| Born Free | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | James Hill |
| Screenplay by | Gerald L.C. Copley |
| Based on | Born Free byJoy 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 | |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release dates |
|
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 coupleVirginia McKenna andBill Travers asJoy andGeorge Adamson, another real-life couple, who raisedElsa the Lioness, an orphaned lion cub, to adulthood and released her into the wilderness ofKenya. The film was produced by Open Road Films Ltd. andColumbia Pictures. The screenplay, written byblacklisted Hollywood writerLester Cole (under the pseudonym "Gerald L.C. Copley"), was based upon Joy Adamson's 1960 non-fiction bookBorn Free. The film was directed byJames Hill and produced bySam Jaffe andPaul Radin.Born Free, and itsmusical score, byJohn Barry, as well as thetitle song, with lyrics byDon Black and sung byMatt Monro, won numerous awards.
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 toRotterdam Zoo 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 Adamsons three months to do so.
The Adamsons bring Elsa to theMeru National Park 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.
The film's credits list lions and lionesses Boy, Girl, Henrietta,Mara, Ugas, and "the Cubs".
The film reunited the real-life couple Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna as a couple first seen together inThe 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 asA Lifetime with Lions.[3] According toBen Mankiewicz, who introduces the film onTurner Classic Movies, the production unit mainly used wild lions.[citation needed]
The making of the film was a life-changing experience for actorsVirginia McKenna and her husbandBill Travers, who becameanimal rights activists and were instrumental in creating theBorn Free Foundation.
Although animal security staff were present during filming, a lion called Boy once knocked Virginia McKenma flat, breaking her ankle, while another named Girl bit her shoulder.[4]
One of the lions in the film was played by a formermascot of theScots Guards, who had to leave him behind when they left Kenya.[5]The producers also acknowledged the help received from EmperorHaile Selassie of Ethiopia and theGame Department of Uganda.
The film premiered as theRoyal Film Performance on 14 March 1966 at theOdeon Leicester Square withWinnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree as the second feature.[6]
Born Free received critical acclaim. Review aggregatorRotten 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.[7]
The Times 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."[8]
Vincent Canby waxed enthusiastic about the film, writing inThe 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 bookBorn 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."[9]
The film was one of the most popular movies at the box office in Britain during 1966.[10]
| Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | Best Original Music Score | John Barry | Won | [11] |
| Best Song | "Born Free" Music by John Barry; Lyrics byDon Black | Won | ||
| Directors Guild of America Awards | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures | James Hill | Nominated | [12] |
| Genesis Awards | Classic Film Award | Won | ||
| Golden Globe Awards | Best Motion Picture – Drama | Nominated | [13] | |
| 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 Barry | Nominated | [14] |
| 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 | [15] | |
The film is recognized byAmerican Film Institute in these lists:
The bookBorn Free (1960) was followed by two other books,Living Free (1961) andForever Free (1963). A film sequel titledLiving Free was directed byJack 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 starredSusan Hampshire andNigel Davenport as Joy and George Adamson although the film was not as well-received as its predecessor.
A documentary follow-up toBorn Free, titledThe Lions Are Free, was directed byJames Hill andBill Travers and released in 1969. The film followsBorn Free actorBill Travers as he journeys to a remote area inKenya to visitGeorge Adamson, and several of Adamson's lion friends.
In 1974, a 13-episode American television series was broadcast byNBC, titledBorn Free, starringDiana Muldaur andGary Collins as Joy and George Adamson. The series was later followed by the 1996 television filmBorn Free: A New Adventure directed byTommy Lee Wallace and starringLinda Purl andChris 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 byCarl Schultz, depicts the last years of George Adamson's life as seen through the eyes of his assistant,Tony Fitzjohn. George is portrayed byRichard Harris, andHonor Blackman makes a brief appearance as Joy.
On 28 September 2010 BBC Four ran a number of programmes to mark the 50th anniversary of the publishing of the bookBorn Free.[18] These included a new one-hour documentary entitledThe Born Free Legacy[19]. It explores the story behind the bookBorn 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 Adamsons, 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 seriesNatural World broadcast episode 10 of series 29 which was entitled 'Elsa: The Lioness that Changed the World'[20]. This episode, narrated by actorRichard 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.[21] A slightly shortened version of this episode, this time narrated by the conservationist Chris Morgan, under the titleElsa's Legacy: The Born Free Story was also shown as part of theNature TV series, released onPBS stations in January 2011.[22]
