''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, animal rights activist, and wildlife campaigner. She is best known for the films '' A Town Like Alice'' (1956), ''Carve Her Name with Pride'' (1958), ' ...

and

Bill Travers William Inglis Lindon Travers (3 January 1922 – 29 March 1994) was a British actor, screenwriter, director and animal rights activist. Before his show business career, he served in the British Army with Gurkha and special forces units. Earl ...

Joy Joy is the state of being that allows one to experience feelings of intense, long-lasting happiness and contentment of life. It is closely related to, and often evoked by, well-being, success, or good fortune. Happiness, pleasure, and gratitu ...

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 British wildlife conservationist and author based in Kenya. His wife Joy Adamson related in h ...

, another real-life couple, who raised Elsa the Lioness, an orphaned lion cub, to adulthood and released her into the wilderness of

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. The film was produced by Open Road Films Ltd. and

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

. The screenplay, written by

blacklisted Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list; if people are on a blacklist, then they are considere ...

Hollywood writer

Lester Cole Lester Cole (June 19, 1904 – August 15, 1985) was an American screenwriter. He 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 t ...

(under the pseudonym "Gerald L.C. Copley"), was based upon Joy Adamson's 1960 non-fiction book ''

Born Free ''Born Free'' is a 1966 British drama film starring the real-life couple Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers as Joy and George Adamson, another real-life couple, who raised Elsa the Lioness, an orphaned lion cub, to adulthood and released h ...

''. 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). He al ...

and

Paul Radin Paul Radin (April 2, 1883 – February 21, 1959) was an American cultural anthropologist and folklorist of the early twentieth century specializing in Native American languages and cultures. The noted legal scholar Max Radin was his older brothe ...

. ''Born Free'', and its musical score, by John Barry, as well as the

title song Theme music is a musical composition which is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...

, 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 and sold a reported 23 million records. AllMus ...

, won numerous awards.

Plot

In the Northern province of Kenya, British Game Warden George Adamson is forced to kill a man-eating lion and his lioness. He realises too late that the lioness was charging in defence of her three cubs and so, realising the cubs are now motherless, brings them home so he and his wife Joy can raise them. They name the cubs Big One, Lustika and Elsa. When the cubs become too old, Big One and Lustika are sent off to

Rotterdam 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 zoogeographic regio ...

whilst George and Joy keep Elsa, having become especially attached to her. Years later, George’s boss, John Kendall informs him that a lion in Kiunga has been killing goats in a local village. George is sent to kill the lion, which he does successfully, allowing him and Joy to enjoy a holiday with Elsa near the Indian ocean. When they return to the Northern Province, the Adamsons learn that Elsa has caused a massive elephant stampede. John says that they can no longer keep Elsa and must find a zoo. However, Joy instead wishes to set Elsa free, believing a zoo would make her miserable. John reluctantly agrees to give the Adamson three months to do so. The Adamsons bring Elsa to the

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 ...

to begin her rehabilitation. They start off by trying to introduce her to a wild lion along with a kill. This does not go to plan as they return the next day only to find Elsa all alone. Elsa continually fails to make a kill, being attacked by a warthog during one attempt. Eventually, the Adamsons decide to leave Elsa for a week in the bush to encourage her to become more independent. However, they find her severely injured, possibly by wild lions. George now believes Elsa cannot survive so she must be sent to a zoo, which Joy opposes, wanting Elsa to have her freedom. This proves to be a good decision because Elsa eventually leaves for days at a time, making several kills by herself. When she comes into season, she is taken out for her final test: joining a wild pride. Despite initially being attacked, Elsa is accepted into a pride much to Joy and George’s relief. A year later, the Adamsons return to Kenya in search of Elsa. They are delighted to discover that she has thrived as a wild lion and is now a mother to three cubs. However, Joy and George decide to let the cubs remain wild instead of hand-rearing them as they did with Elsa and her sisters.

Cast

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 ...

Geoffrey Keen Geoffrey Keen (21 August 1916 – 3 November 2005) was an English actor who appeared in supporting roles in many films. He is well known for playing British Defence Minister Sir Frederick Gray in the ''James Bond'' films. Biography Early li ...

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 Mara or MARA may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Mara (''Doctor Who''), an evil being in two ''Doctor Who'' serials * Mara (She-Ra), fictional characters from the ''She-Ra and the Princesses of Power'' and ''The New Advent ...

, 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 ''The Smallest Show on Earth'' (US: ''Big Time Operators'') is a 1957 British comedy film, directed by Basil Dearden, and starring Bill Travers, Virginia McKenna, Peter Sellers, Margaret Rutherford and Bernard Miles. The screenplay was writ ...

'' 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 Benjamin Frederick Mankiewicz (born March 25, 1967) is an American television journalist and host for Turner Classic Movies (TCM). He is a progressive political commentator for ''The Young Turks''. He has served as a film critic for the 2008–2 ...

, 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 broadcas ...

, the production unit mainly used wild lions. The making of the film was a life-changing experience for actors

and her husband

, who became

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have Moral patienthood, moral worth independent of their Utilitarianism, utility to humans, and that their most basic interests—such as ...

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 i ...

. 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, sports team, university society, society, military unit, or brand, brand name. Mascots are als ...

of the

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642 in the Ki ...

, who had to leave him behind when they left Kenya. The producers also acknowledged the help received from Emperor

Haile Selassie Haile Selassie I (born Tafari Makonnen or ''Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles#Lij, Lij'' Tafari; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as the Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles, Rege ...

of Ethiopia and the Game Department of Uganda.

