Born Free

1966 film by James Hill

This article is about the 1966 film. For other uses, see Born Free (disambiguation).

Born Free

Theatrical release poster

Directed by| James Hill
Screenplay by| Gerald L.C. Copley
Based on| Born Free
by Joy Adamson
Produced by| Sam Jaffe
Paul Radin
Starring| Virginia McKenna
Bill Travers
Cinematography| Kenneth Talbot
Edited by| Don Deacon
Music by| John Barry

Production
company

Shepperton Studios

Distributed by| Columbia Pictures

Release dates

* 14 March 1966 (1966-03-14)

(UK) (Royal Film Performance)

* 22 June 1966 (1966-06-22)

(US)

Running time

| 95 minutes
Country| United Kingdom
Language| English
Budget| $2 million[1]
Box office| $3.6 million (est. US/ Canada rentals)[2]

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 her into the wilderness of Kenya. The film was produced by Open Road Films Ltd. and Columbia Pictures. The screenplay, written by blacklisted Hollywood writer Lester Cole (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 and Paul Radin. Born Free, and its musical score, by John Barry, as well as the title song, with lyrics by Don Black and sung by Matt Monro, won numerous awards.

## Plot[edit]

In the Northern Province of Kenya, a woman is killed and eaten by a male lion. British senior wildlife warden George Adamson (Bill Travers) is sent in to kill the menacing lion 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 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. 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 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 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[edit]

* Virginia McKenna as Joy Adamson
* Bill Travers as George Adamson
* 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[edit]

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.[3] According to Ben Mankiewicz, who introduces the film on Turner Classic Movies, the production unit mainly used wild lions.[citation needed]

The making of the film was a life-changing experience for actors Virginia McKenna and her husband Bill Travers, who became animal rights activists and were instrumental in creating the Born Free Foundation.

One of the lions in the film was played by a former mascot of the Scots Guards, who had to leave him behind when they left Kenya.[4] The producers also acknowledged the help received from Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia and the Game Department of Uganda.

## Critical response and box-office[edit]

Born Free received critical acclaim. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 88% of 17 film critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 7.1 out of 10.[5]

Vincent Canby waxed enthusiastic about the film, writing in The New York Times, "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."[6]

The film was one of the most popular movies at the box office in Britain during 1966.[7]

## Accolades[edit]

Award  | Category  | Nominee(s)  | Result  | Ref.

|
|
|
|

Academy Awards | Best Original Music Score | John Barry | Won  | [8]
Best Song | "Born Free"
Music by John Barry;
Lyrics by Don Black | Won
Directors Guild of America Awards | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures | James Hill | Nominated  | [9]
Genesis Awards | Classic Film Award  | Won  |
Golden Globe Awards | Best Motion Picture – Drama | Nominated  | [10]
Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama | Virginia McKenna | Nominated
Best Original Song – Motion Picture | "Born Free"
Music by John Barry;
Lyrics by Don Black  | Nominated
Grammy Awards | Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Show | John Berry  | Nominated  | [11]
Laurel Awards | Sleeper of the Year  | Won  |
Top Female Dramatic Performance  | Virginia McKenna  | 5th Place
Top Song  | "Born Free"
Music by John Barry;
Lyrics by Don Black  | 5th Place
National Board of Review Awards | Top Ten Films | 2nd Place  | [12]

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

* 2004: AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs:
* "Born Free" – Nominated[13]
* 2005: AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores – Nominated[14]

## Sequels and spinoffs[edit]

The book Born Free (1960) was followed by two other books, Living Free (1961) and Forever Free (1963). A film sequel titled Living Free was directed by Jack Couffer 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 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, titled The Lions Are Free, was directed by James Hill and Bill Travers and released in 1969. The film follows Born Free actor Bill Travers as he journeys to a remote area in Kenya to visit George Adamson, and several of Adamson's lion friends.

In 1974, a 13-episode American television series was broadcast by NBC, titled Born Free, starring Diana Muldaur 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 and starring Linda Purl and Chris Noth. 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, 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, and Honor Blackman makes a brief appearance as Joy.

On 28th September 2010 BBC Four ran an evening of programs to mark the 50th anniversary of the publishing of Born Free which included a new one hour documentary entitled 'The Born Free Legacy'.[15] It explores the lives and legacy of George and Joy Adamson with Elsa and included archival footage recorded on camera by the Adamson's of them working with the three lion cubs. The program also included various interviews including archive footage of George Adamson himself speaking about his life working with Elsa, along with other contributors including Tony Fitzjohn (George Adamson's long time assistant), Sir David Attenborough and Sir Desmond Morris.

On 1st February 2011 the long running BBC series 'Natural World' broadcast episode 10 of series 29 which was entitled 'Elsa: The Lioness that Changed the World'.[16] This episode looked back at Elsa's life and legacy, and included contributions from Virginia McKenna and David Attenborough.

The one-hour Nature documentary Elsa's Legacy: The Born Free Story was released on PBS 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.[17]

## See also[edit]

* Christian the lion

## References[edit]

1. ^ Champlin, C. (10 October 1966). "Foreman hopes to reverse runaway". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 155553672.
2. ^ "Big Rental Pictures of 1966", Variety, 4 January 1967 p. 8
3. ^ Bibliography – BooksFilmsMovies
4. ^ Time Inc (28 November 1969), "A 'Born Free' Star Is Saved From Freedom", Life, Time Inc, pp. 47, 48
5. ^ "Born Free". Flixster. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
6. ^ Canby, Vincent (23 June 1966). "The Screen: Honesty and Humor Make 'Born Free' a Fresh and Moving Film: Biography of Lion Has Documentary Flavor". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
7. ^ "Most popular star for third time". The Times. London, England. 31 December 1966.
8. ^ "The 39th Academy Awards (1967) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 10 November 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
9. ^ "19th DGA Awards". Directors Guild of America Awards. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
10. ^ "Born Free". Golden Globe Awards. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
11. ^ "9th Annual GRAMMY Awards". Grammy Awards. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
12. ^ "1966 Award Winners". National Board of Review. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
13. ^ "AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs Nominees" (PDF). Retrieved 6 August 2016.
14. ^ "AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores Nominees" (PDF). Retrieved 6 August 2016.
15. ^ "The Born Free Legacy".
16. ^ "Natural World series 29 Ep10 - Elsa: The Lioness that Changed the World".
17. ^ Ray, Rachel (7 January 2011). "Elsa's Legacy: The Born Free Story, Nature on PBS – US TV review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 18 December 2012.

## External links[edit]

Wikiquote has quotations related to Born Free.

* Born Free website for the Born Free Foundation
* Born Free at IMDb
* Born Free at the TCM Movie Database
* Born Free at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
* Born Free at AllMovie

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by James Hill

* The Clue of the Missing Ape (1953)
* Giuseppina (1960)
* The Kitchen (1961)
* Lunch Hour (1961)
* The Dock Brief (1962)
* The Home-Made Car (1963)
* The Golden Head (1964)
* Every Day's a Holiday (1965)
* A Study in Terror (1965)
* Born Free (1966)
* The Peking Medallion (1967)
* Captain Nemo and the Underwater City (1969)
* Journey into Darkness (1969)
* An Elephant Called Slowly (1969)
* The Man from O.R.G.Y. (1970)
* Black Beauty (1971)
* The Belstone Fox (1973)

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