Ursus in the Valley of the Lions 1961

On a war-torn kingdom, the evil dictator Ajak leads a brutal invasion that shatters the realm. During the siege, the besieged King Anurio orders a trusted envoy to spirit his infant son Ursus to safety, fastening a royal medallion around the child’s neck. Ajak crushes the king’s resistance and seizes the throne, but the newborn Ursus is smuggled away to safety.

Hidden in a remote valley, Ursus grows to manhood under the care of a pride of lions who mistake him for one of their own cubs. This Tarzan-like upbringing blends wild instinct with the traces of human instruction, as Ursus was educated by merchants passing through the valley.

One day a caravan of slave girls breaks down near Ursus’ cave. After helping repair their wagon, Ursus accepts Annia as his payment. Through a patient courtship he explains how, despite living among lions, he learned much from the traveling merchants. Yet the more he learns about humankind’s treachery, the more determined he becomes to stay in the wilderness. Annia accepts his offer to live among the lions, and their bond deepens into a shared romance.

Meanwhile, the usurper Ajak remains firmly planted on Ursus’ father’s throne. Fearing Ursus’s survival, he orders a campaign into the valley, intent on arresting him. The soldiers kill all but one of the lions with poisoned meat, and when Ursus refuses to surrender, they kidnap Annia to use as a hostage. Simba, the last surviving lion, trails Ursus to Ajak’s city, ready to lend aid if the chance arises.

At the film’s climax, innocents are dragged into a raging pyre by chained elephants. Ursus breaks free from the dungeon and, in a dramatic rescue, hurls Lothar into a kennel of hyenas. He reaches the arena and physically blocks the elephants, saving the condemned from a fiery death. The townspeople rise in revolt as they realize Ursus is their rightful ruler. Ajak attempts to flee but is killed by Simba, completing the lion’s vow for vengeance. With the tyrant fallen, Ursus is proclaimed king, and, with Annia as his queen, he reclaims his father’s throne.