Release

The film premiered as the Royal Film Performance on 14 March 1966 at the

Odeon Leicester Square The Odeon Luxe Leicester Square is a prominent cinema building in the West End of London. Built in the Art Deco style and completed in 1937, the building has been continually altered in response to developments in cinema technology, and was the ...

with ''

Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree ''Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree'' is a 1966 American animation, animated musical film, musical fantasy film, fantasy short film based on the first two chapters of ''Winnie-the-Pooh (book), Winnie-the-Pooh'' by A. A. Milne. The film was produ ...

'' as the second feature.

Critical response and box-office

''Born Free'' received critical acclaim. Review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, 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 ...

reports that 88% of 17 film critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 7.1 out of 10. ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' of London's film critic found the lions delightful but felt the scenes involving the humans lacked a sufficient story and that Hill "must bear some of the blame for the embarrassment provided by the humans to the fore."

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who was 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 2000. ...

waxed enthusiastic about the film, writing in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', "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 History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...

in these lists: * 2004: AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs: ** "

" – 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). A film sequel titled ''

Living Free ''Living Free'' is a 1972 British drama film, written by Millard Kaufman and directed by Jack Couffer. It starred Nigel Davenport, Susan Hampshire and Geoffrey Keen. This film is a sequel to '' Born Free'' (1966), which was based on the 19 ...

'' was directed by

Jack Couffer Jack Craig Couffer A.S.C. (December 7, 1924 – July 30, 2021) was an American cinematographer, film and television director, and author. Couffer specialized in documentary films, often involving nature and animal cinematography. Couffer was nomi ...

and released in 1972. While deriving its name from the second book, the film was based on the third book in the series. It starred

Susan Hampshire Susan Hampshire, Lady Kulukundis (born 12 May 1937), is an English actress. She is a three-time Emmy Award winner, winning for the television dramas, '' The Forsyte Saga'' in 1970, '' The First Churchills'' in 1971, and for '' Vanity Fair'' i ...

and

Nigel Davenport Arthur Nigel Davenport (23 May 1928 – 25 October 2013) was an English stage, television and film actor, best known as the Duke of Norfolk and Lord Birkenhead in the Academy Award-winning films '' A Man for All Seasons'' and ''Chariots of Fir ...

as Joy and George Adamson although the film was not as well-received as its predecessor. A documentary follow-up to ''Born Free'', titled ''The Lions Are Free'', was directed by James Hill and

and released in 1969. The film follows ''Born Free'' actor

as he journeys to a remote area in

to visit

, and several of Adamson's lion friends. In 1974, a 13-episode American television series was broadcast by

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

, titled ''

'', starring

Diana Muldaur Diana Muldaur (born August 19, 1938) is an American film and television actress. Muldaur's television roles include Rosalind Shays on ''L.A. Law'' and Dr. Katherine Pulaski in the second season of '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''. She app ...

and Gary Collins as Joy and George Adamson. The series was later followed by the 1996 television film '' Born Free: A New Adventure'' directed by

Tommy Lee Wallace Thomas Lee Wallace (born September 6, 1949) is an American film director and screenwriter. He is best known for his work in the horror genre, directing films such as '' Halloween III: Season of the Witch'' and '' Fright Night Part 2'' and also dir ...

and starring

Linda Purl Linda Purl (born September 2, 1955) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Ashley Pfister (Fonzie's girlfriend) on ''Happy Days'' (she originally played Gloria as Richie’s date in season 2 episodes 1, 2, 6 and 7), Sheila Munroe in ...

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'' (1990–1995), 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'' (1999), directed by

Carl Schultz Carl Schultz (born 19 September 1939) is a Hungarian-Australian film director. Early life and works He left his native Budapest during the uprising of 1956 with his brother Otto Schultz. They fled to England, and after arriving in London th ...

, depicts the last years of George Adamson's life as seen through the eyes of his assistant, Tony Fitzjohn. George is portrayed by

Richard Harris Richard St John Francis Harris (1 October 1930 – 25 October 2002) was an Irish actor and singer. Having studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, he rose to prominence as an icon of the British New Wave. He received numerous a ...

, and

Honor Blackman Honor Blackman (22 August 1925 – 5 April 2020) was an English actress and singer, known for the roles of Cathy Gale in '' The Avengers''Aaker, Everett (2006). ''Encyclopedia of Early Television Crime Fighters''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. ...

makes a brief appearance as Joy. On 28 September 2010 BBC Four ran a number of programs to mark the 50th anniversary of the publishing of the book, Born Free. These included a new one hour documentary entitled 'The Born Free Legacy'. It explores the story behind the book 'Born Free' about the lives of Joy and George Adamson with the orphaned lion cub Elsa. It then looks at the huge impact the book, and the subsequent 1966 movie had on the growing wildlife conservation movement. It includes archive footage and clips of interviews with the Adamson's as well as various contributions from people including Virginia McKenna, Tony Fitzjohn (George Adamson's long time assistant) and Sir David Attenborough. On 1 February 2011 the long running BBC series

Natural World Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the laws, elements and phenomena of the physical world, including life. Although humans are part ...

broadcast episode 10 of series 29 which was entitled 'Elsa: The Lioness that Changed the World'. This episode, narrated by actor Richard Armitage, looked back at Elsa's life and legacy, and the work done by George Adamson to rehabilitate lions into the wild following the making of the Born Free film. A slightly shortened version of this episode, this time narrated by the conservationist Chris Morgan, under the title ''Elsa's Legacy: The Born Free Story'' was also shown as part of the ''

Nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...

'' TV series , released on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

stations in January 2011.

References

External links

Born Free website
for the

* * * {{James Hill 1966 films 1966 children's films 1960s adventure drama films British children's adventure films British adventure drama films British films based on actual events 1960s 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 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 English-language adventure drama films Films about big cats