Ken willard kenneth henderson willard born july 14, 1943 in richmond, virginia is a former american football running backfullback in the national football league. When he is squeezed out of the company started by his deceased father, his only friends become a couple of rats hes been raising. His only friends are a couple of rats he raised at home, ben and socrates. Willard 1971 daniel mann, bruce davison, elsa lanchester, sondra locke, horror, scifi may 11, 2017 a social misfit, willard is made fun of by his coworkers, and squeezed out of the company started by his deceased father by his boss. The original 1971 version and its 1972 sequel, ben are both slated for release from scream factory sometime late this year or early 2017. Bruce davison in willard 1971 ernest borgnine and sondra locke in willard 1971 bruce davison in willard 1971.
Willard soon takes some petty revenge on his tyrant boss by ruining a party with the help of his rodent companions, and he and the new office girl seem to hit it off. When willard is pushed too far by his bullying boss r. Gene siskel of the chicago tribune also gave the film 2 stars out of 4 and wrote that although it will have you keeping your feet up off the theater. His boss, al martin ernest borgnine, escape from new york is a vulgar, cruel man who stole his business from willard s father and is now working. Incredibly, it was a minor hit at the box office, the 12th topgrossing movie o.
Willard 1971 a social misfit, willard is made fun of by his coworkers, and squeezed out of the company started by his deceased father by his boss. Willard was drafted with the second pick of the 1965 nfl draft, by the san francisco 49ers ahead of future nfl hall of famers dick butkus and gale sayers. This book was the basis for the 1971 thriller willard, about a young man who befriends a pack of rats, and eventually uses them as tools for revenge. With bruce davison, elsa lanchester, sondra locke, michael dante. It is downright disturbing just how well davison nails, the young man at the center of this disturbing tale.
Willard is a social misfit who is made fun of by his coworkers. Line cinemas willard, a hardedged remake of the 1971 release of. Oct 30, 2014 this feature is not available right now. Willard 1971 dvd region one playable in north america the us, canada, mexico, etc. Nagged by his mother elsa lanchester, bullied by his boss ernest borgnine, a young man. Their relationship constitutes the weird part of the movie, nudge, nudge. Willard is tolerantly allowed employment at his late fathers business, presided over by passiveagressive ernest borgnine. The late late show with craig ferguson season 4 episode 83. Willard 1971 film wikimili, the best wikipedia reader. Lee ermey, he decides to use his fourlegged companions to get revenge. Willard 1971 while alfred hitchcock may have pioneered the modern animal attack film with the birds 1963, it was the release of willard 1971 that turned the me decade of the 1970s into a nonstop barrage of critters both big and small on the silver screen. In this horror film, the young, disturbed willard stiles befriends a pair of rats and trains them to brutally. His only friends are a couple of rats he raised at home, ben and socratesand.
Bruce davison, sondra locke, elsa lanchester, ernest borgnine. Willard 1971 plot summary 2 a social misfit uses his only friends, his pet rats, to exact revenge on his tormentors. A perfect pairing of actor and character, glover is ideal as willard in this burtonesque remake of the 1971 cult horror film. Willard is a 1971 american horror film directed by daniel mann and starring bruce davison, ernest borgnine, sondra locke and elsa lanchester. Its also available for football, basketball and hockey. As a pair of films, willard 1971 and its sequel ben 1972 stand in stark contrast to each other and ive always been fascinated by the differences between the two. This adaptation of stephen gilberts 1969 novel, ratman notebooks a title the film kept early in production, which doesnt. May 01, 2017 willard stiles bruce davison, insidious. Find great deals on ebay for willard dvd and willard 1971 dvd. Willard has never looked this good even in theaters when i saw it in 1971. Freshen up your watchlist with prime videos latest roster of streaming movies and tv shows. It was not billed as a remake by the producers, who chose instead to.
The late late show with craig ferguson season 4 episode. Willard refuses, and later, exasperated by martins bullying, takes the rats, whom he can now carry in a big satchel, to martins anniversary party. See more ideas about horror movies, bruce davison and ernest borgnine. Watch willard movie trailers, exclusive videos, interviews from the cast, movie clips and more at.
The dvd set covers all twentyfour episodes from the 1971 72 season on six discs approximately 650 minutes10. Both willard and ben are fascinating and weird little rat oriented horror films from the early 70s. For seasons prior to 1974, some playbyplay data is missing, so some positional splits will be slightly less than 100% complete. He finished his first full bigleague season with a 74 record 4. Based on the novel ratmans notebooks by stephen gilbert, the film was nominated for an edgar award for best picture. It is loosely based on the novel ratmans notebooks by stephen gilbert, as well as on the novels first film adaptation, willard 1971, and its sequel, ben 1972. Now, theres a character for horror fans to discuss and nibble over. Davison is well known for his starring role as willard stiles in the cult horror film willard 1971 and his academy awardnominated and golden globewinning performance in longtime companion 1989, and as thomas semmes in the hbo original movie vendetta. Factorys new bluray, i had seen willard 1971 only once, nearly 45 years ago when the movie first aired on network television.
