Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion

The best thing I like about Clarence The Cross-Eyed Lion is that it shows Africa as it is and not Africa as Hollywood made it up in the 30s and 40s. This is the newly emerging independent Africa and the white folk you see here are ruled by the governments of the new countries.

Colonialism goes and independence comes but the work of widower Marshall Thompson and widow Betsy Drake goes on. Thompson has a veterinary clinic for jungle animals and he lives there with his teen daughter Cheryl Miller. Drake is an anthropologist and she studies the primates like Dian Fossey on whom her character is modeled.

The running gag in this film is the lion who's the Ben Turpin of the jungle and has double vision. Which makes him a lousy hunter and he would have doubtless died in the jungle had he not been discovered and taken in by Thompson and Miller and fed like a pet.

Named Clarence he's a gentle soul, but he causes a lot of mischief. In the end though he deals well with Maurice Marsac who leads a band independent soldier of fortune guerrillas.

This is a nice family film and it led to the Daktari TV series.

There are many wonderful animal-themed family movies out there, but this is not one of them. About the movie in general: The script is poor, the characters are stereotyped and undeveloped, and the acting is poor, except Richard Haydn (Mr. Rowbotham) who adds some comic relief to an otherwise uncomical family comedy. Cheryl Miller (as Paula) displays some of the worst acting I have ever seen, as she tries to play a character that appears to be about 10 years younger than she actually is. It is very obvious when the movie cuts to nature film footage, and when the gorillas are real and when they are someone in a costume, but considering the date of the movie, perhaps this was forgivable. Also, for a G-rated family film, there are a surprising number of swear words and there are several mildly violent scenes.

About the way wildlife is portrayed in the movie: On the positive side, the characters are trying to help wildlife, and the message that poachers are bad is very clear. However, the way that wild animals are portrayed as pets is terrible. The ideas that wild lions can be tamed with chocolate cake, that animals can be captured and released without any worry about human imprinting, or that a chimpanzee makes a good companion to a gorilla field researcher are all incredulous. And that's just the beginning. Also, the "leopard" is actually a jaguar.

In Africa, veterinarian Marshall Thompson (as Marsh Tracy) and teenage daughter Cheryl Miller (as Paula Tracy) adopt a cross-eyed lion who is unable to hunt well due to impaired visual perception. With help from a book, Ms. Miller names him "Clarence" (the Cross-Eyed Lion). Some of the local natives are afraid of Clarence, as is Miller's British tutor Richard Haydn (as Rupert Rowbotham), but Clarence remains as gentle as a lamb. He has double vision. While studying Gorillas, Mr. Thompson's girlfriend Betsy Drake (as Julie Harper) gets in trouble with nasty native poachers...

Several involved with this feature were also featured behind, and in front of, the cameras on the "Flipper" (the dolphin) TV series. "Clarence the Cross-Eyed Lion" doesn't hold much appeal or excitement as a film, today. However, the combination of setting and the fact it would be broadcast IN COLOR made it an easy sell as TV's "Daktari". At the time, colorful locations brought in viewers and sold color TV sets. Clarence and the series' other animals had an appeal, and the lion became a distinctly lovable character. Spunky young Miller was augmented by handsome young Yale Summers.

**** Clarence the Cross-Eyed Lion (4/14/65) Andrew Marton ~ Marshall Thompson, Cheryl Miller, Betsy Drake, Richard Haydn

This was a movie from Ivan Tors Productions, the same company that brought the world family entertainment (often centered around animals) like "Flipper". Unlike "Flipper", "Clarence, The Cross-Eyed Lion" has more or less been forgotten, and it's easy to see why. It's a pretty cheap-looking movie, for one thing - it's obvious that the bulk of the movie was not shot in Africa and was instead filmed in southern California. There is some African footage, but it's painfully obvious that it's stock footage originally shot for some other production. It's also a very dull movie, and I can imagine children will be squirming in their seats. The oddest thing about the entire enterprise is that despite the title, Clarence the lion is almost an afterthought - much of the movie does not focus on him, but on the human characters in an endless series of vignettes that have little to no relation to each other. Even those who are cross-eyed will see that this project was misguided from the start.

Dr. Marsh Tracy (Marshall Thompson) runs an animal care station in the African wild. Julie Harper (Betsy Drake) is studying the local animals. Marsh takes in a troublesome lion who turns out to be cross-eyed. His daughter Paula (Cheryl Miller) loves all the animals and befriends the new lion. The lion does scare away her visiting teacher Rupert Rowbotham (Richard Haydn). Poachers threaten the animals and their protectors.

I am shocked that the actors are really handling these wild animals. That's a good size leopard and it looks like a real attack. This is an MGM film although it seems more like a Disney film. It became the basis for a CBS TV show for four seasons. I've never seen the TV show. It's light comedy family fun. Haydn has a fun comedic role. The lion works. I can see it as a TV show.