Virginia McKenna’s Born Free
How the heart soars just at the memory of it. Premiered 50 years ago, Born Free treated cinema-goers to the entrancing story of Elsa the lioness, who was raised as an
orphaned cub by Joy and George Adamson until the day came when they released her back into the wild. Now the formidable star of the film looks back to the incredible events behind the camera in Virginia McKenna’s Born Free (Channel 4, Sunday, 8pm). For McKenna these are only the fondest recollections of the year she and her husband and co-star, Bill Travers, spent in Africa with their three children, of whom the eldest, Will, joins her to revisit the locations he first saw as a wide-eyed five-year-old. Others might have blanched at the dangers, but McKenna clearly relished the experience of working daily with the big cats whose jaws and claws could so easily have torn her apart. Yes, there were experts on hand, but if you were there you might have been rattled to learn that treating the lions with skippers sardines was apparently the way to keep them under control.
As for lyricist Don Black’s immortal title song, it nearly didn’t make the final cut until a reluctant producer, Carl Foreman, was forced to relent. Then it went on to win the best song Oscar. Cue this immortal concession from Foreman: ‘Don, i have to admit it does grow on you.’
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