Benji (1974 film)
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Joe Camp |
| Produced by | Joe Camp |
| Written by | Joe Camp |
| Starring | <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
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| Music by | Euel Box |
| Cinematography | Don Reddy |
| Edited by | Leon Seith |
| Distributed by | Mulberry Square Releasing |
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Release dates
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Running time
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85 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $500,000 |
| Box office | $45 million[1] |
Benji is the first film in a series of five theatrical features about the golden mixed breed dog named Benji. It was written, produced, and directed by Joe Camp and filmed in and around Denton, Texas. Released in 1974, it was a critical and box office success, grossing $45 million on a budget of $500,000. The film also received an Academy Award nomination for the Best Original Song for the theme song "I Feel Love," by Euel Box. The film was turned down for distribution by every studio in Hollywood and Camp had to form a distribution company to distribute the film worldwide, without the help of Hollywood. Despite the challenges, Variety reported that Benji ranked #3 among the top Box Office films of 1974.[citation needed]
Contents
Plot
Benji is a lovable stray dog living in a small Texas town where he befriended many of the locals, each of who calls him by a different name; but the people he likes best is a local family, the Chapmans: Dr. Chapman (Peter Breck), his two school-age children Paul and Cindy (Allen Fiuzat and Cynthia Smith, respectively), and their housekeeper Mary (Patsy Garrett). Dr. Chapman, however, is wary of feeding stray animals due to the possibility of germ issues, and doesn't want a stray dog hanging around.
One day Benji befriends another stray dog (presumably a Maltese) that Mary names Tiffany, and the kids plead with their father to allow them to keep her and Benji, but he refuses. Benji escorts Tiffany to his hideout, an old, abandoned house rumored to be haunted. Two people later break in and bring a kidnapped Paul and Cindy into the house. Benji rushes to "tell" Dr. Chapman and Mary of the kids' whereabouts but is shooed out by Mary, naturally not understanding the message Benji is trying to get across. Determined, Benji then grabs the ransom note that Dr. Chapman had been showing to the police, but it gets taken from him, leaving Benji is a loss at what to do next. Benji then follows two policemen into the station and gets locked in and seems doomed until he accidentally turns on a drive-through intercom, getting the attention of the janitor, who comes back in to let him out. Benji returns to the old house and spots a failed attempt at writing the ransom note and an idea strikes him. He grabs the crumpled note and tries to flee, but is grabbed by one of the kidnappers. Tiffany then rushes out and bites the kidnapper on the shin, but gets a vicious kick in return that severely injures her. Benji then races back to the Chapmans, but Linda (Deborah Walley), the kidnappers' accomplice, beats him there. The rest is for you to see. Camp never revealed the plot to the press but rather spoke of the essence of the movie: "It's a love story about a dog struggling against the odds to accomplish something that most people would consider to be impossible; and it's the first film ever in which a dog actually acted and expressed emotion on the screen. He was more or less the three-dimensional character in the film and the people were more or less the props. The dialog is in the eyes of the dog." Many film critics stated that Benji deserved a Best Actor Oscar for his acting.
Cast
- Higgins as Benji
- Patsy Garrett as Mary
- Cynthia Smith as Cindy Chapman
- Allen Fiuzat as Paul Chapman
- Peter Breck as Dr. Chapman
- Christopher Connelly as Henry
- Tom Lester as Riley
- Mark Slade as Mitch
- Deborah Walley as Linda
- Herb Vigran as Lt. Samuels
- Frances Bavier as Lady with Cat
- Edgar Buchanan as Bill
- Terry Carter as Officer Tuttle
- Larry Swartz as Floyd
Theme song
The movie's theme song, "I Feel Love (Benji theme)", recorded by the country music star Charlie Rich, won a Golden Globe award for Best Original Song in 1975.[1]
Production
Benji was filmed near Dallas, Texas. The park scenes were in Dallas. The municipal building was filmed in Denton, Texas.
The outdoor scenes were filmed primarily in McKinney, Texas and the house located at 1104 South Tennessee (now a bed and breakfast inn), Dowell House, served as the "haunted house" where the children were being held hostage, as well as serving as production headquarters during the filming.
The film and the ensuing franchise was created after Joe Camp expressed concern over the overabundance of family films released through the four wall distribution concept. He told Variety magazine in 1977: "It has become an industry-caused thing, but the G rated classification has to some degree become 'if it's G, it can't be for me'." Camp observed that four-wall companies had saturated the market for G-rated product; in response to the lowered-down quality of their films, he created Benji.[2]
Reception
Produced on a budget of $500,000,[3] it grossed $39.6 million in the United States,[4] making it the ninth highest grossing film of 1974. The film grossed a total of $45 million in worldwide receipts.[1] The film received mostly positive reviews from critics, earning an 86% approval rating on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes.[5]
See also
References
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