Born Free (1966)

Joy Adamson and her husband, Kenya game warden George Adamson, raise Elsa, a lion cub. When Elsa approaches maturity, Joy determines she must re-educate Elsa to living in the wild so that ... See full summary »

Director:

James Hill

Writers:

Joy Adamson (book), Lester Cole (screenplay)

Stars:

Virginia McKenna, Bill Travers, Geoffrey Keen

Won 2 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Virginia McKenna	...	Joy Adamson
Bill Travers	...	George Adamson
Geoffrey Keen	...	Kendall
Peter Lukoye	...	Nuru
Omar Chambati	...	Makkede
Bill Godden	...	Sam
Bryan Epsom	...	Baker
Robert Cheetham	...	Ken
Robert S. Young	...	James (as Robert Young)
Geoffrey Best	...	Watson
Surya Patel	...	Doctor

Storyline

Joy Adamson and her husband, Kenya game warden George Adamson, raise Elsa, a lion cub. When Elsa approaches maturity, Joy determines she must re-educate Elsa to living in the wild so that the lioness can return to a free life.

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Plot Keywords:

game warden | kenya | lion | lioness | lion cub | 

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Taglines:

From The Pages Of The Beloved Best Seller... A Motion Picture To Delight All The World!

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some wild animal action and brief language

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 June 1966 (USA)

Also Known As:

A História de Elsa

Filming Locations:

Kenya

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Open Road Films (II), Atlas

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When John Barry won Oscars for "Best Music, Original Music Score" and "Best Music, Original Song" for this film, not only was it his first Oscar victory, it was also the first time an Englishman had won both those particular categories. Barry first heard of his wins from friend Michael Crawford who'd seen the ceremonies on TV in New York and called him in the UK with the news.

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Goofs

After another failure in the effort to find the right formula for the cubs, George asks Joy which number they're up to. She replies, "Nineteen." In the next two scenes, the "next" formula, the one that works, is referred to them both as number seventeen.

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Quotes

Joy Adamson: Elsa, Elsa
[Joy cries sitting out on the hood of the truck as they ride in search of the young lioness]
George Adamson: Let's try this.
[2 shots ring out from his gun. George sees Elsa stumbling through the grass, approaching their vehicle]
Joy Adamson: all my nightmares had come true.
[Now Elsa rests in their tent as they argue over her]
George Adamson: ...she can't make it. she can't think. she can't mix with her own kind... She can't do anything the wild animals do to survive. You've done too good a job on her. You've made her tame. It's ...
[...]

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Connections

Spoofed in Quark: Vanessa 38-24-36 (1978)

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Soundtracks

"Born Free"
(uncredited)
Music by John Barry
Lyrics by Don Black
Sung by Matt Monro

User Reviews

Born Free

Joy Adamson and her husband, Kenya game warden George Adamson, bring up a lion cub Elsa, but later they have to teach her about the wild and free life she was born to.

Warm, good-looking but rather casually assembled screen version of a highly popular bestseller, with irresistible animal shots that made it enormously successful at the box-office - and over the years a family film "par excellence". It started a cycle then and was followed by the less successful "Living Free".