Watch Living Free For Free

Don't listen to the negative reviews

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Engaging family tale picks up where "Born Free" left off with conservationist Joy Adamson (here played by the gregarious Susan Hampshire) and her loyal husband George (Davenport replacing Bill Travers from the original) attempting to locate the mischievous trio of now orphaned lion cubs as they embark on a perilous journey through the East African savanna.The storyline is essentially subservient to the landscape, following the cubs' trials and tribulations as they scamper about in search of easy meals, practice hunting (with amusement) and narrowly avoid danger. Davenport and Hampshire don't execute the rapport of Virginia McKenna & Travers in the first picture, although given the latter were husband and wife, that could be forgiven.More a colourful faunalogue with which to showcase the rugged terrain and wild game of East Africa than a drama or human adventure, it's well-meaning and suitable for children even if doesn't emphasise the conservation message that prevailed in the original.

Born Free was a great family film with both adorable and ferocious animals in the film based on a true story, you would think it wouldn't need a sequel, but one was made. Basically the beginning of the film reminds of the vents from the previous adventure, where naturalist Joy Adamson (Susan Hampshire) and husband George (Nigel Davenport, Jack's father) cared for three lion cubs, letting go two to go to a zoo, but caring for Elsa until big enough to be let loose in the wild. Time has passed, and adult lioness Elsa has found herself a mate and given birth to a bred of three new lion cubs, Jespah, Gopa and Little Elsa. Sadly, Elsa becomes very sick and dies, leaving behind her helpless cubs, so Joy and George take care of them until they too are grown up, which concerns their friend Kendall (James Bond's Geoffrey Keen). The cubs do indeed grow up, but Kendall says that they are in danger of both the poachers, but also they are in a game preserve owned by the not happy Warden Weaver (Edward Judd). After seeing them learn to hunt and kill for themselves, and enjoying their occasional company, Joy and George know that they must take action to ensure the lions are captured and taken away to another wild habitat. Many attempts to catch the three lions in the large cage boxes fail, with the lions fidgeting and not going in, and a near catch going wrong, but they are eventually caught. In the end Jespah, Gopa and Little Elsa are indeed caught just before it's too late, and they are released into their new wild world. Also starring Peter Lukoye as Nuru, Shane De Louvres as Makedde and Robert Beaumont as Billy Collins. I don't know why the fantastic performers Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers declined to be in the sequel, maybe they read the script following almost exactly the same thing all over again. Hampshire and Davenport are alright but not as good, and the lions are still cute, cuddly and ferocious looking, but the title song isn't as memorable as Matt Monro's, and it is just a rehash, but not a completely terrible wildlife adventure. It was nominated the Golden Globe for Best English-Language Foreign Film. Okay!

What a grouch some people can be! You could dislike Gone with the Wind if you set your mind to it. Pay no attention to above grouches. If you would like a touching story of a couple in Africa trying to capture and save 3 lion cubs and move them to safety in the Serengetti then you will enjoy this. Very good for children who will love the cubs. How they managed to shoot these scenes I don't know. Nigel Davenport is at least as good as Bill Travers (who was never likely to be mistaken for Laurence Olivier) and Susan Hampshire is way better than Virginia McKenna who was always an insipid blushing English lily at best.If you like modern Hollywood films then sorry, no rape, gratuitous violence, swearing, sexual perversions or murder. Just a decent movie for decent people. Ho-hum.

After Elsa's death, the Adamson couple have to undertake her cubs.Flabby sequel to "Born Free", unnecessarily verbose and determined to gain all its charm from the cubs, who are not on the screen long enough to maintain interest.