The Honkers

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The Honkers
The Honkers poster.jpg
Directed by Steve Ihnat
Written bySteve Ihnat
Stephen Lodge
Produced by Arthur Gardner
Jules Levy
Starring James Coburn
Lois Nettleton
Slim Pickens
Anne Archer
Richard Anderson
Joan Huntington
Cinematography James Crabe
Edited by Tom Rolf
Music by Jimmie Haskell
Production
companies
Brighton Pictures
Levy-Gardner-Laven
Distributed by United Artists
Release date
  • May 17, 1972 (1972-05-17)
Running time
102 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1,500,000 [1]

The Honkers is a 1972 American comedy western film directed by Steve Ihnat and written by Steve Ihnat and Stephen Lodge. The film stars James Coburn, Lois Nettleton, Slim Pickens, Anne Archer, Richard Anderson and Joan Huntington. The film was shot in Carlsbad, New Mexico and released on May 17, 1972, by United Artists. [2] [3] The film was the film debut for Anne Archer. [4]

Contents

It was one of several films set around rodeas made in the early 1970s, others including Junior Bonner and J.W. Coop. [5]

Plot

An aging rodeo rider thinks more of himself than he does of his wife, son, and best friend.

Cast

Production

Writer-director Steve Ihnat was an experienced character actor who had just written and directed a self funded featre film Do Not Throw Cushions Into the Ring . [6]

Stephen Lodge wrote his first script with his new writing partner, Dave Cass. Inhat read it and asked Lodge if he would collaborate on a script about a rodeo rider. According to Lodge, the first draft took four weeks, after that they attended a rodeo for research and did original drafts. The script was originally entitled Home Town Boy then this was changed to The Honkers after a slang term used to describe a rough bull. The script sold to United Artists and Levy-Gardner-Laven became attached as producers. [7]

Ihnat wanted to play the lead role but the studio insisted on a star. [1]

Filming took place in Carlsbad, New Mexico. Harry Vold’s rodeo company was used to stage the rodeos. [7]

Ihnat died of a heart attack in May 1972, at the Cannes Film Festival, shortly after The Honkers was released. [8] [9]

Reception

According to Time, "Ihnat bears partial responsibility for writing this lackluster plot, although as a director he fares a good deal better. Unlike most fledgling film makers, Ihnat has an uninsistent and subtle style. He can catch the fleeting mood of a scene in a few shots, most impressively in a terse, brutal barroom brawl, and he has a good eye for local color." [10]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 Brown, Stewart (2 January 1971). "Steve Ihnat, the local boy who mde good in Hollywood, comes home for a holiday". The Hamilton Spectator. p. 33.
  2. "The Honkers (1972) - Overview - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  3. "The Honkers". TV Guide. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  4. "Anne Archer", Wikipedia, 2023-08-25, retrieved 2023-09-16
  5. The Honkers at AFI
  6. "Steve Ihat to direct rodeo story in Carlsburg". Carlsbad Current-Argus. 2 May 1971. p. 3.
  7. 1 2 Lodge, Stephen. "The Honkers - My First Produced Screenplay". Author's Den. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  8. "Steve Ihnat, Actor and Director, Dead". New York Times. 20 May 1972. p. 36.
  9. Lodge, Stephen (2008). And ... . Action!. Lulu Press, Inc. p. 239. ISBN   978-1-4357-1204-1.
  10. Cocks, Jay (29 May 1972). "Cinema: Bullpen". Time magazine.