Born Free (1966)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

James Hill

Writers (WGA):

Joy Adamson (book)
Lester Cole (screenplay) (originally as Gerald L.C. Copley)

Release Date:

22 June 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Drama | Adventure

Tagline:

From The Pages Of The Beloved Best Seller... A Motion Picture To Delight All The World!

Plot:

Joy Adamson and her husband, Kenya game warden George Adamson, raise Elsa, a lion cub. When Elsa approaches maturity...

Plot Keywords:

Game Warden | Lioness | Lion | Kenya | Lion Cub

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Virginia McKenna	...	Joy Adamson
Bill Travers	...	George Adamson
Geoffrey Keen	...	Kendall
Peter Lukoye	...	Nuru
Omar Chambati	...	Makkede
Bill Godden	...	Sam
Robert S. Young	...	James (as Robert Young)
Bryan Epsom	...	Baker
Geoffrey Best	...	Watson
Robert Cheetham	...	Ken
Surya Patel	...	Doctor

MPAA:

Rated PG for some wild animal action and brief language.

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Sweden:11 | Australia:G | Finland:S | UK:U | USA:PG | Singapore:PG | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

Kenya

Company:

Atlas

Trivia:

Both the lions "Boy" and "Girl" were freed upon completion of filming.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Zoolander (2001)

Soundtrack:

Born Free

Quality family entertainment -- as long as you actually like wildlife.

An English couple living in Kenya try to reintroduce an orphan lion cub back in to the wild. Based on a real story.

Family movies get a bad rap because they are usually films that only children enjoy and adults can bare only when drunk. Born Free is the kind of movie that can play well to both adults and children -- if they are the type that like wildlife.

You should never act with children or animals because they steal every scene they are in. Born Free features two very fine performances from real life couple Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers -- but when the cubs are on screen you won't be looking elsewhere.

I have read the book which I loved and well worth checking out because it is NOT a novelisation of this film -- Joyce Adamson (whose early life the script is based on) was not the angel of virtue she is portrayed here. She was a tough woman who made enemies and ruffled feathers. Her early death is another story and another film.

The problem with the film is that it has enough syrup in it without the extra sugar that is the title song. Also the real couple had personal problems that this film doesn't really want to deal with. From the nature of the film we know the final happy reel and are merely travelling towards it.

There aren't many films you can enjoy two or three times over and even get a bit emotional over -- but this is one such film. One for the DVD collection of all animal lovers. If you are the sort that doesn't subscribe to the Discovery Channel than you are better staying away.