Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion


Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion is a 1965 light comedy-adventure film, produced by Ivan Tors, Leonard B. Kaufman, and Harry Redmond Jr., directed by Andrew Marton, and starring Marshall Thompson and Betsy Drake. The film was shot at Soledad Canyon near Los Angeles, California, and in Miami, Florida. It became the basis for the television series Daktari.

Plot

Paula Tracey, an adventurous and fearless girl, is the daughter of veterinarian Dr. Marsh Tracey. Dr. Tracey is the director of East Africa's animal hospital and nature preserve. He fights to protect all African wildlife, while studying and caring for injured animals and endangered species. Paula and her father find Clarence, a wild African lion whose crossed-eyes make hunting in the wild impossible, and they adopt him as a new member of their wildlife preserve. Clarence later saves the day when Julie Harper and her research monkeys are threatened by animal poachers.

Cast

The film was followed by the CBS TV series Daktari, with Marshall Thompson and Cheryl Miller reprising their film roles.