photographer Dallas, played by Elsa Martinelli, who arrives with a mission from Basel zoo, and by the uncredited shopper at Macy’s, portrayed by Sam Harris.
The operation kicks off with a tense chase as Kurt and Little Wolf drive a herding jeep to push animals toward a larger capture truck piloted by Pockets. A large rhino charges and gore splashes as it mauls the Indian, forcing the team to rush him to Arusha hospital. There, a French marksman, Gérard Blain as Chips, arrives seeking the Indian’s rare blood type and offers his own services to the expedition. Recognizing Chips’ value, Sean offers him a job and the two men form a wary, growing respect.
Back at the compound, Dallas’s arrival injects a new energy into the crew. Despite him initially resisting, Sean begins to warm to the idea of having a female photographer along for the giraffe captures, and the rest of the team votes to keep her on board. Chips tests the waters with a sharpshooting contest against Kurt, and after a heated exchange the two become friends, while Dallas and Sean find themselves slowly drawn to each other, even as Sean guards his heart after a fiancée’s betrayal.
As the days pass, Kurt and Chips pursue Brandy, and Pockets confesses to Dallas that he secretly harbors feelings for Brandy too. The Indian is released from hospital but remains unsettled, urging Sean to slow down on rhino hunts. Sean, while resolute about meeting orders, agrees to hold off on further rhino captures until the season’s end and only after the crew has handled other assignments.
A village visit reveals a rogue female elephant killed by a game warden, and Dallas immediately bonds with the elephant’s orphaned calf. She defies Sean’s cautions, and the team improvises by bringing in goats to provide milk, which leads to a night of apologetic tension between Dallas and Sean that culminates in a quiet, shared kiss.
Soon another elephant calf appears, and the Waarusha people are so impressed by the elephants’ following Dallas that they adopt her as “Mama Tembo” (Mother of Elephants). A third orphan elephant shows up days later, sending Sean into a flash of anger and frustration at the escalating situation.
During a sequence of captures—the zebra, the oryx, the gazelle, the leopard, and the buffalo—the team endures a wildebeest stampede where the herding car overturns, Kurt suffering a dislocated shoulder and Chips a badly sprained leg. Amid the chaos, Pockets takes a tumble from a tall fence but escapes unharmed, while Brandy’s concern for him reveals where her affections truly lie.
A remarkable moment comes when Pockets launches a small rocket attached to a net, sweeping nearly 500 vervet monkeys from a tree, a feat that surprises everyone, including himself. With only the rhino left to secure, the crew tracks a furious bull and, after a first failed attempt, successfully completes the capture.
When the season ends, Dallas, fearing Sean cannot move beyond his fiancée’s betrayal, writes a farewell letter and heads for Arusha. Yet with the help of the crew and the three baby elephants, Sean finds Dallas and convinces her to reconcile. The couple marries and prepares for a quiet wedding night in Sean’s room, only to have the baby elephants burst in and crash the celebrations, bringing the story to a playful, exuberant close.
Throughout, the film balances danger and humor, showcasing the camaraderie among a diverse team while painting a vivid portrait of the African landscape, the bond between humans and animals, and the personal scars that can soften even the hardest exteriors. The result is a long, immersive adventure that remains faithful to its adventurous spirit while offering moments of tenderness, rivalry, and improbable romance.
