[PHOTOS] See A 19-Year-Old Girl Playing In A Pool And Sharing Her Bed With Neil The Lion
Back in 1971, Tippi Hedren, Melanie Griffith and family, just hanging with their pet lion.
By Sadho Ram — 11 Oct 2014, 01:42 PM — Updated over 10 years ago
Back in the early 1970s, when Melanie Griffith was a teenager, her actress mother, Tippi Hedren, and her stepfather, director Noel Marshall, decided they wanted to make a film about big cats after returning from their trip to Africa and seeing them in person
Neil the lion with Tippi Hedren as she reads a newspaper in her home in Sherman Oaks, California in May 1971
Image via MICHAEL ROUGIER / TIME & LIFE PICTURESWhile filming in Africa in 1969, Hedren and her husband saw an abandoned house which had been taken over and inhabited by lions. On their return to America, they were determined to make a film about — and with — lions, based on what they had witnessed, and to raise awareness of the endangered status of lions.
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Animal trainer Ron Oxley advised them that “to get to know anything about lions, you’ve just got to live with them for a while.” Hedren and her husband did exactly that, introducing lions to their residential home. Following complaints, the family and the animals moved to a remote California ranch.
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Tippi Hedren, who made her debut in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, had Melanie from her first marriage to Peter Griffith. At the time these fascinating photographs were taken, Melanie was 19.
Melanie Griffith in a swimming pool with pet lion Neil.
Image via MICHAEL ROUGIER / TIME & LIFE PICTURES
Although the actual movie, Roar, featured a range of big cat species including jaguars, cheetahs, cougars and leopards, the working title of the movie was Lions, Lions and More Lions
Noel Marshall tries to work in his study with a lion in his face
Image via MICHAEL ROUGIER / TIME & LIFE PICTURES"Roar" starred Hedren and Marshall, with Melanie paying Hedren's on-screen daughter. The film was written and directed by Marshall and produced by Hedren and Marshall. Marshall had been producer of 1973's "The Exorcist."
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The working title of the movie was "Lions, Lions and More Lions," although the actual movie features a range of big cat species including jaguars, cheetahs, cougars and leopards. For the plot, a male scientist is studying the lives of African big cats. He is not at home when his family comes to visit, and they are pursued from room to room by the lions and other big cats in his house.
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It would take 11 years to complete, and go on to become the most expensive home movie ever made, costing over USD17.5 million
Hedren and Marshall envisoned working with and filming big cats on a vast scale, bringing together 150 large cats — the largest private collection ever assembled. The cost of managing so many untrained animals contributed to the film's huge production costs.
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Photography for the film took five years. According to Randolph Sellars, a cinematographer working on "Roar" in 1978, every scene involving the animals was improvised, and covered by up to eight cameras. Released in 1981, "Roar" cost over $17.5 million but grossed just over $2 million. A year later, Hedren and Marshall separated.
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As per The Guardian, during the production of Roar, Melanie was attacked by a lioness and required 50 facial stitches. Here, Neil is seen playfully grabbing her leg as she jumps in a swimming pool.
Melanie jumping in a swimming pool while Neil grabs her leg.
Image via MICHAEL ROUGIER / TIME & LIFE PICTURESNone of the animals were hurt, but most of the humans wound up in hospital. A couple of film crews walked out, reputedly after losing a few fingers. Melanie herself had her face being torn open by a lioness who "didn't mean to hurt me. Just, after seven years growing up with the lions I forgot you have to be careful. You can never be sure you're safe and just a blow can pop your head like a ping pong ball."
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Cinematographer Jan de Bont had to have his scalp sewn back on after being bitten by a lion. In all, more than 70 people were injured during the creation of "Roar."
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After production of Roar was complete, Hedren founded the Shambala Preserve, an animal sanctuary for the protection of mistreated or neglected exotic animals. She still lives there, as do around 70 animals, including Michael Jackson's Bengal tiger.
Hedren reading newspaper while resting on Neil's head.
Image via MICHAEL ROUGIER / TIME & LIFE PICTURES