 
  Popularity: 2 (history)
| Director: | James Hill, Tom McGowan | 
|---|---|
| Writer: | Lester Cole, Joy Adamson | 
| Staring: | 
| At a national park in Kenya, English game warden George Adamson and his wife, Joy, care for three orphaned lion cubs. After the two larger lions are shipped off to a zoo in the Netherlands, the smallest of the three, Elsa, stays with the couple. When Elsa is blamed for causing an elephant stampede in the nearby village, head warden John Kendall demands the young lion either be trained to survive in the wilds of the Serengeti or be sent to a zoo. | |
| Release Date: | Mar 26, 1966 | 
|---|---|
| Director: | James Hill, Tom McGowan | 
| Writer: | Lester Cole, Joy Adamson | 
| Genres: | Family, Adventure, Drama, History | 
| Keywords | parent child relationship, lion, animal attack, freedom, game warden, lioness, lion cub, rifle, animal rights, warthog, wildlife, based on memoir or autobiography, animals, nature | 
| Production Companies | High Road, Open Road Films | 
| Box Office | Revenue: $0 Budget: $0 | 
| Updates | Updated: Feb 01, 2025 Entered: Apr 13, 2024 | 
| Name | Character | 
|---|---|
| Virginia McKenna | Joy Adamson | 
| Bill Travers | George Adamson | 
| Geoffrey Keen | Kendall | 
| Peter Lukoye | Nuru | 
| Omar Chambati | Makkede | 
| Bill Godden | Sam | 
| Robert S. Young | James | 
| Bryan Epsom | Baker | 
| Geoffrey Best | Watson | 
| Robert Cheetham | Ken | 
| Surya Patel | Doctor | 
| Elsa | Lion Cub/Lioness (uncredited) | 
| Pati | Rock Hyrax (uncredited) | 
| Name | Job | 
|---|---|
| Don Black | Lyricist | 
| John Barry | Original Music Composer, Songs | 
| James Hill | Director | 
| L. C. Rudkin | Production Manager | 
| Chris Greenham | Sound Editor | 
| Richard Best Jr. | Assistant Sound Editor | 
| Don Deacon | Editor | 
| Kenneth Talbot | Director of Photography | 
| William P. Cartlidge | Assistant Director | 
| Claude Hitchcock | Sound Recordist | 
| John D. Hall | Boom Operator | 
| Lester Cole | Screenplay | 
| Joy Adamson | Book | 
| Sidney G. Barnsby | Production Supervisor | 
| Gavrik Losey | Assistant Director | 
| Tom McGowan | Director | 
| Bob Jones | Sound Recordist | 
| Name | Title | 
|---|---|
| Carl Foreman | Executive Producer | 
| Paul B. Radin | Producer | 
| Sam Jaffe | Producer | 
| Organization | Category | Person | 
|---|
Popularity History
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| 2024 | 4 | 17 | 28 | 10 | 
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| 2025 | 2 | 9 | 13 | 3 | 
| 2025 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 1 | 
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| 2025 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 
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| 2025 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 
| 2025 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 
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The wonders of Elsa. Born Free is based on George and Joy Adamson and their raising of a lioness during their time living at a game reserve in Kenya. It's directed by James Hill, adapted to screenplay by Lester Cole, and stars Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers as the Adamsons. Music is by John Ba ... rry and cinematography by Kenneth Talbot. It's a classic case of a family film keeping everything simple for maximum results. A big hit upon release, as was the book written by Joy Adamson, the beautiful landscapes and emotionally swirling musical score marry up perfectly with the story being told. There's some liberties taken with the facts, both with humans and lions, but we aren't in to this pic for any sort of misery or grimy drama. We want, and get, feel good, a time for animal lovers to rejoice and wipe that fly from the eye. 8/10
> We want them to be an angel, but being wild is what defines them. I thought I dreamt about these lions when I was a kid, but when I came to know about this film that made me realise I actually saw this film when I was a very young to remember anything. It was a few images remained in memory, th ... at's how I tracked it. So while watching this now brought back those scary moments. Yep, I was scared like hell, like the character Kendall from it was. Childhood is like a dream, until we re-encounter those things we held, met, seen, which wakes up our memory after a long time and becoming adults. I really enjoyed watching it, because I love animals. But what I did not like was harming the animals. I don't think animals were harmed while making this film, and they even smartly censored story/scene that consists harming/killing them. Actually the film was inspired by the real story, in that, the animals were killed and that is what this film depicted, yet disappoints from that perspective. The time has changed, now it is different, we learnt our lesson, so I hope we focus on protecting this magnificent animal to be born free and to be wild. The Africa was very beautifully portrayed. One of the best films on the wild animal theme I've ever seen. It was a documentary style narration with a little story from the human couple. Hats off to the real Joy and George Adamson. It won a couple of Oscars in the category of music and song. But I think it deserved more than that. I can't believe it is rated PG, but I scared watching it as a kid and I believe the young children with the awareness of the true nature of the lions would do the same. But still highly recommended for all ages. We have now 'Duma', 'Two Brothers' and many more, but this film is something special and you will know it after a watch. 8/10