Born Free (1966)

Directed by James Hill. Starring Virginia McKenna, Bill Travers, Geoffrey Keen, Peter Lukoye, Bill Godden, Geoffrey Best, Omar Chambati. [PG]

Gentle, good-natured family film based on the true story of Joy and George Adamson (McKenna, Travers), a pair of married wildlife conservationists in Africa who raise an orphaned lion cub named Elsa before releasing her back into the wild as an adult. No unnecessary crises or invented villains, just old-fashioned storytelling, pretty wildlife/nature footage, and naturalistic performances from the main players (including that beautiful kitty cat); I’m sure it helped that McKenna and Travers were a real-life couple themselves. Gives into sentimentality on a couple of occasions, but those moments are hardly unearned, and even while recognizing the shamelessness in the aftermath, it’s hard not to become unduly involved in the plight of the big cat and her temporary parents. Screenplay credited to Gerald L. C. Copley, the pseudonym of blacklisted writer Lester Cole. Oscar-winning title tune and score by John Barry, with lyrics for the former credited to Don Black.

70/100