A social misfit uses his only friends, his pet rats, to exact revenge on his tormentors. Willard landed in theaters in the summer of 1971 and launched the nature strikes back subgenre of horror films. Every day, well send you an email to your inbox with scores, todays schedule, top performers, new debuts and interesting tidbits. However, willards greatest allies become his worst enemies. Willard offers audiences an unrelentingly tense character study hinging on a revenge narrative thats elevated by the addition of a horror component in the form of an army of subservient, murderous rats. I recall sympathizing with poor, luckless willard stiles bruce davison and his army of pet rats, and found this strange film unusually affecting. Willard is a 1971 american horror film directed by daniel mann and starring bruce davison. May 16, 2017 as a pair of films, willard 1971 and its sequel ben 1972 stand in stark contrast to each other and ive always been fascinated by the differences between the two. Willard, as i discovered, isnt actually about rats at all. Bruce davison born june 28, 1946 is an american actor and director of television, film, and theater. When he is squeezed out of the company started by his deceased father, his only friends become a. His boss, al martin ernest borgnine, escape from new york is a vulgar, cruel man who stole his business from willards father and is now working.
Nearly fifty years down the line, the original film still holds up as a great character study revenge film. Your score has been saved for fred willardrachel bilson. A lofty warning, indeed, and one which doesnt quite fit this observant psychological drama about an introverted young man who forms a friendship with a. Willard is an interesting horror tale about a social misfit who has a hard time and his only friends are rats. It was not billed as a remake by the producers, who chose instead to present it as. The movie was enjoyable, not only for the thriller aspect of rats attacking, but also because of the way it explored the character of willard, and his blossoming relationship with his new friend. However, during a double elimination, willard s overall weakness caused his entire tribe to vote him off. Portrayed by bruce davison, this socially inept character is ridiculously authentic throughout 1971s willard. Willard 1971 daniel mann, bruce davison, elsa lanchester.
Willard is a sociallymaladjusted young man who lives in a gloomy, victorian house with his codependant mother. In this horror film, the young and disturbed willard stiles befriends a pair of rats and trains them to brutally attack human beings. A social misfit, willard is made fun of by his coworkers, and squeezed out of the company started by his deceased father by his boss. Willard 1971 nagged by his mother elsa lanchester, bullied by his boss ernest borgnine, a young man bruce davison trains mansion rats to kill for him. In april, the sox offered to trade nixon to the athletics, but. Before the 1952 season, lou boudreau replaced oneill as manager, and several pitchers with excellent minorleague credentials joined the staff. Podcast willard 1971 episode 53 decades of horror 1970s. This is an eerie little horror yarn that is quite creepy, especially if you hate rats. May 16, 2017 this is the one movie you should not see alone, touted the hyperbolic tagline on the original willard onesheet from 1971. At odds with the world around him, willard turns to the one thing that keeps him warm at night. In this horror film, the young and disturbed willard stiles befriends a pair of rats and trains them to. Willard is a 2003 american horror film cowritten and directed by glen morgan and starring crispin glover, r. It is a typical horatio alger story jed the poorhouse boy, if i recollect correctly, or maybe do and dare, or a brave boys fight for fortune, with rats playing more prominent supporting roles than they customarily did in horatio alger where they were limited to runons. Willard also makes a special pet of a new rat, a wily, brown one whom he names ben.
He lives alone in a crumbling house with his ailing mother elsa lanchester, arnold, bride of frankenstein. Willard offers audiences an unrelentingly tense character study hinging on a revenge narrative thats elevated by the addition of a horror component in the form of an army of. Nagged by his mother elsa lanchester, bullied by his boss ernest borgnine, a young man bruce davison trains mansion rats to kill for him. May 18, 2017 portrayed by bruce davison, this socially inept character is ridiculously authentic throughout 1971s willard. Although lazy around camp, and the weakest on his tribe, korors luck in the immunity challenges allowed willard to escape the first four tribal councils. Willard 1971 is an odd mundane character study of a timid loner with low key horror and a bit o black humor. Nbc should renew manifest for season 3 so we can know peace again. Pressured by henrietta, willard asks martin for a raise, but martin insults him and instead offers to buy his home. Willard dvd, 2003, platinum series for sale online ebay. Willard nixon society for american baseball research.