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 who is cross-eyed which makes 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 gorillas are threatened by animal poachers.

Cast

 * Marshall Thompson as Dr. Marsh Tracy
 * Betsy Drake as Julie Harper
 * Richard Haydn as Rupert Rowbotham
 * Cheryl Miller as Paula Tracy
 * Alan Caillou as Carter
 * Rockne Tarkington as Juma
 * Maurice Marsac as Gregory
 * Robert DoQui as Sergeant
 * Albert Amos as Husseini
 * Dinny Powell as Dinny
 * Mark Allen as Larson
 * Laurence Conroy as Tourist
 * Allyson Daniell as Tourist's Wife
 * Janee Michelle as Girl In Pit
 * Naaman Brown
 * Napoleon Whiting as Villager
 * Chester Jones as Old Man

Animals

 * Clarence The Lion
 * Doris The Chimpanzee
 * Mary Lou The Python

Additional Information
Clarence was cross-eyed in real life and lived at Africa USA near Los Angeles. He was so tame that he would purr when his back was rubbed.

Ivan Tors had previously made the movie "Flipper", which also became a TV series.

Betsy Drake had retired from acting 6 years previous, but agreed to play this one role before returning to retirement.

Marshall Thompson was bitten for real during the scene in which he rescues a woman from a leopard; they left the scene in as filmed.

Production
The film was followed by the CBS TV series Daktari (1966–1969), with Marshall Thompson and Cheryl Miller reprising their film roles.