Orphan of the Wilderness is a 1936 Australian feature film from director Ken G. Hall about the adventures of a boxing kangaroo.

It was quite beautiful and quite artistic and I’m still very proud of it and the magnificent photographic work of George Heath... that film was very successful commercially both here and overseas.

When Ken Hall returned from Hollywood in 1935, he announced that his first three films would be Thoroughbred, Big Timber and Robbery Under Arms.

[5] Eventually as scripting progressed, Hall decided to expand the story to feature length and add a romantic subplot.

[6] Production was difficult due to the problems of dealing with animals, who were unused to studio lights and following direction, especially kangaroos.

[10]Worried about accusations of cruelty to animals on Hollywood movies, Hall arranged for representatives from the RSPCA to supervise filming.

[12] The film was not a massive success at the local box office, due in part to the fact many of the tickets were bought by children at concession prices.

[13][14] It was the first Australian movie to be sold to England before it had even been completed[15] The film was released in the US as Wild Innocence[16] and screened widely in Europe.

[1] At one stage Cinesound had plans to make another animal movie from a script by Frank Hurley and Kenneth Wilkinson, but these were abandoned prior to Orphan of the Wilderness being shot.