#noelmarshall

[takanuru]

The Untamed Wild Tippy Hedren, Noel Marshall, and the Dangerous Producti...

[suzylwade]

Neil

"A faster tempo, city glibness, more humour [than another frequent Hitchcock heroine, Grace Kelly]. She displayed jaunty assuredness . . . and she memorized and read lines extraordinarily well.” - Alfred Hitchcock on Tippi Hedren.

Tippi Hendren is an actress of formidable gifts. But perhaps Neil was Hedren’s biggest gift to us. Prepare to be amazed. In 1971, LIFE photographer Michael Rougier spent time with Hedren, her teenage daughter Melanie Griffith (from Hedren's first marriage to Peter Griffith) her then-husband the agent and movie producer Noel Marshall (Marshall was executive producer of ‘The Exorcist’) and others at their home in California. Also in attendance, Neil, a 400-pound mature lion, who occasionally slept in the same bed as Griffith and had the run of the house from kitchen to living room to swimming pool. Despite the sheer size and might of Neil, Hedren insisted that he was a teenage Griffith's "best friend" and that she was the subject of much conversation among the kids at her school. You don’t say?! Ron Oxley, the lion’s trainer, taught the family how to act around the wild animal.

Amongst these instructions, not to scratch their noses, turn their backs (on him) or allow the animal to become possessive over objects. Neil proved such a delight that within a few months Hedren and her husband decided to adopt their own four-month-old cub. Then they took on more and more, usually from private owners who couldn’t cope or who had abused them. The cubs stayed in the house until they were old enough to be moved to ‘Shambala Preserve’ the animal sanctuary Hedren and Marshall had set up on the edge of the Mojave Desert. By 1980 the Hedren/Marshall family had moved to the preserve.

They had 71 lions, 20 tigers, 10 cougars, nine black panthers, four leopards, two jaguars and a tigon (a lion-tiger cross-breed).

Melanie Griffith in bed with Neil the lion, 1971.

Michael Rougier—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

#chapeaulondon #chapeaublog #dedicatedtothethingswelove #wordsandpictures #amazing #london #lifestyle #lion #neil #tippihedren #noelmarshall #melaniegriffiths #roar #hollywood #la #cubs

[crushlabproductions]

Starting this Wednesday in Los Angeles, Roar, the terrifying yet intriguing 80s film, will have a limited theatrical release. Partnered with Olive Films, Drafthouse Films has decided to finally screen and reveal to America the film known to be the most dangerous movie ever made.

Roar features director Noel Marshall and his then wife Tippi Hedren, their real children and over a hundred wild, untamed “big cats.” The plotline centers on Hank (played by Marshall) living peacefully alongside 100+ wild big cats, until his family visits. Then things get ugly.

The inspiration for the movie first hit Marshall and Hedren during their touring of the safari preserves. Shocked by the overhunting of lions, tigers and jaguars, they wanted to raise awareness of the cruel captivity and treatment of wild big cats. They then literally adopted, bred and raised countless lions for the shooting of the film.

The movie was shot and produced over the course of 11 years with a $17 million budget, but it unfortunately only made around $2 million worldwide.

According to the trailer, “no animals were harmed in the making of this film. 70 members of the cast and crew were.” While no cast member was injured to the point of dying, a few were dangerously close. The initial release in 1981 was described by Variety as “the most disaster-plagued film in the history of Hollywood.” It’s fair to argue that no other movie in the history of film has had this level of high risk and danger. 

Though the production of the movie was a physical and financial disaster for Noel Marshall and his family, the movie itself is described by many as one of the most epic and meaningful animal thrillers out there. As Tim League, the founder of Drafthouse Films, states, “you’ve never seen a movie like Roar and there will never, ever be a movie like Roar again.”

Roar will be screened at The Cinefamily and ArcLight Cinemas in Los Angeles. Needless to say, it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to watch an epic classic on the big screen featuring dangerous and risky elements that will probably never be seen again in the film world.

Watch the trailer at http://www.cinefamily.org/films/roar/.

[suzylwade]

Neil Before Me Tippi Hedren and Neil the lion, 1971. Michael Rougier—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images #chapeaulondon #chapeaublog #dedicatedtothethingswelove #wordsandpictures #amazing #london #lifestyle #lion #neil #tippihedren #noelmarshall #melaniegriffiths #roar #hollywood #la #cubs #tigers #shambalapreserve #seventies

[suzylwade]

Neil Before Me Noel Marshall (husband of Tippi Hedren) works in his study while Neil the pet lion roars, 1971. Michael Rougier—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images #chapeaulondon #chapeaublog #dedicatedtothethingswelove #wordsandpictures #amazing #london #lifestyle #lion #neil #tippihedren #noelmarshall #melaniegriffiths #roar #hollywood #la #cubs #tigers #shambalapreserve #seventies

[suzylwade]

Neil Before Me A cleaning woman steps over Neil the lion in the home of Tippi Hedren and Noel Marshall, 1971. Michael Rougier—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images #chapeaulondon #chapeaublog #dedicatedtothethingswelove #wordsandpictures #amazing #london #lifestyle #lion #neil #tippihedren #noelmarshall #melaniegriffiths #roar #hollywood #la #cubs #tigers #shambalapreserve #seventies