The king of the jungle needs glasses! Set at an African animal center, the all-family adventure that inspired the TV series Daktari features a valiant veterinarian (Marshall Thompson), heartless gorilla trappers, narrow escapes, lots of laughs and some of the most endearing animals who ever aced their screen tests. Among the merry menagerie: Doris the chimpanzee, Mary Lou the python, and of course Clarence, a genuinely cross-eyed lion who was as lamb-like off screen as on (a grumpier stunt lion filled in for attack scenes).

Dr. Marsh Tracy, head of an African animal behavior center, captures an oddly placid lion whom he names Clarence. The beast's eyes as it turns out, are crossed. When Dr. Tracy and an anthropologist are kidnapped by poachers, Clarence shows his paws, jaws and claws work superbly.