Jump to content

Junior Bonner

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"L'ultimo Buscadero" redirects here. For the music magazine, seeBuscadero.

Junior Bonner
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySam Peckinpah
Written byJeb Rosebrook
Produced byJoe Wizan
Starring
CinematographyLucien Ballard
Edited by
Music byJerry Fielding
Production
companies
  • ABC Pictures
  • Joe Wizan-Booth Gardner Productions
  • Solar Productions
Distributed by
Release dates
  • June 11, 1972(1972-06-11)(Dallas, Texas)[1]
Running time
100 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$3.2 million[2]
Box office$2.8 million[3][2]

Junior Bonneris a 1972 Americancontemporary Westernfilm directed bySam Peckinpahand starringSteve McQueen,Robert Preston,Joe Don BakerandIda Lupino.The film focuses on a veteranrodeorider as he returns to his hometown ofPrescott, Arizona,to participate in an annual rodeo competition and reunite with his brother and estranged parents. Many critics consider it to be the warmest and most gentle of Peckinpah's films.

Plot[edit]

Junior "JR" Bonner is a rodeo cowboy who is slightly past his prime, although he won't admit it. Junior is first seen taping up his injuries after an unsuccessful ride on an ornery bull named Sunshine.

He returns home toPrescott, Arizona,for theIndependence Dayparade and rodeo. When he arrives, the Bonner family home is being bulldozed by his younger brother Curly, an entrepreneur and real-estate developer, to build a trailer park. Junior's womanizing father, Ace, and down-to-earth, long-suffering mother, Elvira, are estranged. Ace dreams of emigrating toAustraliato rear sheep and mine gold, but he fails to obtain financing from Curly nor Junior, who is broke.

After flooring his arrogant brother with a punch, Junior bribes rodeo owner Buck Roan to let him ride Sunshine again, promising him half the prize money. Buck thinks he must be crazy, but Junior actually manages to pull it off this time, going the full eight seconds on the bull.

Junior walks into a travel agent's office and buys his father a one-way, first-class ticket to Australia. The film's final shot shows JR leaving his hometown, his successful ride on Sunshine continuing to put off the inevitable end of his rodeo career.

Cast[edit]

Themes[edit]

The story explores one of Sam Peckinpah's favorite themes: the end of a traditional form of honor and the arrival of moderncapitalismon the western frontier. In a memorable scene, Ace and Junior escape from the rodeo parade on Junior's horse, ending up at a deserted railway station, where they drink and despair at the state of the world and their indigency. The film enjoyed a resurgence of popularity in the mid-2000s because ofretrospectivesof Sam Peckinpah's work and the screenplay's predictions regarding capitalist development.[4]

Production[edit]

In May 1971, weeks after completingStraw DogsinEngland,Sam Peckinpahreturned to the United States to begin immediate work onJunior Bonner.The lyrical screenplay by Jeb Rosebrook, depicting the changing times of society and binding family ties, appealed to Peckinpah's tastes. He accepted the project, concerned with being typed as a director of violent action (at the time,The Wild Bunchwas his most renowned film, andStraw Dogswas in preparation to be released to theaters).Junior Bonnerwould be his final attempt to make a low-key, dramatic work in the vein ofNoon Wine(1966) andThe Ballad of Cable Hogue(1970).

Filmed on location in Prescott, Arizona, Peckinpah utilized many colorful locales and residents as extras in the film.[5]

Reception[edit]

Released amidst a glut of rodeo-themed films, includingThe Honkers(1972),J.W. Coop(1972) andWhen the Legends Die(1972),Junior Bonnerperformed poorly at the box office.[6][7][8][9]It earned rentals of $1.9 million in North America and $900,000 in other countries, recording an overall loss of $2,820,000.[2]

Although the film was unwisely promoted as a typical Steve McQueen action vehicle, critical reception was still fairly good but not enthusiastic. Peckinpah would remark, "I made a film where nobody got shot and nobody went to see it." Stinging from the financial failure ofJunior Bonnerbut eager to work with Peckinpah again, McQueen presented himWalter Hill'sscreenplay toThe Getaway,which they would film months after completingJunior Bonner.The second collaboration proved to be a financially successful one, as the action film would become one of the biggest box-office successes of their careers.[10][11][12]

