# The Lion
**The Lion** is a 1962 American-British adventure drama film directed by Jack Cardiff, starring [William Holden](https://www.edgepedia.org/william-holden), Capucine, Trevor Howard, and [Pamela Franklin](https://www.edgepedia.org/pamela-franklin), about an eleven-year-old girl raised on a Kenyan wildlife reserve whose closest companion is a full-grown lion[1](https://www.yidio.com/movie/the-lion/61075) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056186/). It was produced by 20th Century Fox from a screenplay by Irene and Louis Kamp based on the 1958 French novel *Le Lion* by Joseph Kessel[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056186/faq/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / writers | Jack Cardiff; screenplay by Irene and Louis Kamp, from Joseph Kessel's 1958 novel *Le Lion*[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056186/faq/) • [4](https://www.silversirens.co.uk/productions/lion-1962/) |
| Cast | William Holden (Robert Hayward), Capucine (Christine), Trevor Howard (John Bullit), Pamela Franklin (Tina), Zamba the lion (King)[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056186/) |
| Filming | Photographed entirely in East Africa, in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda[4](https://www.silversirens.co.uk/productions/lion-1962/) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056186/faq/) |
| Release | August 19, 1962 (United Kingdom); December 21, 1962 (United States)[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056186/) • [5](https://moviesanywhere.com/movie/the-lion) |
| Technical | 96 minutes, color, CinemaScope, 2.35:1 aspect ratio[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056186/) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056186/technical/) |
| Box office | $2,620,000 gross in the United States and Canada[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056186/) |
| Music and crew | Score composed and conducted by Malcolm Arnold; cinematography by Edward Scaife; editing by Russell Lloyd[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056186/fullcredits/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Divorced New York lawyer Robert Hayward (William Holden) is called to Kenya by his ex-wife Christine (Capucine) over concerns about their eleven-year-old daughter Tina (Pamela Franklin)[8](https://www.tcm.com/articles/461180/the-lion). Christine has remarried John Bullit ([Trevor Howard](https://www.edgepedia.org/trevor-howard)), a former big-game hunter who now manages a large Kenyan animal preserve[5](https://moviesanywhere.com/movie/the-lion).
Tina has grown up in the wilds of the reserve and roams the plains with her beloved lion companion King (played by Zamba the lion)[8](https://www.tcm.com/articles/461180/the-lion). Christine worries that growing up in remote Africa has had a detrimental effect on her willful, almost feral daughter, and she sends for Robert hoping he can guide Tina back to a civilized life[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056186/faq/) • [8](https://www.tcm.com/articles/461180/the-lion). Tina has also formed a close bond with her stepfather John, who is as enmeshed in African life as she is, and a bitter rivalry develops between Robert and John, intensified when Robert realizes he still loves Christine[8](https://www.tcm.com/articles/461180/the-lion).
The family melodrama is set against a parallel African storyline: as the local village chief weakens and nears death from an old lion bite, his teenage son prepares to succeed him. When Robert interferes in the tribal rites of burial, the balance between father and son is upset, and the chief's son is forced to kill a lion to prove his mettle. He singles out Tina's beloved King, with disastrous results[8](https://www.tcm.com/articles/461180/the-lion).
## Production
The film was photographed in its entirety in [East Africa](https://www.edgepedia.org/east-africa), and its opening credits thank the authorities of the national parks and game reserves of Kenya, Uganda, and [Tanganyika](https://www.edgepedia.org/tanganyika) for their cooperation[4](https://www.silversirens.co.uk/productions/lion-1962/). According to *William Holden: A Biography* by Michelangelo Capua, Holden convinced 20th Century Fox to build a soundstage in Africa, on his property[8](https://www.tcm.com/articles/461180/the-lion).
**A year of shooting.** The shoot was originally planned to last six months but ended up taking a year because of extremely heavy rains[9](https://www.sensacine.com/peliculas/pelicula-34583/). It was the first film role for Zamba, the famous lion who played King[9](https://www.sensacine.com/peliculas/pelicula-34583/).
**Working with the lion.** Some of the film's most unsettling scenes involve Pamela Franklin wrestling and frolicking with a fully grown lion. According to the TCM account, Zamba had allegedly killed a menstruating woman on the set of another film, yet production proceeded, with Franklin's own biological schedule coordinated with her lion-wrestling scenes once she reached puberty[8](https://www.tcm.com/articles/461180/the-lion). In his book *Magic Hour*, Cardiff did not explain how a lion with that history was allowed to work alongside a young actress[8](https://www.tcm.com/articles/461180/the-lion). The production did take precautions: two trained hunters with guns trained on Zamba were always on set when Franklin acted with the lion, and when a script scene called for King to wrestle with the girl, a small lion tamer wearing a wig and a dress was substituted for Franklin[8](https://www.tcm.com/articles/461180/the-lion). Cardiff, interviewed in *Conversations with Jack Cardiff* by Justin Bowyer, said, "It was a lovely lion, but you had to be aware of the fact that any lion could suddenly snap"[8](https://www.tcm.com/articles/461180/the-lion).
## Reception
Critics generally agreed that the human custodial melodrama was less successful than the scenery and wild animal footage. Writing in *The New York Times*, Bosley Crowther called the drama "a distressing lot of twaddle that considerably gets in the way of the naturalist theme of the novel and the love affair of the youngster with the lion," while praising the film's handsome color footage of wild animals in Kenya[8](https://www.tcm.com/articles/461180/the-lion). Leo Mishkin, reviewing in *The New York Morning Telegraph*, described Zamba as "even more handsome than William Holden"[8](https://www.tcm.com/articles/461180/the-lion). A 1963 review in *The Criterion* called it "a stunning and exciting film out of a mediocre novel"[10](https://archindy.org/criterion/files/1963/pdfs/19630308.pdf). On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a Tomatometer score of 62 percent from a single listed review[11](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_lion), and IMDb users have rated it 6.2 out of 10[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056186/).
## Adaptation from the novel
The film makes several changes to Kessel's novel, particularly in the relationships. In the novel the girl is named Patricia and her mother Sybil; John Bullit is Patricia's real father rather than her stepfather, and the narrator has no family relation to Patricia or her mother, having never met them before coming to Kenya. In the novel's ending, Patricia leaves with the narrator while her mother stays behind[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056186/faq/).
## References
1. [The Lion (1962), Yidio](https://www.yidio.com/movie/the-lion/61075)
2. [The Lion (1962), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056186/)
3. [The Lion (1962) FAQ, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056186/faq/)
4. [The Lion (1962 film), Silversirens](https://www.silversirens.co.uk/productions/lion-1962/)
5. [The Lion, Movies Anywhere](https://moviesanywhere.com/movie/the-lion)
6. [The Lion (1962) Technical specifications, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056186/technical/)
7. [The Lion (1962) Full cast & crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056186/fullcredits/)
8. [The Lion, by Felicia Feaster, Turner Classic Movies](https://www.tcm.com/articles/461180/the-lion)
9. [El león (1962), SensaCine](https://www.sensacine.com/peliculas/pelicula-34583/)
10. ["The Lion" is an exciting film, The Criterion, March 8, 1963](https://archindy.org/criterion/files/1963/pdfs/19630308.pdf)
11. [Lion (1962), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_lion)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Drama and biographical films (individual works) › Drama films 1960s › Released 1960 to 1965*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license