Ben (1972)

Very best movie i ever watch

Overrated and overhyped

Fantastic!

Absolutely brilliant

In light of the fact that the 1971 film "Willard" was such a box office smash, bringing in almost $10 million (pretty big money in those days), I suppose it was practically inevitable that a sequel was soon put into production. And sure enough, in June '72, almost a year to the day after "Willard" had had its premiere, that sequel, "Ben," did indeed arrive. Featuring all new characters, with the exception of its titular rodent star, the film yet picks up mere moments after the conclusion of the first, and indeed, the sequel's opening credits are scrawled over the final moments of that first film, to remind viewers of where things had left off.In that first film's conclusion, young oddball Willard Stiles (well played by Bruce Davison), after having killed his hateful boss with the assistance of his well-trained rat army, led by the almost supernaturally intelligent black rat Ben, had decided to do away with the hundreds of rodents living in his Los Angeles home, and a battle royale had ensued, in which Ben and his cohorts had done Willard to his death. As the sequel begins, cops and reporters swarm over the Stiles abode, trying to figure out what has happened, while gawky neighbors look on, aghast. One of those neighbors is the Garrison family, consisting of a single mother (played by Rosemary Murphy), her teenage daughter Eve (Meredith Baxter), and Danny (Lee Harcourt Montgomery), a young kid with a heart condition. Danny, like Willard, is something of a loner, but a talented one: He plays piano, writes songs, and is something of an amateur puppeteer. While Ben and his army terrorize the neighborhood--killing cops, causing traffic accidents, breaking into and trashing a supermarket, invading a candy factory and causing a near riot in a women's health spa--Danny befriends the intelligent superrodent. To the viewer's astonishment, Danny even kisses the furry critter, taking it to bed with him and telling it "You're the best friend I ever had." And sadly enough, I suppose that, for poor Danny, that statement is indeed true...especially when Ben instructs a few of his henchmen to assist Danny when he is being pushed around by a brattish bully. But real trouble looms when the authorities finally get wind of where Ben and his crew of thousands are holing up (and perhaps I should add here that the hundreds of rats in "Willard" seem to have enjoyed a dramatic population growth in this second film)--namely, in the catacombs of the sewer system--and another battle royale begins, as the cops and local engineers gear up with flamethrowers, high-powered rifles, water hoses and jackhammers to wipe out this pestilential scourge once and for all...."Ben" maintains a light tone for the most part, and indeed, many of the film's rat attack scenes--especially the one in the health spa--are played largely for laughs. The picture only gets serious toward its final 20 minutes, when Eve chases Danny through that sewer system, while a truly ferocious battle swirls around them. I'm not sure if "no animals were harmed in the making of this picture," as many films proclaim (not this one, it should be noted), but if that IS indeed the case, some truly outstanding special effects were brought to the fore here, as it really does look as if hundreds of rodents are scampering before the onslaught of those flamethrowers while at the same time being roasted alive. What I cannot understand is the "Maltin Movie Guide"'s assertion that the film boasts "gory visuals"; while there are any number of scenes in which a person is covered with rodents here, I did not see a single drop of the red stuff once. Actually, this is a film that might make perfect fare for watching with your favorite 8-year-old, as Montgomery is as cute and appealing as can be. The song that he composes on the piano for his buddy, "Ben," is one that you may well recall as having been sung by Michael Jackson, heard here during the picture's end credits; the song was Oscar nominated, losing to "The Morning After" from "The Poseidon Adventure." As compared to the first film, the sequel is certainly a lesser affair, perhaps because it lacks the fine supporting contributions of Ernest Borgnine, Sondra Locke and Elsa Lanchester from that first outing. Still, here, the late Joseph Campanella (as the head cop on the case), Arthur O'Connell (as a wisecracking reporter) and Kenneth Tobey (as the No. 1 engineer) do get to add some welcome gravitas to the shenanigans. Surprisingly, director Phil Karlson, who had previously been responsible for such marvelous noir films as "Kansas City Confidential," "5 Against the House" and "The Phenix City Story," and who, in '73, would go on to helm the highly popular "Walking Tall," offers up some fairly pedestrian work here; "Ben" surely could have benefited from a bit more style and suspense. Still, the film, uh, squeaks by as a moderately acceptable entertainment. "You sure have a big family, Ben," Danny tells his buddy as he visits its home, deep in the L.A. sewer system, and I suppose that "Ben" the movie might be a good choice to watch with yours....

