IMDb RATING
5.3/10
3.4K
YOUR RATING
A lonely boy befriends Ben, the leader of a violent swarm of killer rats.A lonely boy befriends Ben, the leader of a violent swarm of killer rats.A lonely boy befriends Ben, the leader of a violent swarm of killer rats.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 1 win & 1 nomination total
Lee Montgomery
- Danny Garrison
- (as Lee Harcourt Montgomery)
Ric Drasin
- George
- (as Richard Drasin)
Bruce Davison
- Willard Stiles
- (archive footage)
- (uncredited)
Frank Farmer
- Police Officer
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAccording to Michael Jackson, his theme song for this film, which was also titled "Ben" and which played during its final scene and its closing credits, was one of his favorite songs. It was written for the film by lyricist Don Black and composer Walter Scharf. It was also the title track on Jackson's second solo album, which was released just before his 14th birthday, and became a #1 hit on the Billboard pop charts - a first for Jackson as a solo artist.
- GoofsToward the end of the film when the policemen and the firemen are attacking the rats in the sewers with flamethrowers and the rats are fighting back, it can be seen twice that the scenes of the flamethrower action have been filmed in reverse so that it appears that the rats are advancing - in fact, it can also be seen that the flames are going back into the flamethrowers.
- Quotes
[last lines]
Danny Garrison: [crying as Michael Jackson sings "Ben" in the film's score] You'll get well, Ben, and I'll get well. We'll get well, Ben.
[places Ben on a handkerchief]
Danny Garrison: We'll get well, Ben. No one's gonna hurt one of my friends. No, sir.
[gets out a first aid kit, takes a cotton swab and gently rubs Ben's wounds]
Danny Garrison: It's okay.
[Ben squeaks]
Danny Garrison: You're the only friend I have. I love you, Ben.
[Michael Jackson sings the final verse of "Ben" as the closing credits roll]
- ConnectionsEdited from Willard (1971)
- SoundtracksBen
Lyrics by Don Black
Music by Walter Scharf
Sung and played on piano and harmonica by Danny Garrison (Lee Montgomery (uncredited))
Sung by Michael Jackson during the film's final scene and its closing credits
© 1972 Motown Record Corp.
Featured review
continuation of the saga of the super-intelligent rodent
BEN, unlike WILLARD, is actually not as scary. The horror of rodents swarming all over a health spa and the cereal aisle of a supermarket(an early example of product placement for Kelloggs?) is eclipsed by the, ah, poignant story of a boy and his rat. No really. The real story is the friendship between the homicidal Ben and this boy, prohibited from the normal activities of boys his age by a weak heart. Also on hand are Meredith Baxter as the older sister and a subplot concerning two detectives. Shesh, why reduce the movie to an extended episode of POLICE STORY? And of course, that theme song . . . who better than Michael Jackson to sing about that special love between a boy and his rat? And, as one reviewer pointed out, the film is a cornucopia of 70s kitsch, certainly a pleasant secondary benefit of viewing this film.
helpful•74
- thomandybish
- Apr 18, 2001
- How long is Ben?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Ben: Canavarlar Yuvası
- Filming locations
- Higgins-Verbeck-Hirsch Mansion - 637 South Lucerne Boulevard, Windsor Square, Los Angeles, California, USA(interiors and exteriors of Willard Stiles' house)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $769,986
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content