Unusual mix of the sentimental and the unsentimental, mixing soft-centered animal features like That Darn Cat (1966) where cute beasts cause mayhem with the kind of realism espoused by Sir David Attenborough (Planet Earth, 2006) where nature is red in tooth and claw, though skipping the irony of game warden-cum-conservationist George Adamson (Bill Travers) bringing up the cubs of the leonine parents he has shot dead.
With wife Joy (Virginia McKenna) they decide to rear the baby animals. Joy is most attracted to the runt of the litter, Elsa. Cue much hilarity as the animals destroy their house, knocking over anything standing, pulling down curtains, breaking plates, and like any youngsters resisting bedtime. Joy is so distraught at having to get rid of the grown-up cubs, despatched to zoos, that her husband holds onto Elsa.
If Joy can’t face shipping the cub overseas, she’s unwilling to face up to the fact that the only other alternative is to groom her for a life in the wild. A tame animal let loose would hardly survive a minute. So they’ve got to train Elsa to hunt. This doesn’t work out, Elsa finding herself at the wrong end of the hunting business – attacked by a warthog – or too inexperienced to know not to go near a herd of wild elephants. When she crawls home nursing her wounds, George is on the verge of giving up, but Joy wishes to persevere, resulting in scenes of the cute Elsa now suddenly red in tooth and claw and savoring her kill.
Now, all that’s left is finding her a willing mate. When that’s achieved, it’s job done, though when Elsa returns for a visit she’s accompanied by her own cubs.
And if you’re occasionally bored by the cutesy elements and wish the movie would get a move on, you can always savor, as I did, the Oscar-winning music by John Barry. It’s what these days would be deemed a feel-good movie but that’s only if you wriggle out of the irony.
The problem for the big cats in Kenya was that they were prey to illicit big-game hunters and if that had been the reason for the cubs being orphaned it would be a better fit for the general theme. But, basically, what lions don’t seem to realize is that they can’t treat humans like any other prey. There’s some weird supposition that they can prefer the taste of human flesh, rather than the more obvious reason why humans are attractive being that, unless armed, they can neither run away nor defend themselves like all the other jungle occupants.
There’s an unspoken rule – to which the lions are obviously not privy – that if you get a reputation as a man-eater then that friendly game warden who’s otherwise on your side is going to come after you and shoot you dead. It would only be luck that your offspring might end up with a couple of friendly humans rather than as dinner for other predators.
So being “born free” comes with the proviso of not getting in the way of humans.
Real life couple Bill Travers (The Bridal Path, 1959) and Virginia McKenna (Carve Her Name with Pride, 1958) were considered well past their sell-by date, neither having made a picture in five years. But they seem to embody the characters well, McKenna’s acting recognized by the Golden Globes.
James Hill (A Study in Terror, 1965) directs from a screenplay by Lester Cole (Operation Eichmann, 1961), blacklisted as one of the Hollywood Ten, and Joy Adamson, author of the eponymous bestseller.
While you’re probably not as nit-picky as me, you might well figure this is well past its sell-by date or, equally, you might hail it as the precursor of an animal rights campaign.
The Magnificent 60s 
Additional info.
“The 17 Feb 1964 DV announced plans by producers Sam Jaffe, Paul Radin, and Carl Foreman to film Born Free on location in Kenya. The film was based on the 1960 memoir by Joy Adamson. Nearly one month later, the 13 Mar 1964 DV reported that British actress Virginia McKenna would portray the author, with her husband, Bill Travers, playing George Adamson. Tom McGowan, known for his work with the Walt Disney Company, was chosen to direct. On 25 May 1964, LAT stated that the couple had reached Kenya, where they would spend two months getting acquainted with the assorted lions and other wildlife appearing in the film. Production was expected to last another seven months. Principal photography was initially planned for 27 Jul 1964, according to the 3 Jul 1964 DV, but was postponed until 31 Aug 1964, as noted in 4 Sep 1964 DV production charts. The 23 Oct 1964 LAT attributed the delay to the fact that McKenna sustained a broken ankle after a lion fell on her during a screen test. The bones had to be set twice at a Nairobi hospital before her ankle healed properly. In the meantime, the actress wore a cast and appeared only in “close-ups and static scenes.” Production charts in the 27 Nov 1964 DV revealed that director Tom McGowan had been replaced by James Hill.