After the events of the original movie "Willard" and after Willard's demise by Ben and his horde of killer rats, they have escaped from his house and Detective Cliff Kirtland (Joseph Campenella) is investigating the murders. A lonely disabled with a weak heart condition boy named A Danny Garrison (Lee Montgomery) befriends Ben and keeps it as a pet. Yet sometimes the rat would go out to lead it's friends to attack people in the city as it's up to the detective to stop the rats.A fairly decent sequel to the 1971 shocker Willard which was a surprise box-office hit which made Bing Crosby Productions and Cinerama greenlite a sequel. The film co-stars Tobey Kenneth and Meredith Baxter Birney, it's a story of a boy and his rat with some gritty dark edge thrown into it and the theme song by Michael Jackson which was nominated for best song of 1972 at the academy awards. The film is a twist on man vs rats with the Lassie style boy and his pet rat kind of thing with some shocks and all as the boy in the movie even uses the rats to attack some bullies who pick on him.

Ben (1972)* 1/2 (out of 4)As the tagline promised, "Where WILLARD ended... BEN begins." This sequel to the 1971 film takes place moments after the original film ended as the police arrive at the home of Willard and realize the damage done by the rats. Before long the rats, being led by Ben, befriend a young boy (Lee Montgomery) but at the same time they're terrorizing the city as the police try to figure out what to do.BEN is the perfect example of a film making money and a sequel being rushed into production to try and make some more money. Whereas WILLARD was a rather interesting character study, BEN falls into a rather cheap, money-maker that has very little story, although if you're a fan of rats then there are plenty of them here as well as a lot more attacks.For me personally, BEN was a major disappointment but I guess you had to go into the film somewhat expecting that. After all, WILLARD featured some great performances, an interesting story and it worked on most levels. Sadly what made that film work is pretty much missing here as we're given a rather generic story and it's one that you the viewer really can't connect with. I'm not even sure kids could connect with the young child here or any of his family members.Director Phil Karlson at least keeps the film moving at a good pace and for the most part the performances are good. There are several more rat attacks here and for the most part they are mildly entertaining but there's no question that the climax lacks any real suspense and it drags on for way too long. By the time the end credits start we finally get to hear Michael Jackson singing his love song.

In 1971, WILLARD had been a surprise box office hit about a twisted young man and his morbid obsession with harboring an army of rats to do his bidding. So along comes this lukewarm sequel that fails on just about every count.Starting out promisingly right from the final scene of the first film, a cop and news reporters investigate the grim attic of Willard Stiles, where his dead body lies. Through the finding of Willard's personal diary (a nice plot touch) they discover how he trained a squadron of rats (headed by king rodent "Ben") to kill for him.From there it's all downhill as we switch over to Danny (Lee Montgomery), a sweet lonely child with a heart condition. He's due for another operation that may even kill him. He lives with his mother and an older sister, Eve (a young Meredith Baxter, pre-FAMILY TIES). A chance encounter with Ben the Rat brings Danny his only true friend, and he entertains his squealing furry buddy with sing-alongs, puppet shows, and toy train rides. Danny even composes a song of tribute to Ben, his friend to the end. At the same time, Ben's nose-twitching comrades are festering around the city, scaring people and trashing whole supermarkets as they scavenge for food. Danny is able to actually converse back and forth with Ben and understand squeak-talk, so he tries to impress upon him that he and his rodent friends can't just do whatever they want, because people don't like that. The police are positively baffled as to how to locate and destroy the rats.Playing more like a wholesome Walt Disney family flick (in fact, lead child actor Lee Montgomery DID previously star in Disney's THE MILLION DOLLAR DUCK), this is a dull and saccharine affair with every other cardboard adult character being more uninteresting than the next. The best thing going for this is the likably pleasant hit song featured at the end, and recorded by Michael Jackson - it even won a Golden Globe and was nominated as "Best Original Song" at the Academy Awards! The movie, however, earns a Turkey.*1/2 out of ****