1966 film by James Hill
Born Free
is a 1966 British drama film starring the real-life couple
Virginia McKenna
and
Bill Travers
as
Joy
and
George Adamson
, another real-life couple, who raised
Elsa the Lioness
, an orphaned lion cub, to adulthood and released her into the wilderness of
Kenya
. The film was produced by Open Road Films Ltd. and
Columbia Pictures
. The screenplay, written by
blacklisted
Hollywood writer
Lester Cole
(under the pseudonym "Gerald L.C. Copley"), was based upon Joy Adamson's 1960 non-fiction book
Born Free
. The film was directed by
James Hill
and produced by
Sam Jaffe
and
Paul Radin
.
Born Free
, and its
musical score
, by
John Barry
, as well as the
title song
, with lyrics by
Don Black
and sung by
Matt Monro
, won numerous awards.
Plot
[
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]
In the Northern Province of Kenya, a woman is killed and eaten by a male lion. British senior wildlife warden
George Adamson
(Bill Travers) is sent in to kill the menacing
lion
and also his female, who charges him in defence of her three cubs. Realizing they are now motherless, George brings the three cubs home to his wife
Joy
(Virginia McKenna) and raises them. They name the cubs Big One, Lastika, and
Elsa
, who is the youngest and the one which Joy and George become especially attached to. When the cubs get too old, the older two are sent to
Rotterdam Zoo
but the Adamsons choose to keep Elsa.
Some years later, Joy and George soon have to travel to Kiunga as George has been told by his boss, John Kendall (Geoffrey Keen) about a lion who is killing goats in a local village. George successfully manages to kill the lion and he and Joy are able to share a special holiday with Elsa, where they introduce her to the
Indian Ocean
. On returning to the Northern Province, the Adamsons learn that Elsa has caused a massive elephant stampede. Kendall states that the Adamsons can no longer keep Elsa and must find a zoo to take her in. However, Joy instead wishes to teach Elsa how to survive in the wild, which Kendall reluctantly gives her and George three months to do.
Joy and George travel to
Meru National Park
where they aim to release Elsa. Initially, they attempt to introduce Elsa to a male lion, which does not go to plan ? they leave her overnight with a fresh zebra kill but return in the morning to find her all by herself. Elsa is constantly taken out to the bush but fails to make a kill, getting attacked by a
warthog
on one of these outings. Eventually, Joy and George decide to leave Elsa in the bush for at least a week and change the location of their camp so that Elsa can become more independent. However, they find her severely injured (possibly by wild lions). Joy still believes that she can teach Elsa to survive as she opposes sending her to a zoo, where she will have no freedom. This proves to be a good decision as Elsa eventually starts leaving the Adamsons for days at a time and eventually makes several kills. The Adamsons thus take her out for her final test ? an attempt to join a wild pride. Elsa manages to fight a wild lioness and is accepted into the pride ? Joy and George are overjoyed at their success but promise to see their dear friend again when they return to Kenya.
A year later, the Adamsons return to Kenya and are given a week to find Elsa. They are overjoyed to see that Elsa has succeeded as a wild lion and is now the mother of three cubs. However, Joy and George both agree that they will not interact with the cubs, allowing them to survive as wild lions.
Cast
[
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]
The film's credits list lions and lionesses Boy, Girl, Henrietta,
Mara
, Ugas, and "the Cubs".
Production
[
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]
The film reunited the real-life couple Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna as a couple first seen together in
The Smallest Show on Earth
in 1957.
George Adamson served as chief technical advisor on the film and discusses his involvement in his first autobiography,
Bwana Game
(UK title, 1968), known in the US as
A Lifetime with Lions
.
[3]
According to
Ben Mankiewicz
, who introduces the film on
Turner Classic Movies
, the production unit mainly used wild lions.
[
citation needed
]
The making of the film was a life-changing experience for actors
Virginia McKenna
and her husband
Bill Travers
, who became
animal rights
activists and were instrumental in creating the
Born Free Foundation
.
One of the lions in the film was played by a former
mascot
of the
Scots Guards
, who had to leave him behind when they left Kenya.
[4]
The producers also acknowledged the help received from Emperor
Haile Selassie
of Ethiopia and the
Game Department of Uganda
.
Critical response and box-office
[
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]
Born Free
received critical acclaim. Review aggregator
Rotten Tomatoes
reports that 88% of 17 film critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 7.1 out of 10.
[5]
Vincent Canby
waxed enthusiastic about the film, writing in
The New York Times
, "Almost from the opening shot ? a vast expanse of corn-coloured African plain where lions feed on the carcass of a freshly killed zebra ? one knows that Joy Adamson's best-selling book
Born Free
has been entrusted to honest, intelligent filmmakers. Without minimising the facts of animal life or overly sentimentalising them, this film casts an enchantment that is just about irresistible."
