Bunny O'Hare (1971)

Bunny is a penniless widow who blackmails a robber into teaching her the trade. Soon the pair starts a successful crime spree, and the cops aren't turning a blind eye.

Director:

Gerd Oswald

Writers:

Stanley Z. Cherry (screenplay), Coslough Johnson (screenplay)

Stars:

Bette Davis, Ernest Borgnine, Jack Cassidy

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bette Davis	...	Bunny O'Hare
Ernest Borgnine	...	Bill Green (Gruenwald)
Jack Cassidy	...	Lieutenant Horace Greeley
Joan Delaney	...	R.J. Hart
Jay Robinson	...	John C. Rupert
John Astin	...	Ad O'Hare
Reva Rose	...	Lulu
Robert Foulk	...	Commissioner Dingle
Brayden Linden	...	Frank
Karen Mae Johnson	...	Lola (as Karen Rae Johnson)
Francis R. Cody	...	Rhett (as Francis Cody)
Darra Lyn Tobin	...	Elvira (as Darra Lynn Tobin)
Hank Whickham	...	Speed
J. Rob Jordan	...	Policeman Nerdman
Herb Marlis	...	Lloyd

Storyline

Aged Bunny O'Hare has just lost everything, the Bank of New Mexico which has foreclosed on her mortgage and demolished her house. What possessions of hers that were not repossessed by creditors were destroyed in the demolition. Bunny feels she cannot ask her adult children, Ad and Lulu, for help, as they depend on her. In reality, Ad and Lulu are ungrateful and selfish, wallowing in financial holes of their own making. The one person who seems to provide her some help in at least offering to drop her off wherever she may need or want to go is the man who gutted the house of the plumbing fixtures to sell in Mexico, while she doesn't know that he's really just trying to lose her anywhere. Things change when she discovers that he is William Gruenwald, an escaped convict who was behind bars for bank robbery. She offers him a blackmail deal which he has no choice but to accept: she won't turn him into the police in return for he teaching her how to rob banks. She figures that the Bank of ...

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Plot Keywords:

character name as title | widow | apostrophe in title | two word title | bank robbery | 

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Taglines:

ENJOY those 'GOLDEN YEARS' with the most profitable pension plan any sweet little mother ever devised

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

GP

Did You Know?

Trivia

Lee Marvin was the original choice for the Ernest Borgnine role.

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Goofs

Jack Cassidy, as Lt Horace Greeley, is being honored at a meeting. The sign for it says Honoring...Horace Greely (sic). Later on he is sitting at his desk with the nameplate of Horace Greeley on it.

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Quotes

Bunny O'Hare: The bank took it away.

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Connections

Referenced in Prime Cut (1972)

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Soundtracks

Monday Man
Written by Billy Strange & Keith Roberts
Vocal Performed by The Mike Curb Congregation

User Reviews

Career Lows

Bette Davis is a doting mother who, at the outset of this film, is evicted from her house because she has defaulted on her payments. The reason she is in such dire financial straits is because she is incapable of seeing what a pair of seedy, money-grubbing low-lifes her son and daughter are. After hitching a ride from Ernie Borgnine (who has sort of repossessed her toilet pan!) she blackmails him into helping her rob the bank that has thrown her out of her home.

This mess of a movie features one movie legend at a career low and one b-list star who, to me, seemed to get by on enthusiasm and likability rather than acting skill. We can only wonder what dire straits Davis herself must have been in to accept a starring role in a movie with so few redeemable aspects. The plot is almost non-existent, and a ham-fisted script gives Davis and Borgnine no opportunity to develop any kind of chemistry. But then whoever wrote this rubbish thought it would be a blast to have Davis and Borgnine dressed as hippies. A sub-plot featuring the inept detective on their case is mind-blowingly stupid.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

18 October 1971 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bunny und Bill

Filming Locations:

Belen, New Mexico, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$900,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

American International Pictures (AIP)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min (theatrical)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1