Benji

Not a bad flick...I regret that I saw sequels before having seen the original. Benji is a lovable character who hustles everyone in the neighborhood with charm and charisma. Two kids , children of a doctor, want to give him a home there with them, but the doctor has all kinds of phobias against canines and will not hear of it. Benji finds a girlfriend ( no kidding) and shares food and his secret hide-away--a deserted house--with his new acquaintance...until fate steps in and dictates the direction of the action. The kids are victims of a plot and Benji--and his girlfriend--come to the rescue using what measures they can muster. It's really cute, though it gets a little ugly when the bad guys appear...and there seems to be an un-explained flashback of sorts that Benji has regarding an incident with firearms. This, to my thinking, should have been developed a little better to convey to the audience that this was a motivating factor for Benji's actions...and why. But, one can suspend sensibilities if a dog is intelligent enough to convince you that he knows what is going on and has the best interest of people at heart , and that applies in this instance. Besides, since he was a homeless dog, there may have been myriad instances that were unpleasant remembrances...still it is nice when the writers and the directors let us in on what happening by way of full disclosure. But, it's a nice flick, the kids will love it, and adults will too. It's early seventies so that pacing of the film is not quite as frantic as it would become some seven or eight years down the road. See the movie.

I first saw "Benji" when I was eight years old; during its original release, and after nearly 25 years it is still one of the finest, independently-produced family films ever made. Told entirely from the eyes of a dog, it mixes humor, suspense, and heart-tugging emotion. The dog, Benji, is still one of the finest animal actors ever to appear on screen. He conveys emotion, like no other animal on film ever had before, or has since. Although this is mainly a film for families to enjoy, it would surprise me if any adult couldn't be moved by its sentiment.

Every decade, or so it seems, Hollywood likes to build films around a cute dog. The early seventies was the era for "Benji", whose real name was Higgins, an attractive and photogenic dog that had already had a recurring role in "Petticoat Junction", the successful sitcom of the sixties. Edgar Buchanan, one of the stars from that show is on hand to act with an old pal again.

Joe Camp, the director and screen writer, targeted this film toward a young audience of children under ten. Higgins and his trainer, Frank Inn, do wonders for the film. "Benji" shows a dog that has a natural intelligence and responds well to whatever it was asked to do. The film will delight young children.

Some other faces in the movie are Frances Bavier, Deborah Walley, Patsy Garrett and others. Although the movie is predictable, let's not forget it was targeted for a young audience that will probably appreciate it more than the grown ups.

Full marks to Joe Camp for making such a beautiful film!.... Its all too easy for the dog lovers to absolutely fall in love with the movie, and Benji.....but this movie will always have the ability to change people from dog haters to dog lovers .... Benji is absolutely fabulous in this rendition of a street dog who has a certain way of living with with the people in the city.

What changes things is the kidnapping of Benji's human friends. But what is beautiful about the movie is that without using the crutches of special effects (read - talking animals), the expressiveness of Benji in various stages of the movie with just the barking to help is fabulous..... he falls in love (with another beauty of a pooch)...questions using his eyes, flaps his ear to express doubt, rolls on the grass to impress Tiffany (the pooch!)... the works!!! ...

Benji impresses!... and how...!... It doesn't take too much to know that the acting abilities of the humans in the movie aren't too much to talk about. But maybe that just enhances Benji's talent....

You would fall in love with BEnji and have tears flowing down your cheeks when they do the close-up on his sad eyes....

Yes, I am a dog lover.... but Benji .. he is the love of my life!

Joe Camp probably had no idea this family film about an independent mutt turning neighborhood hero was going to touch off such a reaction at the box-office. "Benji" doesn't have the earmarks of an ambitious movie, nor did its initial publicity suggest it was going to be anything more than a matinée flash-in-the-pan, but positive word-of-mouth amongst kids was incredibly high, and "Benji" became the fifth highest grossing film of 1974 (no small feat; it's just behind "The Godfather Part II"). Although the slim plot pilfers heavily from Disney's "That Darn Cat!", the canine star Higgins (from TV's "Petticoat Junction") is an amazing find: his expressions and reactions are priceless, and the film's narrative--Benji's escapades, his human friends, his romance with a little white pooch--proved to be immediate and bracing with the target audience. Charlie Rich's song "I Feel Love" was Oscar-nominated (!), underlining the doggy romance with uplifting sentiment, the kind that makes a crowd-pleaser. Followed in 1977 by "For the Love of Benji"; but, with a different, look-alike dog and a hoked-up story, the sequel didn't crossover to older children. **1/2 from ****