''Born Free'' is a 1966 British drama film starring the real-life couple
Virginia McKenna
Dame Virginia Anne McKenna, (born 7 June 1931) is a British stage and screen actress, author and wildlife campaigner. She is best known for the films ''A Town Like Alice'' (1956), '' Carve Her Name with Pride'' (1958), ''Born Free'' (1966), and ...
and
Bill Travers as
Joy and
George Adamson
George Alexander Graham Adamson MBE (3 February 1906 – 20 August 1989), also known as the ''Baba ya Simba'' ("Father of Lions" in Swahili), was a Kenyan wildlife conservationist and author. He and his wife, Joy, were depicted in the film ''B ...
, another real-life couple who raised
Elsa the Lioness, an orphaned lion cub, to adulthood, and released her into the wilderness of
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
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, largest_city = Nairobi
, ...
. The film was produced by Open Road Films Ltd. and
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...
. The screenplay, written by
blacklisted
Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, t ...
Hollywood writer
Lester Cole
Lester Cole (June 19, 1904 – August 15, 1985) was an American screenwriter. Cole was one of the Hollywood Ten, a group of screenwriters and directors who were cited for contempt of Congress and blacklisted for their refusal to testify regarding ...
(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
Shalom "Sam" Jaffe (March 10, 1891 – March 24, 1984) was an American actor, teacher, musician, and engineer. In 1951, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in '' The Asphalt Jungle'' (1950) and ap ...
and
Paul Radin
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
*Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...
. ''Born Free'', and its
musical score by
John Barry, won numerous awards, as well as the
title song with lyrics by
Don Black and sung by
Matt Monro
Matt Monro (born Terence Edward Parsons, 1 December 1930 – 7 February 1985) was an English singer. Known as "The Man with the Golden Voice", he performed internationally during his 30-year career. AllMusic has described Monro as "one of the m ...
.
Plot summary
In the Northern Province of Kenya, a woman is killed and eaten by a male lion. British senior wildlife warden
George Adamson
George Alexander Graham Adamson MBE (3 February 1906 – 20 August 1989), also known as the ''Baba ya Simba'' ("Father of Lions" in Swahili), was a Kenyan wildlife conservationist and author. He and his wife, Joy, were depicted in the film ''B ...
(Bill Travers) is sent in to kill the menacing
lion
The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...
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
( ''Blijdorp Zoo''), officially Rotterdam Zoo, is a zoo located in the northwestern part of Rotterdam. It is one of the oldest zoos in the Netherlands, and has been operated by the ("Royal Rotterdam Zoo Foundation"). Divided into several zoogeog ...
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
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
. 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
Meru National Park is a Kenyan national park located east of Meru, from Nairobi. Covering an area of , it is one best known national parks in Kenya. Rainfall in this area is abundant with in the west of the park and in the east. The rainfall r ...
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
''Phacochoerus'' is a genus in the family Suidae, commonly known as warthogs (pronounced ''wart-hog''). They are pigs who live in open and semi-open habitats, even in quite arid regions, in sub-Saharan Africa. The two species were formerly cons ...
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
*
Virginia McKenna
Dame Virginia Anne McKenna, (born 7 June 1931) is a British stage and screen actress, author and wildlife campaigner. She is best known for the films ''A Town Like Alice'' (1956), '' Carve Her Name with Pride'' (1958), ''Born Free'' (1966), and ...
as
Joy Adamson
Friederike Victoria "Joy" Adamson ( Gessner; 20 January 1910 – 3 January 1980) was a naturalist, artist and author. Her book, ''Born Free'', describes her experiences raising a lion cub named Elsa. ''Born Free'' was printed in several langua ...
*
Bill Travers as
George Adamson
George Alexander Graham Adamson MBE (3 February 1906 – 20 August 1989), also known as the ''Baba ya Simba'' ("Father of Lions" in Swahili), was a Kenyan wildlife conservationist and author. He and his wife, Joy, were depicted in the film ''B ...
*
Geoffrey Keen as John Kendall
* Peter Lukoye as Nuru
* Surya Patel as the Doctor
* Geoffrey Best as Watson, a big game hunter
* Bill Godden as Sam
The film's credits list lions and lionesses Boy, Girl, Henrietta,
Mara, Ugas, and "the Cubs".
Production
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''. According to
Ben Mankiewicz, who introduces the film on
Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasti ...
, the production unit mainly used wild lions.