[6]
The film was one of the most popular movies at the box office in Britain during 1966.
[7]
Accolades
[
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]
The film is recognized by
American Film Institute
in these lists:
Sequels and spinoffs
[
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]
The book
Born Free
(1960) was followed by two other books,
Living Free
(1961) and
Forever Free
(1963). A film sequel titled
Living Free
was directed by
Jack Couffer
and released in 1972. While deriving its name from the second book, the film was based on the third book in the series. It starred
Susan Hampshire
and
Nigel Davenport
as Joy and George Adamson although the film was not as well-received as its predecessor.
A documentary follow-up to
Born Free
, titled
The Lions Are Free
, was directed by
James Hill
and
Bill Travers
and released in 1969. The film follows
Born Free
actor
Bill Travers
as he journeys to a remote area in
Kenya
to visit
George Adamson
, and several of Adamson's lion friends.
In 1974, a 13-episode American television series was broadcast by
NBC
, titled
Born Free
, starring
Diana Muldaur
and
Gary Collins
as Joy and George Adamson. The series was later followed by the 1996 television film
Born Free: A New Adventure
directed by
Tommy Lee Wallace
and starring
Linda Purl
and
Chris Noth
. Joy and George Adamson do not appear as the main characters in the story. It spawned a TV series in 1998, but none of the episodes aired in the U.S.
To Walk with Lions
(1999), directed by
Carl Schultz
, depicts the last years of George Adamson's life as seen through the eyes of his assistant,
Tony Fitzjohn
. George is portrayed by
Richard Harris
, and
Honor Blackman
makes a brief appearance as Joy.
On 28th September 2010 BBC Four ran an evening of programs to mark the 50th anniversary of the publishing of Born Free which included a new one hour documentary entitled 'The Born Free Legacy'.
[15]
It explores the lives and legacy of George and Joy Adamson with Elsa and included archival footage recorded on camera by the Adamson's of them working with the three lion cubs. The program also included various interviews including archive footage of George Adamson himself speaking about his life working with Elsa, along with other contributors including Tony Fitzjohn (George Adamson's long time assistant), Sir David Attenborough and Sir Desmond Morris.
On 1st February 2011 the long running BBC series 'Natural World' broadcast episode 10 of series 29 which was entitled 'Elsa: The Lioness that Changed the World'.
[16]
This episode looked back at Elsa's life and legacy, and included contributions from Virginia McKenna and David Attenborough.
The one-hour
Nature
documentary
Elsa's Legacy: The Born Free Story
was released on
PBS
stations in January 2011. It includes a collection of archival footage and an exploration into the lives of Joy and George Adamson during the years following release of the film.
[17]
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Champlin, C. (10 October 1966). "Foreman hopes to reverse runaway".
Los Angeles Times
.
ProQuest
155553672
.
- ^
"Big Rental Pictures of 1966",
Variety
, 4 January 1967 p. 8
- ^
Bibliography ? BooksFilmsMovies
- ^
Time Inc (28 November 1969),
"A 'Born Free' Star Is Saved From Freedom"
,
Life
, Time Inc, pp. 47, 48
- ^
"Born Free"
.
Flixster
.
Rotten Tomatoes
. Retrieved
21 September
2023
.
- ^
Canby, Vincent (23 June 1966).
"The Screen: Honesty and Humor Make 'Born Free' a Fresh and Moving Film: Biography of Lion Has Documentary Flavor"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
18 December
2012
.
- ^
"Most popular star for third time".
The Times
. London, England. 31 December 1966.
- ^
"The 39th Academy Awards (1967) Nominees and Winners"
.
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
.
Archived
from the original on 10 November 2014
. Retrieved
4 September
2011
.
- ^
"19th DGA Awards"
.
Directors Guild of America Awards
. Retrieved
3 June
2021
.
- ^
"Born Free"
.
Golden Globe Awards
. Retrieved
3 June
2021
.
- ^
"9th Annual GRAMMY Awards"
.
Grammy Awards
. Retrieved
23 March
2024
.
- ^
"1966 Award Winners"
.
National Board of Review
. Retrieved
22 March
2024
.
- ^
"AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs Nominees"
(PDF)
. Retrieved
6 August
2016
.
- ^
"AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores Nominees"
(PDF)
. Retrieved
6 August
2016
.
- ^
"The Born Free Legacy"
.
- ^
"Natural World series 29 Ep10 - Elsa: The Lioness that Changed the World"
.
- ^
Ray, Rachel (7 January 2011).
"Elsa's Legacy: The Born Free Story, Nature on PBS ? US TV review"
.
The Daily Telegraph
. Retrieved
18 December
2012
.
External links
[
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]
Wikiquote has quotations related to
Born Free
.