The Honkers (1972)

An over-the-hill rodeo champion is so self-centered that he ignores his wife, son, and best friend.

Director:

Steve Ihnat

Writers:

Steve Ihnat, Stephen Lodge

Stars:

James Coburn, Lois Nettleton, Slim Pickens

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Coburn	...	Lew Lathrop
Lois Nettleton	...	Linda Lathrop
Slim Pickens	...	Clete
Anne Archer	...	Deborah Moon
Richard Anderson	...	Royce Owens
Joan Huntington	...	Rita Ferguson
Jim Davis	...	Sheriff Potter
Ramon Bieri	...	Jack Ferguson
Ted Eccles	...	Bobby Lathrop
Mitchell Ryan	...	Lowell
Wayne McLaren	...	Everett
John Harmon	...	Sam Martin
Richard O'Brien	...	Matt Weber
Pitt Herbert	...	Haberdasher
Luther Elmore

Storyline

An over-the-hill rodeo champion is so self-centered that he ignores his wife, son, and best friend.

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Plot Keywords:

oil well | brandy | pool table | beer | marijuana | 

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Taglines:

A honker is a rough bull or bronc that can't be broken. Lew Lathrop is a honker!

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Genres:

Western | Action | Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

GP

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 June 1972 (UK)

Also Known As:

A betörhetetlenek

Filming Locations:

Artesia, New Mexico, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Brighton Pictures, Levy-Gardner-Laven

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The red sports car Anne Archer drives is a DeTomaso Pantera. The purple sports car shown on the movie poster is a Lamborghini Miura.

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Goofs

At the beginning of the film, on the back of the cab of Clete's pickup truck, it can be seen where the shotgun pellet squibs are in the badly-matched paint job versus the rest of the truck.

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Connections

Features The Hunting Party (1971)

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Soundtracks

I'm a Rodeo Cowboy
Composed and Sung by Slim Pickens

User Reviews

"Did he recognize ya?" .. "Don't think so. Had the wrong end pointing at him."

James Coburn is a devilish, lady-loving rodeo-circuit rider down New Mexico way; Anne Archer is a smitten fan who bats her eyes at him; Lois Nettleton plays his wife who puts up with all his comings and goings. The early 1970s were rife with these kind of cowboy character pieces, and all of them have the same scenes: the unloading of the horses at sunrise, the sizing up of the competition, the aged cowpoke sidekick chiming in with his two cents (here it's Slim Pickens), the parade down Main Street and, that old standby, the protagonist getting caught with another man's woman (and escaping with his pants down). Co-written by Steve Ihnat, who also directed, and Stephen Lodge, the lackadaisical film probably made an inoffensive co-feature at drive-in theaters but, on its own terms, the clichéd results are pretty thin. Coburn is energetic and amiable--he's always good when cast as the wily scalawag--but the movie depressingly stacks the deck against him. The western milieu in general doesn't feel like a natural fit for Coburn, who looks like he might be more at home sitting on the Riviera plotting someone's demise. ** from ****