''Napoleon and Samantha'' is a 1972 American

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Bernard McEveety Bernard E. McEveety, Jr. (May 13, 1924 – February 2, 2004) was an American film and television director. Family McEveety was born in New Rochelle, New York; his brothers, Vincent McEveety and Joseph McEveety were also Hollywood directors ...

and written by

Stewart Raffill Stewart Raffill is a British writer and director. Biography Raffill was born in England and grew up near Stratford before immigrating to the US and working in the motion picture industry. His writing and directing work in film and TV spans ...

. Filmed in and around

John Day, Oregon John Day is a city located about north of Canyon City in Grant County, Oregon, at the intersection of U.S. Routes 26 and 395. The city was named for the nearby John Day River, which had been named for a Virginian member of the 1811 Astor Exped ...

, it stars

Johnny Whitaker John Orson Whitaker, Jr. (born December 13, 1959) is an American actor notable for several film and television performances during his childhood. The redheaded Whitaker played Jody Davis on ''Family Affair'' from 1966 to 1971. He also originated ...

and

Jodie Foster Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and the ho ...

(in her feature film debut) in the title roles.

Plot

Eleven-year-old Napoleon lives with his grandfather. He and his grandfather adopt a

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 ...

named Major when by chance they meet an old

clown A clown is a person who performs comedy and arts in a state of open-mindedness using physical comedy, typically while wearing distinct makeup or costuming and reversing folkway-norms. History The most ancient clowns have been found in ...

who cannot take him back to Europe. The old lion has bad teeth and only drinks milk so they put Major in the chicken cage to look after him. When Napoleon's grandfather dies of old age, Napoleon asks a young grad student named Danny to help bury his grandfather. Uncertain about his future Napoleon runs off with the lion, a pet

rooster The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...

, and his eight year old friend Samantha to try to find Danny, now a

goat herder A goatherd or goatherder is a person who herds goats as a vocational activity. It is similar to a shepherd who herds sheep. Goatherds are most commonly found in regions where goat populations are significant; for instance, in Africa and South A ...

who lives in the mountains, and so Napoleon can avoid being sent to an orphanage. Along their way, the two children encounter many dangers. Napoleon nearly falls off a cliff, but Major manages to pull him up with a rope. They have to cross a river which Major does not like, since most cats are afraid of water. A

cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large Felidae, cat native to the Americas. Its Species distribution, range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mamm ...

attacks Napoleon's rooster, but Major easily defeats the much smaller cat and chases it up a tree. While Napoleon is out looking for wood he comes across an angry

black bear Black bear or Blackbear may refer to: Animals * American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species * Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species Music * Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...

that chases him back to where Samantha is resting with Major. At first, Major is too tired and wants to sleep while Samantha desperately tries to wake him. But as soon as the lion hears the roar of the bear, he stands up to challenge his opponent and protect the children. As the bear is much closer in size to Major than the cougar was, the two beasts fight hard but Major eventually gains the upper hand and the bear runs away. Eventually the children find Danny's cabin and he takes them in with the hope of convincing Napoleon that orphanages really aren't that bad. Danny leaves the kids with a man named Mark Pierson and attempts to find Samantha's family to notify them, but he is arrested and accused of kidnapping the children. While at the police station, Danny notices a photo of Mark, who happens to be a dangerous psychopath and escapes to rescue them. He steals a motorcycle and the police chase him all the way back to his cabin where they find and arrest the wanted man. When things are back to normal, Napoleon takes Major and tries to run away again to live with the Indians but Danny catches up. Danny explains that the Indians don't really live out in the wild anymore and that Napoleon should give foster care a try with a promise that Major could stay in the mountains and live with him. Napoleon agrees and they go back to Danny's cabin.

Cast

as Napoleon Wilson *

as Samantha *

Michael Douglas Michael Kirk Douglas (born September 25, 1944) is an American actor and film producer. He has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the AF ...

as Daniel Arlington Williams III *

Will Geer Will Geer (born William Aughe Ghere; March 9, 1902 – April 22, 1978) was an American actor, musician, and social activist, who was active in labor organizing and other movements in New York and Southern California in the 1930s and 1940s. In Ca ...

as Grandpa Seth Wilson * Zamba as Major the Lion * Arch Johnson as Chief of Police * Henry Jones as Mr. Amos Gutteridge *

Vito Scotti Vito Giusto Scozzari (January 26, 1918 – June 5, 1996), also known as Vito Scotti, was an American character actor who played both dramatic and comedy roles on Broadway, in films, and later on television, primarily from the late 1930s to the ...

as Dimitri the Clown * John Crawford as Desk Sergeant *

Mary Wickes Mary Wickes (born Mary Isabella Wickenhauser; June 13, 1910 – October 22, 1995) was an American actress. She often played supporting roles as prim, professional women, secretaries, nurses, nuns, therapists, teachers and housekeepers, who made ...

as Clerk * Ellen Corby as Gertrude *

Rex Holman Rexford George Holman (born 1935) is an American film and television actor. Holman was born in Oklahoma. He began his screen career in 1959, appearing in the anthology television series '' The Millionaire''. In 1960 he made his film debut in ' ...

as Mark Pierson *Claude Johnson as Gary *

John Lupton John Rollin Lupton (August 23, 1928 – November 3, 1993) was an American film and television actor. Early years Lupton was the son of Adelma Lupton and Dorothy Marsh Lupton. He developed an interest in drama while he was a student at Sh ...

as Pete * James MacDonald as Bear, Major the Lion (Roaring) *John Ortega *Monty Margetts

Production

It was the second film written by

, who was an animal supervisor-turned-writer-and-director. He sold the script to Disney and worked on the film as an animal supervisor and producer. The film was largely shot in

. Foster was mauled by a substitute lion used on the film set and still has scars on her back and stomach (the same lion nearly mauled

Bob Denver Robert Osbourne Denver (January 9, 1935 – September 2, 2005) was an American comedic actor who portrayed Gilligan on the 1964–1967 television series ''Gilligan's Island'', and beatnik Maynard G. Krebs on the 1959–1963 series ''The Ma ...

in the '' Gilligan's Island'' episode ''Feed the Kitty''). "I was walking ahead of him. He was on an invisible leash, some piano wire. He got sick of me being slow, picked me up and held me sideways and shook me like a doll." "I was in shock and thought it was an earthquake. I turned around and saw the entire crew running off in the other direction. The trainer then said, 'Drop it' and he opened his mouth and dropped me."Jodie Foster mauled by lion
Retrieved 2 April 2008 The incident left her with lifelong

ailurophobia Ailurophobia (''pronunciation:'' aɪˌlʊər əˈfoʊ bi ə) is the persistent and excessive fear or hatred of cats. Like other specific phobias, the exact cause of ailurophobia is unknown, and potential treatment generally involves therapy.Milos ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Napoleon And Samantha 1972 films American adventure drama films Fictional duos Films about lions Films adapted into comics Films directed by Bernard McEveety Jr. Films shot in Oregon Films scored by Buddy Baker (composer) Walt Disney Pictures films Films produced by Winston Hibler 1970s English-language films 1970s American films

Plot

Cast

Production

See also

References

External links