Le Lion

I was amazed by this movie I just discovered today, a movie I just heard about without never seeing it. It was never released in France since the sixties I guess. At least, never in DVD nor VHS. Anyway, I am always fond of those movies made in natural settings and telling beautiful animal tales. I am surprised that no comment has pointed out the similar feature called BORN FREE, directed by James Hill a couple of years later. Not exactly the same story, OK, but if you see the both in the same week, a while later you can confound.

I love both, with a maybe better score for BORN FREE. John Barry score. And through this movie, I saw a hippopotamus running in the savanna !!!

Although Jack Cardiff was a better cinematographer than a he was a director, he wasn't a bad director, and I believe "The Lion," along with "Dark of the Sun" are his best films. In "The Lion" Christine (Capucine) lives in Kenya with her second husband, big game hunter John Bullit (Trevor Howard), and her daughter Tina (Pamela Franklin) from a previous marriage. Tina has so taken to the African wild that Christine fears her daughter will one day just become an unreachable savage, so she contacts her first husband, Robert Hayward (William Holden), to come to Africa and help civilize Tina so she can return to the U.S. and live a normal, less dangerous, life. This idea is acerbated because Tina's best friend is a full grown lion she calls King. They grew up together and she spends most of her time in the jungle with King. She also believes King will do whatever she says, including attack and kill someone.

Of course Bullit resents the arrival of Robert, particularly since it becomes clear Robert continues to have feelings for Christine. The performances of the entire cast are quite good, if very much of their time. Franklin is especially good. She really does wrestle and play with the full grown lion on screen. It's actually quite remarkable to watch and apparently Franklin actually did bond with the animal. On the other hand, the love relationship that grows between Christine and Robert is less impressive, but Holden and Capucine have some effective moments, and the rebirth of their feeling for each other feels natural. So does the gradual changes that happen with hunter Bullit. Trevor Howard plays him in a strong performance that makes you dislike him but also understand his situation. He loves his step daughter and he does what he can to keep her in Kenya. One sequence where Bullit takes his wife, daughter and Robert on a wild drive through the African plain exposes his character. He purposely tries to upset big game like rhino, hippo and elephants in order to scare Robert by driving through the herds, taunting them. Of course this is exciting but annoying to watch because he's showing no respect for the animals. It almost makes you hate him, but there are more sides to him, and as the story plays out, we can't help but feel for him.

Woven through this story are two native tribemen, a chief and his arrogant son who will become chief when his father dies. This is actually well integrated into the plot. The stories of Tina and her lion King, Christine, Robert, Bullit and the two tribesmen all come together in an inevitable climax. Some viewers might see it coming, but I think they might be surprised by how it happens.

The score by Malcolm Arnold is one of his finest, full of thunderous drums and a beautiful main theme. It has a jazzy Gershwin-esque quality to it, which makes sense, since jazz is America's connection to Africa, an art form created by African Americans, and the story is about Americans' connection to Africa. The film is beautiful to watch, but be sure to see it in widescreen. The African landscapes and skies are stunning, and the scenes in camp during the character drama maintain a constant sense of place. You can be carried away by the atmosphere. The cinematographer was Edward Scaife, but the look of the film has Cardiff all over it. Try to find a widescreen version of this film, I think you'll find it a pleasant surprise.

I have looked and looked for this movie everywhere. I remember seeing it as a 9 year old and falling in love with King myself. I would love to see it again. I remember how beautiful the scenery was and how free Tina seemed to be as she ran through the jungle. As a nine year old I really related to Tina . She was by far the best actress in the whole movie. It has taken me years to find this movie by it's actual name and now I would love to be able to have a copy of my own. It is a shame that this movie is not available to purchase. It should be available on DVD so we can all share it with our children and grandchildren. It is a memory I will never forget.

There are two reasons for seeing The Lion. The first is for Pamela Franklin's performance as the twelve year old girl who has gone native as the British colonists used to say in every sense of the word. The second is because this gives today's audience an opportunity to view Africa as William Holden saw it and tried to preserve it.

The film may have been made so Holden had the excuse to stay at his famous Safari club which was a deluxe resort built in Kenya, partly financed by Holden. It was also a very large animal preserve and Bill Holden loved the place and took every opportunity to spend time there. Jack Cardiff who is the United Kingdom's most celebrated color cinematographer did some of his best work on The Lion as its director.

Oddly enough Holden casts himself as the outsider in the film. Years ago while he was making big money as a corporation attorney in the USA, his bored wife Capucine went on safari and fell in love with Africa and the safari guide Trevor Howard. She left Holden and married Howard taking her baby girl with her. Howard's raised her as his own and young Pamela Franklin is worrying Capucine now and she sends for Holden because of Franklin's behavior.

Pamela's companion is this full grown lion which she has raised since a cub and treats like a house pet. This isn't Clarence the Cross Eyed lion either, the male lion is fully functional in the wild. When Holden meets up with King as the lion is called, he gets a few anxious moments and appreciates Capucine's concern.

It's also possible Capucine is getting a little bored with life on a Kenyan game preserve as well, a fact Howard is becoming aware of. He does what he can to rattle Holden like playing tag at different times with an elephant and rhinoceros while the four cast members are in a jeep. The work is remarkably similar to the John Wayne/Howard Hawks classic Hatari which came out soon after.

The superb color cinematography of Africa plus Pamela Franklin's performance as a most disturbed child are the main reasons to see The Lion. It's not your usual kid's animal film, the child relates in an unhealthy way to The Lion and the adults have some very adult issues as well.

The Lion is your only real chance to see and appreciate the Africa that William Holden loved and tried to preserve, don't pass up an opportunity.

I was fortunate enough to watch this film in its original CinemaScope format (THANK YOU, Fox Movie Channel!), and I'm glad I did. Jack Cardiff directed a TERRIFIC cast (Holden, Howard, Capucine, and Franklin) in this story about a mother who sends for her daughter's biological father when she fears that the daughter may be turning savage, the concern being reinforced by the fact that the girl's best friend is a full-grown lion with whom she has an EXTREMELY close friendship. The cast is terrific, especially Franklin, who is both irresistibly charming yet downright scary when she really taps into the African way of life. The direction, performances, Edward Scaife's beautiful widescreen cinematography of the African landscape and Malcolm Arnold's wonderful score make this film great.