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Willard Stiles is a meek social misfit who develops an affinity for rats. He lives in a large house with his cranky and decrepit mother Henrietta. On his 27th birthday, he comes home to a surprise birthday party thrown by his mother, where all of the attendees are her friends.
Willard: Directed by Daniel Mann. With Bruce Davison, Sondra Locke, Elsa Lanchester, Ernest Borgnine. A social misfit uses his only friends, his pet rats, to exact revenge on his tormentors.
- (5.6K)
- Horror
- Daniel Mann
- 1971-07-30
When Willard's mother dies, leaving him with the heavily mortgaged house, he uses the rats to help him steal money from one of his company's customers. Willard has begun the habit of taking Socrates and Ben to the office and letting them hide in the storeroom where one day they are discovered.
There have been reports that the enormous rat Ben was not portrayed in the film by an actual rat, which is not true. Ben was portrayed by a Gambian pouched rat (Cricetomys gambianus), a distant relative of the brown rat (Rattus norvegicus), the species used in the film.
- (21K)
- Drama, Horror, Thriller
- Glen Morgan
- 2003-03-14
- Overview
- Plot
- Cast
- Reception
- External Links
is a 1971 American horror film directed by Daniel Mann and starring Bruce Davison, Ernest Borgnine, Sondra Locke and Elsa Lanchester. Based on the novel Ratman's Notebooks by Stephen Gilbert, the film was nominated for an Edgar Award for best picture.
Willard Stiles is a meek social misfit who develops an affinity for rats. He lives in a large house with only his cranky and decrepit mother Henrietta for company. On his 27th birthday, he comes home to a surprise birthday party thrown by his mother, where all of the attendees are her friends. After leaving the party in embarrassment, he notices a ...
•Bruce Davison as Willard Stiles
•Sondra Locke as Joan
•Elsa Lanchester as Henrietta Stiles
•Ernest Borgnine as Al Martin
•Michael Dante as Brandt
•Jody Gilbert as Charlotte Stassen
The film was a major hit in 1971, opening to good reviews and high box office returns, and was the 12th highest-grossing release of the year.
•Willard (1971) at the Internet Movie Database
•Willard (1971) at Wikipedia
•Willard (1971) at Rotten Tomatoes
•Willard (1971) at AllMovie
Feb 26, 2021 · First, Socrates is the real main rat, and “best friend” in both versions. The albino rodent is not just unlikely, but unnatural as a leader amongst the mischief of rats in Willard’s house. Albino rats would be eaten in the wild. In the ’71 version, Ben is sort of a protector to Socrates.
Nov 3, 2017 · Danny is a lonely young boy with a heart condition who finds a friend in Ben, a rat once trained by misfit Willard Stiles. His new best friend protects him from bullying and keeps his spirits up through hard times.
