... a gentle character study and a lyrical portrait of family, respect and integrity in the face of adversity.
Junior Bonner (1972)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:17
Fresh:15
Rotten:2
Average Rating:7.4/10
Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins
Genre: Westerns
Synopsis: Mc Queen is Junior Bonner, an aging rodeo champ who returns to his home town to participate in the annual rodeo. He finds his family estranged, does what he can to help, and then moves on...after... Mc Queen is Junior Bonner, an aging rodeo champ who returns to his home town to participate in the annual rodeo. He finds his family estranged, does what he can to help, and then moves on...after some good rodeo riding and a few brawls. [More]
Starring: Steve McQueen, Robert Preston, Ida Lupino, Ben Johnson
Starring: Steve McQueen, Robert Preston, Ida Lupino, Ben Johnson, Joe Don Baker, Barbara Leigh, Mary Murphy, Bill McKinney
Director: Sam Peckinpah
Director: Sam Peckinpah
Screenwriter: Jeb Rosebrook
Composer: Jerry Fielding
Producer: Joe Wizan
Get This Movie
Reviews for Junior Bonner
...the leisurely pace effectively prevents the viewer from wholeheartedly connecting with the material.
There's something essential about boys playing men in front of the women they love.
The movie simply never comes together and works as a whole. The material is terribly thin.
One of Peckinpah's loveliest films, simmering with family animosity but also brimming with terrific moments of graceless quiet.
Sam Peckinpah presents a sharp look at the "new west" in contrast with the fading frontier scene.
Junior Bonner, based on an excellent original screenplay by Jeb Rosebrook, is Peckinpah in the benignly comic mood that, I suspect, is much more the natural fashion of this fine director than is the gross, intellectualized mayhem.
Junior Bonner may be the least Peckinpah-like in content, but it's very much like his other work in spirit.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | G.I. Joe: The Rise of … |
| 52% 52% | The Taking of Pelham 1… |
| 45% 45% | Ice Age: Dawn of the D… |
| 19% 19% | Transformers: Revenge … |
| 55% 55% | Orphan |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 88% 88% | Ballast |
| 66% 66% | The Merry Gentleman |
RT On Current TV
DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
CloseSponsored Links
Around The Network
- Junior Bonner at Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh Links
Featured

Moviefone looks back at 7 films that have paved the way for movies like 2012.

BuzzSugar rattles off their 10 favorite current actors with celebrity pedigree.

The AV Club looks back at a dance sequence from the only movie written by... Dr. Seuss?

The Men Who Stare at Goats star answers your questions on TIME.com.



Top Critic


