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Junior Bonner

  • 19721972
  • PGPG
  • 1h 40m
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
6.3K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Steve McQueen and Barbara Leigh in Junior Bonner (1972)
Ace Bonner returns to Arizona several years after he abandoned his family, Junior Bonner is a wild young man. Against the typical rodeo championship, family drama erupts.
Play trailer2:31
1 Video
60 Photos
  • Drama
  • Western

Ace Bonner returns to Arizona several years after he abandoned his family, Junior Bonner is a wild young man. Against the typical rodeo championship, family drama erupts.Ace Bonner returns to Arizona several years after he abandoned his family, Junior Bonner is a wild young man. Against the typical rodeo championship, family drama erupts.Ace Bonner returns to Arizona several years after he abandoned his family, Junior Bonner is a wild young man. Against the typical rodeo championship, family drama erupts.

IMDb RATING
6.7/10
6.3K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Sam Peckinpah
  • Writer
    • Jeb Rosebrook
  • Stars
    • Steve McQueen
    • Robert Preston
    • Ida Lupino
Top credits
  • Director
    • Sam Peckinpah
  • Writer
    • Jeb Rosebrook
  • Stars
    • Steve McQueen
    • Robert Preston
    • Ida Lupino
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 64User reviews
    • 45Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 4 nominations

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 2:31
    Trailer

    Photos60

    "Junior Bonner" Steve McQueen 1972 ABC / Booth-Gardner
    "Junior Bonner" Steve McQueen 1972 ABC / Booth-Gardner
    "Junior Bonner" Steve McQueen 1972 ABC / Booth-Gardner
    "Junior Bonner" Steve McQueen, Sandra Deel 1972 ABC / Booth-Gardner
    "Junior Bonner" Steve McQueen, Dir. Sam Peckinpah 1972 ABC / Booth-Gardner
    "Junior Bonner" Steve McQueen, Dir. Sam Peckinpah 1972 ABC / Booth-Gardner
    "Junior Bonner" Steve McQueen on location in Arizona 1971 ABC / Booth-Gardner
    Junior Bonner (1972)
    Steve McQueen in Junior Bonner (1972)
    Steve McQueen in Junior Bonner (1972)
    Steve McQueen in Junior Bonner (1972)
    Steve McQueen in Junior Bonner (1972)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Steve McQueen
    Steve McQueen
    • Junior Bonneras Junior Bonner
    Robert Preston
    Robert Preston
    • Ace Bonneras Ace Bonner
    Ida Lupino
    Ida Lupino
    • Elvira Bonneras Elvira Bonner
    Ben Johnson
    Ben Johnson
    • Buck Roanas Buck Roan
    Joe Don Baker
    Joe Don Baker
    • Curly Bonneras Curly Bonner
    Barbara Leigh
    Barbara Leigh
    • Charmagneas Charmagne
    Mary Murphy
    Mary Murphy
    • Ruth Bonneras Ruth Bonner
    Bill McKinney
    Bill McKinney
    • Red Terwiligeras Red Terwiliger
    • (as William McKinney)
    Dub Taylor
    Dub Taylor
    • Delas Del
    Sandra Deel
    • Nurse Arlisas Nurse Arlis
    Don 'Red' Barry
    Don 'Red' Barry
    • Homer Rutledgeas Homer Rutledge
    • (as Donald Barry)
    Charles H. Gray
    Charles H. Gray
    • Burtas Burt
    • (as Charles Gray)
    Matthew Peckinpah
    • Tim Bonneras Tim Bonner
    Sundown Spencer
    • Nick Bonneras Nick Bonner
    Rita Garrison
    • Flashieas Flashie
    Roxanne Knight
    • Merla Twineas Merla Twine
    Sandra Pew
    • Janene Twineas Janene Twine
    William E. Pierce
    • Rodeo officialas Rodeo official
    • Director
      • Sam Peckinpah
    • Writer
      • Jeb Rosebrook
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit
    A week with Junior Bonner, a rodeo pro on the wrong side of 40, broke, bruised, and headed into Prescott, his home town, for the annual 4th of July Frontier Days. His dad, Ace, is a dissolute dreamer fixed on finding gold in Australia; his mom is resigned to Ace's roving; his brother Curly is tearing up the countryside to make a million in real estate. Junior just wants to stay on a bucking Brahma for eight seconds, hang out with Ace, find a way to spend time with a beautiful woman whose eyes catch his, and earn enough to get to next week's rodeo. As the old West and its code give way to progress, Junior is lonesome, laconic, and on the road - just where he wants to be. —<jhailey@hotmail.com>
    • neo western
    • father son relationship
    • accordionist
    • card game
    • cowbell
    • 188 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Taglines
      • "Tell 'em Junior sent you"
    • Genres
      • Drama
      • Western
    • Certificate
      • PG
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Ida Lupino hired Sam Peckinpah to work on her series "Mr. Adams and Eve (1957)" after she found him living in a shack behind her property. He paid her back by casting her in this film some years later.
    • Goofs
      Whilst they are sitting on the bench having a drink, Ace knocks Junior's hat off. The view from the rear shows the hat on the ground beside Junior, but when Aces gets up and picks up the hat, it is a few feet in front on Junior.
    • Quotes

