''Living Free'' is a 1972 British

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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

, written by Millard Kaufman and directed by Jack Couffer. It starred

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 ...

, Susan Hampshire and Geoffrey Keen. This film is a sequel to '' Born Free'' (1966), which was based on the 1960 book of the same name by Joy Adamson. The film ''Living Free'' is also based on a book by Joy Adamson; however, it is not based on the book of the same name but is instead based on the third book in the series, ''Forever Free''. Singer Julie Budd sang the title song, composed by Sol Kaplan and Freddy Douglass.

Plot

After Elsa the

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

ess dies, her three lion cubs (Jespah, Gopa and Little Elsa) are forced to move to a game preserve and must learn to hunt on their own with the help of

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 ...

and his wife, Joy.

Cast

* Susan Hampshire as Joy Adamson * Geoffrey Keen as Kendall * Peter Lukoye as Nuru * Shane De Louvre as Makedde * Robert Beaumont as Billy Collins * Nobby Noble as Bank Manager * Allaudin Qureshi as Bank Clerk * Charles Hayes as Herbert Baker * Jean Hayes as Mrs. Herbert Baker *

Edward Judd Edward Judd (4 October 1932 – 24 February 2009) was a British actor. Biography Born in Shanghai, Judd and his English father and Russian mother fled when the Japanese attacked Republic of China (1912–49), China five years later. His ca ...

as Weaver

Reception

The film was nominated for one

Golden Globe Awards The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual Awards ceremony, award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally ...

for Best English-Language Foreign Film. Howard Thompson from ''

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 ...

'' wrote: "'Born Free' history is repeating itself and the freshness and novelty wear thin. Still, these are enterprising, well-meaning adults, the animals—all of them — and the exotic scenery are diverting and the picture is clean as a lion's tooth, not that we've ever crawled up close for a look. "Living Free" is close enough to sensible entertainment for the children — and bright ones, too." Andy Webb from The Movie Scene gave the film two out of five stars and stated: "What this all boils down to is that "Living Free" whilst still an entertaining movie is not a patch on "Born Free". From the change in actors, through to the overlong recap and natural history lesson it just doesn't feel right. And whilst the storyline itself relays some of the emotion of Joy and George's battle to protect Elsa's legacy the connection to the emotion never really comes across from the acting or the way the movie is directed.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0068866 1972 films 1972 drama films Films directed by Jack Couffer British drama films Columbia Pictures films Films scored by Sol Kaplan 1970s English-language films 1970s British films