Junior Bonner (1972)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Sam Peckinpah

Writer:

Jeb Rosebrook (written by)

Release Date:

2 August 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Western

Tagline:

"Tell 'em Junior sent you"

Plot:

Ace Bonner returns to Arizona several years after he abandoned his family, Junior Bonner is a wild young man. Against the typical rodeo championship, family drama erupts.

Plot Keywords:

Rodeo | Arizona | Cowboy | Bar Fight | Slow Motion

Cast

Steve McQueen	...	Junior 'JR' Bonner
Robert Preston	...	Ace Bonner
Ida Lupino	...	Elvira Bonner
Ben Johnson	...	Buck Roan
Joe Don Baker	...	Curly Bonner
Barbara Leigh	...	Charmagne
Mary Murphy	...	Ruth Bonner
Bill McKinney	...	Red Terwiliger (as William McKinney)
Dub Taylor	...	Del
Sandra Deel	...	Nurse Arlis
Don 'Red' Barry	...	Homer Rutledge (as Donald Barry)
Charles H. Gray	...	Burt (as Charles Gray)
Matthew Peckinpah	...	Tim Bonner
Sundown Spencer	...	Nick Bonner
Rita Garrison	...	Flashie
Roxanne Knight	...	Merla Twine
Sandra Pew	...	Janene Twine
William E. Pierce	...	Rodeo official
P.K. Strong	...	Dudettes member
Toby Sargent	...	Dudettes member
Bonnie Clausing	...	Dudettes member
Francesca Jarvis	...	Rodeo secretary
George Weintraub	...	George
June Simpson	...	Barmaid
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Wayne McLaren
Lynette Carrington	...	Young girl at Parade (uncredited)
James M. George	...	Indian (uncredited)
Rod Hart	...	(uncredited)
Johnnie Mullens	...	(uncredited)
Sam Peckinpah	...	Man in Palace Bar (uncredited)
Sharon Peckinpah	...	Bar Patron (uncredited)
Casey Tibbs	...	Parade Grand Marshal (uncredited)

Directed by
Sam Peckinpah

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jeb Rosebrook		written by

Produced by
Mickey Borofsky	....	associate producer
Joe Wizan	....	producer

Original Music by
Jerry Fielding

Cinematography by
Lucien Ballard		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Frank Santillo
Robert L. Wolfe		(as Robert Wolfe)

Casting by
Lynn Stalmaster

Art Direction by
Ted Haworth		(as Edward S. Haworth)

Set Decoration by
Jerry Wunderlich		(as Gerald F. Wunderlich)

Makeup Department
Lynn Del Kail	....	hair stylist
Donald W. Roberson	....	makeup artist
William Turner	....	makeup artist (as William P. Turner)

Production Management
James C. Pratt	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Newt Arnold	....	assistant director
Frank Baur	....	assistant director
Malcolm R. Harding	....	assistant director
Frank Kowalski	....	second unit director
Gene Marum	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Robert J. Visciglia Sr.	....	property master (as Robert J. Visciglia)

Sound Department
Richard Portman	....	sound re-recording mixer
Charles M. Wilborn	....	sound mixer

Special Effects by
Bud Hulburd	....	special effects

Stunts
Mickey Gilbert	....	stunt coordinator (as R. Michael Gilbert)
Denny Arnold	....	stunts (uncredited)
Floyd Baze	....	stunt double (uncredited)
Autry Ward	....	stunts (uncredited)
Steve Ward	....	stunts (uncredited)
Troy Ward	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Bill Avery	....	still photographer (as William Avery)
Joseph Edesa	....	gaffer
Gaylin P. Schultz	....	key grip
Paul M. Pollard	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Robert Willoughby	....	special still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Eddie Armand	....	costumes
Pat Barto	....	wardrobe: women (as Pat I. Barto)
James M. George	....	wardrobe: men

Music Department
Rod Hart	....	composer: songs "Arizona Morning" and "Rodeo Man"
Brian Potter	....	composer: song "Bound to be back again"

Other crew
John Franco	....	script supervisor
Chalo González	....	location assistant (as Chalo Gonzalez)
Raymond Green	....	assistant to producer
Betty Gumm	....	assistant to producer (as Betty J. Gumm)
Katherine Haber	....	assistant to producer (as Katy Haber)
Kenneth Lee	....	ramrod (as Kenneth W. Lee)
Sharon Peckinpah	....	dialogue
Casey Tibbs	....	rodeo coordinator
Dorothy Whitney	....	production secretary
Dominic Santarone	....	caterer (uncredited)
Ruth Santarone	....	caterer (uncredited)

Thanks
William E. Pierce	....	thanks (as William Pierce)

Production Companies

• American Broadcasting Company (ABC)
• Joe Wizan-Booth Gardner Productions
• Solar Productions

Distributors

• Cinerama Releasing Corporation (1972) (USA) (theatrical)
• Centfox (1972) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1975) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (USA) (DVD)
• Fox Video (video)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Transvídeo (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Edit International Ltd.  sound effects and music editing
• Latigo Productions  title design
• Pacific Title  titles

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Palace Bar - 120 S. Montezuma Street, Prescott, Arizona, USA

Company:

American Broadcasting Company (ABC)

Trivia:

Final film of Mary Murphy.

Goofs:

Continuity: The wet spot on junior's mom's shirt after she comes into the house from the garden.

Quotes:

Junior 'JR' Bonner: That was a nice float you had, Curley.
Curly Bonner: [proudly] Finished second in the commercial division.
Junior 'JR' Bonner: Well, second's better than third.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Grindhouse (2007)

Soundtrack:

Bound to be back again

Tells the mythical tale of a dying breed--the American cowboy

I cannot believe this movie is not rated higher. It should be in the Top 250 IMDB movies. I guess most viewers are not really into sociology.

This movie is about telling the tale of a dying breed--the cowboy, and it is about a man who is chasing a disappearing lifestyle.

This movie is about folklore, about the American traditions. I realize that the mass media has wiped out our past; thanks to them we are in a sense, "tabula rasa."

We have forgotten our past. And the media recreates it for us.

Thank goodness for movies like Junior Bonner. They keep the past alive for us. This movie is like an oral storyteller sitting around the fire 10 thousand years ago, telling the tribe the myths of their ancestors.

Long live Junior Bonner!