From the deepest depths of the animal kingdom come a festival of ferocious felines and a brood of brainy bruins. Your living room becomes the giant steel arena for nearly two full hours of unparalleled wild animal presentations that span the globe. Watch in amazement as these graceful specimens jump through hoops, leap over hurdles, and gracefully toddle across the ring.
Spotlighting 25 different wild animal acts (some partial and several complete), along with their legendary trainers, this one-of-a-kind compilation of rare and unusual film and video footage runs just shy of two full hours. Vintage performance sequences feature PAT ANTHONY from a 1957 "live" television appearance; an obscure, 1936 sound film of ROMAN PROSKE working his cats on a Hollywood sound stage; ALBERT AND JEANETTE RIX and their bears, performing in Honolulu, in 1978; DANIEL SUSKOW presenting the TARZAN ZERBINI tigers; CAPT. WILLIAM HORN, working PROF. KELLER'S JUNGLE KILLERS on the 1969 Rudy Bros. Circus; a very young GARY THOMAS from a Canadian telecast; the one and only MABEL STARK, in the great cage at age 73, at Jungleland Park in Thousand Oaks, California (1963); URSULA BOTTCHER and her bears on Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey in 1981; and many others. Also included are priceless, rare, voice-over interview segments with ROBERT BAUDY and CLYDE BEATTY, both from 1963, plus a wonderful appearance by GUNTHER GEBEL-WILLIAMS on a popular morning talk show, speaking about his career, retirement, and autobiography.
International representation includes England's CAPT. SYDNEY HOWES, MASSIMILIANO NONES' tigers at the International Festival du Cirque in Monte Carlo, Moscow's incomparable VALENTIN FILATOV and his bears, and leopard lady ARLETTE GRUSS, to name a few.
LIONS AND TIGERS AND BEARS is a compilation of privately shot 8mm, Super 8mm, and 16mm films, videotapes, and vintage television appearances from the U.S., Japan, and Europe. This is the most comprehensive collection of one-of-a-kind wild animal act footage ever offered. It's simply Grrrrreat!!! Approx. 112 minutes, color and B&W. Includes special supplement booklet.