      Nurse Arlis: [Ace checks himself out of the hospital] You just can't walk out of here!

      Ace Bonner: You see my feet on the floor, don't you Arlis? Now watch my legs make 'em move.

      Nurse Arlis: But you're not well enough.

      Ace Bonner: Oh, I'm heaven bound, sweetheart, but not today.

    • Connections
      Featured in Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade (2004)
    • Soundtracks
      Bound to Be Back Again
      Words and Music by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter

      Sung by Alex Taylor

      Courtesy of Capricorn Records

    User reviews64

    Review
    Top review
    This film hits close to home
    This is one of my favorite films from one of my favorite directors, and starring one of my favorite actors. I saw a lot of parallels to my own life in this film and the road I have chosen for my own life. The simple fact that JR Bonner lives for "the ride" is really what this film is all about. He continues to ride even though he's past his prime, and still acknowledges his father amidst the division he finds upon his return home. His disenchantment with changing times is very evident here, as this part is pure Peckinpah, who lived and thrived in the western genre for most of his filmography. This theme of what the west has become and what it is becoming has been a theme of inspiration for Sam Peckinpah's films throughout his barely twenty year career as a director. The Father/Son relationship between Junior and Ace strikes a chord with me, especially during the cow milking scene when the Bonners lose, and Ace says "We could've won it", and Junior says "We did Ace". It is profound, and gets me to thinking of my own Father, whose Footsteps I walk in and took after even in my Mother's disapproval.

    Junior's sole mission in this film is simply to ride "Sunshine", the bull no man ever rode, and his failure to do so continually haunts him, even as he rides the bull and finally succeeds by staying on the bull for the 8 seconds required. His family situation is a backdrop of events leading up to this triumphant moment that motivates him to continue down the road, and follow his own destiny.

    The scene between Steve McQueen and Joe Don Baker where Curly (Baker's character) slugs Junior onto the floor of the Palace Bar is a key moment as well. The two are feuding brothers, one becomes a businessman, and destroys the Matriarch of the family's house (Ace Bonner, played wonderfully by Robert Preston). The other (McQueen) follows the path of the Father, not really being around or being there for his family, but wants to. When Curly invites Junior into the real estate business, and Junior refuses lets you know that Junior is his own man. Curly lashes back by saying "I'm working on my first million, and you're still working on 8 seconds". That lets you know who Junior Bonner is, and who he has chosen to be.

    Junior has a love for his Father the rest of the family can't understand, he even gives up over half his winnings for riding Sunshine to buy his Dad a plane ticket to Australia to start a sheep farm. This film has a lot of themes in it; changing times, division of family, and dedication to something when you are no longer on top. It is a true interpretation of the life of the rodeo cowboy. It's a shame this film did not do well when it was first released, I guess it was ahead of its time like Sam Peckinpah. I totally recommend this film because it, like The Ballad of Cable Hogue was unexpected and unpredictable, like its maverick director.
    helpful•19
    4
    • norm1972_8
    • Jan 26, 2005

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 21, 1972 (United Kingdom)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Šampion rodea
    • Filming locations
      • Palace Bar - 120 S. Montezuma Street, Prescott, Arizona, USA
    • Production companies
      • Joe Wizan-Booth Gardner Productions
      • Solar Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $3,200,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 40 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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