The 20 Dec 1964 LAT noted that location filming took place on a 750-acre ranch, rented from a retired English Army officer, in Naro Moru, Kenya. Bill Travers told the 5 Jun 1966 NYT that he and McKenna were unable to work with circus animals as they were not naturally affectionate toward humans, due to being imprisoned most of their lives. Instead, the ranch was stocked with lions born in the wild, and with the help of technical advisor George Adamson, the actors developed a rapport with them. Travers and McKenna took daily walks with the animals, and when they seemed ready to play a scene, the crew was alerted via walkie-talkie. Because the lions were not trained performers, only a few seconds of usable footage could be shot each day. Travers regretfully admitted that half the lions were placed in zoos after filming was completed. Joy Adamson, who was staying at the ranch in a tent during production, retrained the remaining lions to return to the wild. The 12 Apr 1966 LAT revealed that twenty-four lions, “including four sets of cubs,” were used to play “Elsa,” the lioness made famous by Adamson. Her husband, George Adamson, trained the animals by playing games with them, noting that lions “adore footballs and balloons.” An aging circus lioness was added to the cast to portray a frightened Elsa encountering a belligerent warthog. The review in the 7 Apr 1966 LAT identified the lioness “Girl” as most frequently portraying Elsa. According to the 20 Dec 1964 LAT, the completion of principal photography was scheduled for late Feb 1965, although production would likely continue for several more weeks.
The 19 Oct 1965 DV announced the picture’s world premiere at the annual Royal Film Performance for the Cinematograph Trade Benefit Fund, on 14 Mar 1966 in London, England. Queen Elizabeth II would be in attendance. An article in the 23 Mar 1966 DV stated that distributor Columbia Pictures struck three 70mm prints: one for the London premiere, one for the 6 Apr 1966 Los Angeles, CA, opening, and the last for the 22 Jun 1966 New York City opening. At least ten preview screenings “for educational and cultural groups” were also planned, with an expected total audience of approximately 5,000, “to build heavy word-of-mouth.” The advertising campaign emphasized Adamson’s bestselling book to dispel any misconceptions of a “civil rights” theme, which the title might also have suggested. “Sneak previews” were held at various Los Angeles theaters between 24 and 29 Mar 1966, as stated in the 23 Mar 1966 LAT.
Reviews were generally positive, although some critics believed the picture’s commercial prospects would have been brighter had it been a Walt Disney production. Born Free continued to receive accolades, most notably from Senator Frank Church of Idaho, who entered the 8 Apr 1966 Life magazine review into the Congressional Record. It was also included in the 25 Dec 1966 NYT list of the year’s ten best films, and endorsed by the National Council of Churches’ Broadcasting and Film Commission. It won two Academy Awards for Best Music—Original Song, and Best Music—Original Music Score. The title song became a popular standard, recorded by an array of singers and instrumentalists. In addition, the lions that portrayed Elsa were honored by the American Humane Society with its PATSY award, tying for first place with “Judy,” a chimpanzee featured in the television series, Daktari (CBS, 1966 – 1969). According to the 4 Jan 1967 Var, the picture earned $3.45 million in rental fees, with projected earnings of $3.6 million.
Born Free introduced American audiences to Kenyan actors Peter Lukoye and Omar Chambati, as noted in the 30 Jun 1966 Los Angeles Sentinel. Joy Adamson was murdered in 1980 by a former employee, and George Adamson was killed by a gang of poachers in 1989. Elsa the lioness died from tick fever at five years of age.
Although Gerald L. C. Copley was given credit for the screenplay when the film was initially released, according to official WGA records, Copley was a pseudonym for blacklisted writer Lester Cole. The WGA changed the screenplay credit to read: “Screenplay by Lester Cole.” Born Free was filmed on location in Naro Moru, Maralal, and Malindi, Kenya, and Doldol, Ethiopia. Original director Tom McGowan resigned after several months of production. The great success of Born Free resulted in a 1972 sequel, Living Free (see below) which continued the saga of Elsa’s cubs.
Joy Adamson (1910–1980) was born Friederike Viktoria Gessner in Austria where she studied psychoanalysis, archaeology, painting and medicine. Because her first husband, who was Jewish, feared the growing Nazi movement in Austria, the couple moved to Kenya, where she divorced her husband and married a botanist with whom she traveled throughout Kenya making paintings of plant life, many of which are now housed at the National Museum in Nairobi. After divorcing her second husband, she met game warden George Adamson (1906–1989) whom she married in 1944, and they settled permanently in Kenya.
In 1956, when George was forced to kill a man-eating lion and a lioness after they attacked him, he and Joy discovered the mother was defending her three cubs. The couple’s subsequent adoption of the three, raising them, then returning to the wild of the smallest, Elsa, became the basis for Joy’s books, Born Free, Living Free and Forever Free. The series was extraordinarily popular and served as inspiration for many, including husband-and-wife actors Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers, who played the Adamsons and founded the Born Free Foundation in support of wildlife conservation. Joy was also the founder of the World Wildlife Fund. In 1980 Joy Adamson was found dead in the Shaba Game Reserve in Northern Kenya. It was initially reported that her death was due to a lion mauling, but later, it was apparent that Adamson had been stabbed to death and a young Kenyan worker was eventually arrested, tried and convicted of the murder. At her request, George had Joy’s ashes placed in the graves of Elsa and a tamed pet cheetah, Pippa, in the Meru Game Reserve. In 1989 George Adamson was murdered by bandit poachers in the Kenyan wilderness.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
Absolutely fascinating.
LikeLike