Born Free (1966)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

James Hill

Writers (WGA):

Joy Adamson (book)
Lester Cole (screenplay) (originally as Gerald L.C. Copley)

Release Date:

22 June 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Drama | Adventure

Tagline:

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

Plot:

Joy Adamson and her husband, Kenya game warden George Adamson, raise Elsa, a lion cub. When Elsa approaches maturity...

Plot Keywords:

Game Warden | Lioness | Lion | Kenya | Lion Cub

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

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

MPAA:

Rated PG for some wild animal action and brief language.

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Sweden:11 | Australia:G | Finland:S | UK:U | USA:PG | Singapore:PG | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

Kenya

Company:

Atlas

Trivia:

Elsa's grave is located in Meru National Park, Kenya.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Facts of Life: Sweet Sorrow (#3.7)" (1981)

Soundtrack:

Born Free

Great Heart warming movie

You always here the story or the expression that you can't take wild animals and try to them into pets. This movie tells and shows you why. The movie is based on a true story from a book by Joy Adamson. The movie is set back in the 1950 era when George Adamson who is the game warden for the Kenya area in Africa. While out on a routine run George has to kill a charging female lion in self defense. After George kills the lion he discovers that the lion was a mother as three lion cubs come out of no where. George takes the 3 cub's home because he knows that if he didn't the cubs will die. When the cubs get too much to handle they have to make the hardest decision of their life. Do they send the animals to the Rotterdam Zoo? Do they send all the cubs or do they keep one? To me the acting was great as Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna play George and Joy Adamson. As a side note McKenna also narrates the story as Joy voice-over, using the book. The real star of the show, though, is Elsa herself, actually played by three different lionesses. You can really see the genuine affection between the large cat and her caretakers as they interact. It is magical to watch. This movie would be great for you and your family because there's none of the following in this picture. There's really no violence, and there's no sex or any swearing for that matter. The entire movie was shot in Africa. If you can get the DVD the picture quality is as good as a movie that you would buy today. This review is based on my home addition of Born Free on DVD. You can get this DVD right here on Amazon.com and it by far better then the current VHS that's out there now. Based on the scenery alone I give this movie 7 weasel stars.