Willard

A little flick that blends elements of psycho-drama and animals-run-amuck, along with a hint of old-dark-house. Willard is a socially-maladjusted young man who lives in a gloomy, Victorian house with his co-dependant mother. Their relationship constitutes the weird part of the movie, nudge, nudge. Willard is tolerantly allowed employment at his late father's business, presided over by passive-agressive Ernest Borgnine. With no social life and no friends, Willard resorts to training rats with above-average intelligence. Of course, things take a dark turn when Willard's mother dies and Borgnine's bully tendencies come to the fore, prompting the put-upon Willard to use his rodent buddies to even the score. Also on hand is Sondra Locke as caring co-worker who tries to enter into Willard's world and may be his means of salvation. You find yourself rooting for her to win out. Spawned a more (in)famous sequel, BEN, remembered primarily for it's theme song, which provided Michael Jackson with one of his first solo hits. Very appropriate, in hindsight.

Willard Stiles (Bruce Davison) is an introvert. His mother is bedridden. Her friends throw him a surprise birthday party and berate him for losing his father's business to Al Martin (Ernest Borgnine) who hired Joan (Sondra Locke) to take over his work. He has no friends but finds friendship with the rats in the backyard. Soon, his friends are multitudes willing to do his bidding.

The idea is there but this is shot in a flat, uninspired manner. The actors are either first rate or on their way. Borgnine is gloriously evil. Davison is a little green around the edges. This should be a lot more compelling. There should be more tension. It's got some creepiness but I would like more.

1970's "Willard" looks and feels like a TV movie under the direction of Daniel Mann, based on Stephen Gilbert's 1968 novel "Ratman's Notebooks," emphasizing rats in a promotional campaign that earned an astonishing $12 million at the box office (my local theater paired it with another Cinerama release, "The House That Dripped Blood"). Those coming in expecting a horde of vermin would likely be surprised to find it a genuinely tragic human drama that never quite veers into horror territory, thanks to yeoman work from Bruce Davison in his sympathetic portrayal of Willard Stiles, who lost the family business to employer Al Martin (Ernest Borgnine) upon the death of his father, Elsa Lanchester typecast as Willard's dotty mother Henrietta. The film opens with Henrietta's overly protective friends celebrating Willard's 27th birthday, forcing the withdrawn youth to retreat to the relative safety of the backyard, where his cake attracts a small rat family. Willard's only escape from the abusive bullying of boss Martin is the tenderness of new girl Joan (Sondra Locke), and his obsessive training of the rats in his basement, cutting an opening in the screen to allow easy access. After his mother's unexpected death, Willard engages his tiny companions in a little espionage, spoiling an important get together at Martin's home, then stealing enough money to pay off his mortgage by frightening a wealthy patron out into the street. This was one of Borgnine's most vivid characterizations, a loathsome cad you just love to hate (the sign on his desk reads, "do unto others before they do unto you"), and his eventual comeuppance proves a sure audience pleaser, although the sight of his corpse lying on the ground is enough for Willard to turn his back on the rats and do away with them, only to learn too late that he's clearly outnumbered. We surmise early on that Mr. Stiles already has a screw loose, reminding us how it feels to be treated like a doormat by your worst employer, the ability to fight back an eternal impulse that only a select few might take advantage of. The rats look too cuddly to be scary (think of hamsters with long tails!), but with such repugnant humans populating Willard's universe it's no wonder that he becomes more attached to white rat Socrates and black rat Ben, the latter surviving for the inevitable sequel and Michael Jackson theme song.

This movie scared the pants off me as a kid - literally! Now I like rat movies as much as the next guy, but this one was CREEEEEPY! I suppose it was Ernest Borgnine's performance as Mr. Martin, Willard's boss, that made the whole movie so disturbing. It's so creepy because it's true! I once had a boss who reminded me of Ernest Borgnine, but fortunately I never tried to bring my pet rat to work with me!

Anyway, here's my advice - if you like rat movies, or movies with Ernest Borgnine, then see "Willard" tonight. If you DON'T like Ernest Borgnine and you DON'T like rat movies, then maybe "Willard" is not for you. I don't want to give any more of the plot away, but IF you do decide to watch "Willard", make sure you don't see it alone!

Bruce Davison memorably portrays the title character in this entertaining animal-themed thriller that was a big hit back in its day. Willard Stiles is a wimpy, awkward doormat of a man, regularly chewed out by his demanding boss Martin (Ernest Borgnine) and harangued by his clingy, equally demanding mother Henrietta (Elsa Lanchester). He has zero friends in the world, until he decides to take pity on the scores of rats infesting his property. He even gives the two most dominant characters names: "Socrates" is a gentle white rat, "Ben" a more aggressive brown rat. Willard soon becomes able to get the rats to do his bidding, which comes in handy in such matters as revenge.

It's not hard to see why "Willard" would have connected with audiences back in 1971. The relationship between the boy and his rodents is admittedly touching, and the head rats Socrates and Ben are very well trained (as well as rats can be trained). Now, granted, you don't always sympathize with Willard. Sometimes he comes off as a real jerk. But you feel bad for him often enough to enjoy his revenge. For example, getting the rats to ruin a backyard dinner party held by Martin. You also hope that his budding relationship with a lovely temp employee (the appealing Sondra Locke) will better his situation, or at least brighten him up a bit. For this viewer, it didn't matter so much that the film "lacked style"; it was still a reasonably entertaining story (based on the book "The Ratman's Notebooks" by Stephen Gilbert) told in capable enough fashion by screenwriter Gilbert Ralston and director Daniel Mann. The music score by Alex North is simply wonderful.

Borgnine provides excellent support, obviously having fun with playing a mean, conniving boss who seems to take a perverse pleasure in humiliating Willard in front of others. Lanchester is just right during the amount of screen time that she gets. Michael Dante, Jody Gilbert, John Myhers, J. Pat O'Malley, and others comprise a fine supporting cast.

The clear lesson to be learned from this one is simply this: if you have very few friends in this world, do NOT turn your back on them, no matter how small they may be.

Followed by a sequel, "Ben", just one year later, and a second adaptation of the book in 2003 (with Crispin Glover as Willard, R. Lee Ermey as Martin, and Jackie Burroughs as Henrietta).

Seven out of 10.