The making of the film was a life-changing experience for actors
Virginia McKenna
Dame Virginia Anne McKenna, (born 7 June 1931) is a British stage and screen actress, author and wildlife campaigner. She is best known for the films ''A Town Like Alice'' (1956), '' Carve Her Name with Pride'' (1958), ''Born Free'' (1966), and ...
and her husband
Bill Travers, who became
animal rights
Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...
activists and were instrumental in creating the
Born Free Foundation
The Born Free Foundation is an international wildlife charity that campaigns to "Keep Wildlife in the Wild". It protects wild animals in their natural habitat, campaigns against the keeping of wild animals in captivity and rescues wild animals in ...
.
One of the lions in the film was played by a former
mascot
A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...
of the
Scots Guards, who had to leave him behind when they left Kenya.
The producers also acknowledged the help received from Emperor
Haile Selassie
Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia (' ...
of Ethiopia and the
Game Department of Uganda.
Critical response and box-office
''Born Free'' received critical acclaim. Review aggregator
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
reports that 92% of 12 film critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 7 out of 10.
Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in ...
waxed enthusiastic about the film, writing in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', "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."
The film was one of the most popular movies at the box office in Britain during 1966.
Accolades
The film is recognized by
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees.
Leade ...
in these lists:
* 2004:
AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs:
** "
Born Free" – Nominated
* 2005:
AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores – Nominated
Sequels and spinoffs
The book ''Born Free'' (1960) was followed by two other books, ''Living Free'' (1961) and ''Forever Free'' (1963). In 1972, a film sequel entitled ''
Living Free'' was released. 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'', entitled ''The Lions Are Free'', was released in 1969. The film follows ''Born Free''-actor
Bill Travers as he journeys to a remote area in
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
, ...
to visit
George Adamson
George Alexander Graham Adamson MBE (3 February 1906 – 20 August 1989), also known as the ''Baba ya Simba'' ("Father of Lions" in Swahili), was a Kenyan wildlife conservationist and author. He and his wife, Joy, were depicted in the film ''B ...
, and several of Adamson's lion friends.
In 1974, a 13-episode American television series was broadcast by
NBC, entitled ''
Born Free'', starring
Diana Muldaur and
Gary Collins as Joy and George Adamson. The series was later followed by television film in 1996 called ''
Born Free: A New Adventure'', with
Linda Purl and
Chris Noth
Christopher David Noth ( ; born November 13, 1954) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles as NYPD Detective Mike Logan on ''Law & Order'' (1990–95), Big on ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004), and Peter Florrick on ''The ...
. 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
''To Walk with Lions'' is a 1999 film directed by Carl Schultz and starring Richard Harris as George Adamson and John Michie as Tony Fitzjohn. It follows the later years of Lion advocate Adamson.
After his marriage to Joy Adamson of ''Born Free'' ...
'' (1999) depicts the last years of George Adamson's life, as seen through the eyes of his assistant,
Tony Fitzjohn
Anthony Raymond Fitzjohn, Order of the British Empire, OBE (7 July 1945 – 23 May 2022) was a British conservation movement, conservationist who worked extensively with George Adamson at Kora National Park, Kora in Africa.
In recognition of h ...
. George is portrayed by
Richard Harris, and
Honor Blackman makes a brief appearance as Joy.
The one-hour ''
Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...
'' documentary ''Elsa's Legacy: The Born Free Story'' was released on
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
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.
See also
*
Christian the lion
References
External links
Born Free websitefor the
Born Free Foundation
The Born Free Foundation is an international wildlife charity that campaigns to "Keep Wildlife in the Wild". It protects wild animals in their natural habitat, campaigns against the keeping of wild animals in captivity and rescues wild animals in ...
*
*
*
{{James Hill
1966 films
1960s adventure drama films
British children's adventure films
British adventure drama films
British films based on actual events
Children's drama films
Columbia Pictures films
Environmental films
Films scored by John Barry (composer)
Films adapted into television shows
Films directed by James Hill (British director)
Films set in Australia
Films set in Papua New Guinea
Films set in Kenya
Films set in the British Empire
Films about orphans
Films about lions
Films set in Africa
Films shot in Kenya
Films that won the Best Original Song Academy Award
Films that won the Best Original Score Academy Award
1960s children's adventure films
Films based on non-fiction books
1966 drama films
1960s English-language films
1960s British films