Junior Bonner

Sam Peckinpah was one of the most talented movie directors ever. He could be both tough (The Wild Bunch) and tender (The Ballad of Cable Hogue) and his best work shows a craftsmanship and understanding of film-making that barely exists in Hollywood today. Peckinpah was happiest among fellow professionals, and here he tells a tale of such a pro, the rodeo rider of the title, brilliantly played by Steve McQueen. As Junior tries to ride the unrideable, we watch his life pass by in the company of the superbly cast Robert Preston and Ida Lupino as his parents, Ace and Elvira Bonner, and Joe Don Baker as his venal brother Curly. The Todd-AO widescreen compositions lose considerable impact on television, but the substance endures.