HorrorScience Fiction

Willard

- This is Willard and his friend Ben. Ben will do anything for Willard.

A social misfit, Willard is made fun of by his co-workers, and squeezed out of the company started by his deceased father by his boss. His only friends are a couple of rats he raised at home, Ben and Socrates. However, when one of them is killed at work, he goes on a rampage using his rats to attack those who have been tormenting him.

Release Date : 1971-07-30

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Bing Crosby Productions

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Willard Stiles

Original Name : Bruce Davison

Gender : Male

Character Name : Al Martin

Original Name : Ernest Borgnine

Gender : Male

Character Name : Joan Simms

Original Name : Sondra Locke

Gender : Female

Character Name : Henrietta Stiles

Original Name : Elsa Lanchester

Gender : Female

Character Name : Brandt

Original Name : Michael Dante

Gender : Male

Character Name : Charlotte Stassen

Original Name : Jody Gilbert

Gender : Female

Character Name : Barskin

Original Name : William Hansen

Gender : Male

Character Name : Carlson

Original Name : John Myhers

Gender : Male

Character Name : Jonathan Farley

Original Name : J. Pat O'Malley

Gender : Male

Character Name : Alice Rickles

Original Name : Joan Shawlee

Gender : Female

Character Name : Carrie Smith

Original Name : Almira Sessions

Gender : Female

Character Name : Ida Stassen

Original Name : Pauline Drake

Gender : Male

Character Name : Guest (uncredited)

Original Name : Ed Haskett

Gender : Male

Character Name : Walter T. Spencer

Original Name : Alan Baxter

Gender : Male

Reviews

Wuchak

@Wuchak

2021-06-23

***A young loner finds that he connects with… rats*** A mama’s boy and meek misfit (Bruce Davison) befriends the rats that live behind his mother old manor and decides to use them to get back at his domineering boss (Ernest Borgnine) who usurped the business from his father. Sondra Locke is on hand as a coworker in one of her earliest roles. "Willard" (1971) is an odd mundane character study of a timid loner with low key horror and a bit o’ black humor; it has a curious vibe that hints at the insanity of life. Incredibly, it was a minor hit at the box office, the 12th top-grossing movie of 1971, beating out notables like “Escape from the Planet of the Apes,” “Shaft,” “Play Misty for Me,” “McCabe & Mrs. Miller” and “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.” I say “incredibly” because this is a small, absurd, melancholy movie of little consequence, yet not without some interest. The main rats are cute, for instance. Plus it’s nice to see Locke in her young, pre-Eastwood years. She dated star Davison while filming “Willard,” but not publicly since she was married to her soul mate from high school. The husband didn’t mind, however, since he was homosexual. The movie runs 1 hour, 35 minutes, and was shot in Los Angeles. GRADE: B-