Making
this very entertaining movie, director Howard Hawks got into some trouble
with a blonde. As a matter of fact, there were times when he had to
order her tied up to protect himself.
"Want to meet her?" he asked.
"Sure," I said, and up walked a big nasty-face South African cheetah looking
for a meal.
"I wouldn't try to pet her if I were you," Hawks said. "Duke tried
that and the cat grabbed his arm and wouldn't let go."
He also got kicked by a giraffe.
Big game catcher Willy deBeer was on hand for "the rough stuff," but Hawks
had to have the Duke deal with the animals in this beastly situation. In
a John Wayne movie, Wayne had to be in the middle of all the action.
Back at Paramount Studios, a scene was set up to get Elsa Martinelli into
bed with an elephant.
"What do you think of our little movie?" she asked. "Pretty wild,
huh?"