From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1965 film
Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion
is a 1965 light
comedy
-
adventure film
, produced by
Ivan Tors
, Leonard B. Kaufman, and
Harry Redmond Jr.
, directed by
Andrew Marton
, and starring
Marshall Thompson
and
Betsy Drake
.
[1]
The film was shot at
Soledad Canyon
near
Los Angeles
, California, and in
Miami
, Florida. It became the basis for the television series
Daktari
.
Plot
[
edit
]
Paula Tracey, an adventurous and fearless girl, is the daughter of veterinarian Dr. Marsh Tracey. Dr. Tracey is the director of
East Africa
's animal hospital and nature preserve. He fights to protect all African wildlife, while studying and caring for injured animals and
endangered species
. Paula and her father find Clarence, a wild African lion who is
cross-eyed
which makes hunting in the wild impossible, and they adopt him as a new member of their
wildlife preserve
. Clarence later saves the day when Julie Harper and her research gorillas are threatened by animal
poachers
.
Cast
[
edit
]
Animals
[
edit
]
- Clarence The Lion
- Doris The Chimpanzee
- Mary Lou The Python
Additional Information
[
edit
]
Clarence was cross-eyed in real life and lived at
Africa USA
near Los Angeles. He was so tame that he would purr when his back was rubbed.
[2]
Ivan Tors had previously made the movie "
Flipper
", which also became a TV series.
Betsy Drake had retired from acting 6 years previous, but agreed to play this one role before returning to retirement.
Marshall Thompson was bitten for real during the scene in which he rescues a woman from a leopard; they left the scene in as filmed.
Production
[
edit
]
The film was followed by the CBS TV series
Daktari
(1966?1969), with Marshall Thompson and
Cheryl Miller
reprising their film roles.
[3]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]