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IMDbPro

Willard

  • 19711971
  • GPGP
  • 1h 35m
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
4.8K
YOUR RATING
Bruce Davison in Willard (1971)
Official Trailer
Play trailer2:18
1 Video
99+ Photos
Horror
A social misfit uses his only friends, his pet rats, to exact revenge on his tormentors.A social misfit uses his only friends, his pet rats, to exact revenge on his tormentors.A social misfit uses his only friends, his pet rats, to exact revenge on his tormentors.
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
4.8K
YOUR RATING
    • Daniel Mann
    • Gilbert Ralston(screenplay)
    • Stephen Gilbert(novel "Ratman's Notebooks", 1968)
  • Stars
    • Bruce Davison
    • Elsa Lanchester
    • Sondra Locke
    • Daniel Mann
    • Gilbert Ralston(screenplay)
    • Stephen Gilbert(novel "Ratman's Notebooks", 1968)
  • Stars
    • Bruce Davison
    • Elsa Lanchester
    • Sondra Locke
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 66User reviews
    • 67Critic reviews
    • 49Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos1

    Willard
    Trailer 2:18
    Watch Willard

    Photos103

    Bruce Davison in Willard (1971)
    Bruce Davison in Willard (1971)
    Willard (1971)
    Willard (1971)
    Ernest Borgnine, Bruce Davison, and Michael Dante in Willard (1971)
    Ernest Borgnine and Michael Dante in Willard (1971)
    Elsa Lanchester in Willard (1971)
    Bruce Davison and Jody Gilbert in Willard (1971)
    Jody Gilbert in Willard (1971)
    Bruce Davison in Willard (1971)
    Willard (1971)
    Ernest Borgnine in Willard (1971)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Bruce Davison
    Bruce Davison
    • Willard Stiles
    Elsa Lanchester
    Elsa Lanchester
    • Henrietta Stiles
    Sondra Locke
    Sondra Locke
    • Joan
    Ernest Borgnine
    Ernest Borgnine
    • Martin
    Michael Dante
    Michael Dante
    • Brandt
    Jody Gilbert
    Jody Gilbert
    • Charlotte Stassen
    William Hansen
    William Hansen
    • Barskin
    John Myhers
    • Carlson
    J. Pat O'Malley
    J. Pat O'Malley
    • Jonathan Farley
    Joan Shawlee
    Joan Shawlee
    • Alice
    Almira Sessions
    Almira Sessions
    • Carrie Smith
    Pauline Drake
    • Ida Stassen
    Helen Spring
    • Mrs. Becker
    Alan Baxter
    Alan Baxter
    • Walter Spencer
    Sherry Presnell
    • Mrs. Spencer
    Ben
    • Ben
    • (uncredited)
    Lois Berkson
    • Party Guest
    • (uncredited)
    Paul Bradley
    • Chemist
    • (uncredited)
      • Daniel Mann
      • Gilbert Ralston(screenplay)
      • Stephen Gilbert(novel "Ratman's Notebooks", 1968)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The surprise box office success of this film would inspire a huge amount of animal-themed horror films in the early 1970s.
    • Goofs
      Toward the end of the film, when Willard is in the kitchen with Ben preparing to poison the rats, you can see the image of the rat wrangler putting Ben on the kitchen counter in the reflection of the glass cabinet.
    • Quotes

      Willard Stiles: Tear him up!

    • Connections
      Edited into Ben (1972)

    User reviews66

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Rodents Galore!
    A mousy, introverted young man befriends and teaches rats basic commands. Soon his home and life are preoccupied with this rodent infestation, coming particularly close to two rats, Ben and Socrates. Willard is played with great skill by Bruce Davison, communicating to the audience his despondency with family life as well as with his job. He has a love-hate relationship with his dotty, doting mother, played with the usual charm only Elsa Lanchester can exude. His relationship with his mother's friends is distant, and with his employer Martin, disastrous. Martin is played with relish by Ernest Borgnine, making the audience feel little sympathy for his fate. Naturally, Willard trains the rats to do "bad" things and this leads to a battle of wills between Willard and the main rat Ben(the lead character in the film's sequel BEN). Overall, the film is rather slowly paced, but well-acted and rewarding in the end.
    helpful•18
    5
    • BaronBl00d
    • Mar 7, 2000

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 30, 1971 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Higgins-Verbeck-Hirsch Mansion - 637 South Lucerne Boulevard, Windsor Square, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Bing Crosby Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 35 minutes
      • Color
      • Mono

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