Daily Mail - Daily Mail Weekend Magazine
BACK TO BORN FREE
It was the film that changed her life, now a moving documentary to mark Born Free’s 50th anniversary takes Virginia McKenna back to the wilds of Africa
Over tea and sandwiches at London’s May Fair Hotel, a low-key meeting took place that would change Virginia McKenna’s life forever. It was 1964 and the producers of a movie called Born Free wanted Virginia and her actor husband Bill Travers to play real-life couple George and Joy Adamson, who had become world famous for raising a lioness cub called Elsa in Kenya before releasing her back into the wild.
‘When asked if we wanted the parts, the two of us instantly said, “Yes” together,’ says Virginia, now 85. ‘Little did we know what a huge decision it was.’
Born Free was to become a major movie success but much more besides. Virginia and Bill were so affected by the issues raised in the film that they established the Born Free Foundation to let as many wild animals as possible live in their natural habitats rather than in captivity. This week, to mark the 50th anniversary of the release of her 1966 movie, Channel 4’s documentary Virginia McKenna’s Born Free takes the actress and campaigner back to the key locations in Kenya, where she and her late husband, plus their three children, spent a year filming. It reveals the catalogue of problems that threatened to derail the film and the events that turned Bill and Virginia into wildlife campaigners.
The programme details some of the extraordinary gambles made by the moviemakers that helped turn Born Free into a roaring success. At first they scoured Europe in search of trained lions to play Elsa, because they would be easier to control. ‘Which was a big mistake because what we actually needed were lions that would behave like wild lions, not creatures that did what they were told to do after years in a circus,’ says Virginia. ‘So we used untrained ones instead; 23 were brought in from all over Africa.’ They included two called Boy and Girl, which had been regimental mascots for the Scots Guards stationed in Nairobi.
‘The aim was to work with the lions rather than control them and for us to bond with them. Rather unbelievably, it worked!’ adds Virginia. Not that there weren’t near-disasters. Boy, one of the three lions with whom Virginia and Bill worked most closely, jumped at Virginia causing her to fall and break her ankle, meaning two weeks in hospital.
Surprisingly, Joy Adamson had to be barred from the set – her overly tactile behaviour towards the lions distracted them and disrupted filming. And an executive hated the theme tune, sung by Matt Monro, and pulled it from the picture. After Roger Williams had a hit
with the song it was reinstated and the film won Oscars for Best Original Song and Best Original Music Score.
After filming was complete, Virginia and Bill were sickened to learn the lions were going to be sold off to zoos and safari parks. They managed to hang on to Boy and Girl and return them to the wild in Africa. ‘The idea of the lions who had been set free in Born Free subsequently being con- fined behind bars seemed to be against the soul of the film,’ says Virginia. ‘It brought to the fore Bill’s and my feelings about wildlife in captivity and, ultimately, changed our lives forever. And there aren’t many films that do that. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have been a part of it.’
Virginia McKenna’s Born Free, tomorrow, 7pm, Channel 4. bornfree.org.uk