Roger Ebert,writing for theChicago Sun-Times,gave the film two stars out of four and called it "a flat-out disappointment, despite Peckinpah's track record and his proven ability to elegize the West...the movie simply never comes together and works as a whole. The material is terribly thin."[13]

Gary Arnold ofThe Washington Poststated that McQueen was given "precious little written character to play or emotion to express", and that the film was "easy to take, yet so insubstantial that there's no compelling reason to see or remember it. The film sort of drifts across the screen and fades from your mind an instant later."[14]

The New York Times'Vincent Canbywrote: "Junior Bonner,which looks like a rodeo film and sounds like a rodeo film, is a superior family comedy in disguise. "[15]

Arthur D. Murphy ofVarietywrote, "The latterday film genre of misunderstood-rodeo-drifter gets one of its best expositions inJunior Bonner,Sam Peckinpah's latest film, which makes another of his occasional shifts away from the bloodbath. Steve McQueen stars handily in the title role, with Robert Preston and Ida Lupino returning to pix in excellent well-turned characterizations as his estranged parents. "[16]

Gene Siskelof theChicago Tribunegave the film three stars out of four, calling it: "A decent picture from a fine director."[17]

Kevin Thomasof theLos Angeles Timeswrote: "This lively, affectionate contemporary western, which stars Steve McQueen in one of his finest performances, is one of the most enjoyable pictures Peckinpah has ever made and surely is his most appealing. What's more, it marks the return to the screen of Robert Preston and Ida Lupino, who also are at their best."[18]

Home media[edit]

Junior Bonnerwas released onDVDMay 25, 2004, byMGM Home Entertainmentas Region 1 widescreen; and May 17, 2005, as part of the box set,The Steve McQueen Collection,withJunior Bonneras the fourth movie of a 4-disc set.[citation needed]The film was released onBlu-raybyKino LorberNovember 6, 2017.[citation needed]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^"Junior Bonner – Details".AFI Catalog of Feature Films.American Film Institute.RetrievedMay 12,2019.
  2. ^abc"ABC Pix: Post-Mortem 'Audit'".Variety.May 30, 1973. p. 5.RetrievedDecember 10,2023– viaInternet Archive.
  3. ^"ABC's 5 Years of Film Production Profits & Losses".Daily Variety.May 31, 1973. p. 3.
  4. ^Weddle, David(1994).If They Move...Kill 'Em!.Grove Press. pp. 9–10.ISBN0-8021-3776-8.
  5. ^"Internet Movie Database, Filming locations forJunior Bonner".imdb.RetrievedOctober 11,2007.
  6. ^"Internet Movie Database, Box office/business forJunior Bonner".imdb.RetrievedOctober 11,2007.
  7. ^"Internet Movie Database,The Honkers".imdb.RetrievedOctober 11,2007.
  8. ^"Internet Movie Database,J.W. Coop".imdb.RetrievedOctober 11,2007.
  9. ^"Internet Movie Database,When the Legends Die".imdb.RetrievedOctober 11,2007.
  10. ^Weddle, David(1994).If They Move...Kill 'Em!.Grove Press. pp. 428–434.ISBN0-8021-3776-8.
  11. ^Simmons, Garner(1982).Peckinpah, A Portrait in Montage.University of Texas Press. pp. 139–153.ISBN0-292-76493-6.
  12. ^Weddle, David(1994).If They Move...Kill 'Em!.Grove Press. p. 434.ISBN0-8021-3776-8.
  13. ^Ebert, Roger (September 20, 1972)."Junior Bonner".RogerEbert.RetrievedMay 12,2019.
  14. ^Arnold, Gary (July 15, 1972). "An Unfinished Sketch".The Washington Post.C7.
  15. ^Canby, Vincent (August 3, 1972). "'Junior Bonner' Is a Rodeo Family Close-Up".The New York Times.24.
  16. ^Murphy, Arthur D. (June 14, 1972). "Film Reviews: Junior Bonner".Variety.18.
  17. ^Siskel, Gene (September 18, 1972). "Junior Bonner".Chicago Tribune.Section 2, p. 18.
  18. ^Thomas, Kevin (June 21, 1972). "Gentle Western From Peckinpah".Los Angeles Times.Part IV, p. 1.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Junior_Bonner&oldid=1213242480"