FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Cheryl A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Python Hyena Benji (1974): Dir: Joe Camp / Cast: Patsy Garrett, Peter Breck, Deborah Walley, Frances Bavier, Tom Lester: Joe Camp's delightful family film explores the wonders of a scruffy dog who encounters a host of friendly people. Among them are an elderly diner owner who feeds him leftover scraps. He encounters a police officer who speaks of his upcoming wedding and even gives Benji advice. When he arrives at one particular back porch he is greeted by two children and their nanny who states that their father would disapprove of them owning a stray dog. Central plot regards the kidnapping of Benji's young friends and his frantic pursuit to find help. Structure is repetitious but the deserted mansion takes an ominous appeal. Skillfully directed by Joe Camp who demonstrates a point of view from the dog itself. Patsy Garrett holds her own as the nanny whose advice is genuine and will heed Benji in crucial time. Peter Breck as the father of the children does little more than go to work and disapprove of a dog. The criminals are also wooden and one wonders why they would risk kidnapping the children to begin with. They prove early that they're not too swift. Deborah Walley as the lone female of the group sympathizes with the children and will be the weak point for Benji. Perhaps too intense for young children the film showcases the intelligence of one little dog. Score: 6 ½ / 10

kai ringler One of my all time favorite dog movies,, and I have quite a few dog movies in my collection,, Benji doesn't have a home, and he has places that he goes everyday on his route, but most especially he always stops by this house that has a couple of kids,, they play with him,, feed him and all of that,, well later in the movie , the poor children get kidnapped, and now it's up to Benji to find out where these little children have gotten off to. Meanwhile the parents and the police conduct their own search, and canvas the neighborhood, this movie is very heartwarming and not to be missed, don't wanna say much more abuot the movie as not to give anything good away,, but there is one scene with some peanut butter cups, that is just hilarious and not to miss,, all animal lovers this is a must have in you're collection.

Poseidon-3 One of the cinema's all-time favorite pooches made his big screen debut here in what began as a low-budget kiddie flick, but turned into an almost global sensation. Higgins the Dog (hereafter referred to as Benji), a shelter rescue who had made a few appearances on the Paul Henning sitcoms "Green Acres" and particularly "Petticoat Junction", stars here as a lovable stray who spends every day of his life traipsing from location to location. Each morning begins at Breck's house (unbeknownst to Breck!) where he gets his breakfast from the friendly housekeeper Garrett and receives affection from Breck's two children Fiuzat and Smith. Then it's off to the park for a visit with policeman Carter (and a little snack.) Following a daily scuffle with Bavier's white cat, he stops by the local café for a bone from friendly proprietor Buchanan (who Benji worked with on "Petticoat Junction".) Each day ends with a trip back to his "home", an abandoned, antique-filled estate where he keeps a makeshift bed behind an old chest. Life is great. He even meets a girlfriend in the fluffy and white Tiffany! One day, however, Benji is thrown for a loop when a quartet of troublemakers comes into his house and decides to use it as a base of operations for their upcoming criminal scheme. It's up to Benji to put these folks out of business which is no easy feat when he can't talk and no one seems interested in following him. To say that the leading canine is charming and adorable is an understatement. Somehow, his trainer has managed to capture an array of remarkable expressions and movements from him and he is perfectly captivating. Today, films featuring animals usually take the easy way out and use computer animation to achieve various looks and stunts. Not here. This is a real dog making real moments happen. It's no wonder Benji was a sensation after this. Despite the use of minor TV actors in virtually every other role, very few of the humans in the film make any sort of impact. Garrett probably has the largest role and she's not bad. Like most of the rest of the cast, she's hampered by some very obvious looping in post-production, perhaps due to extraneous noise while shooting on location. The children are very awkwardly amateurish, particularly Fiuzat. Breck has little to do and does it without a lot of conviction. Buchanan is rather charming in his lackadaisical way, Carter is likable enough and Bavier does an excellent job with her minor role. Granted, the script is hardly top-notch, but as the three (young?) men of the bad guys, Lester, Connelly and Slade are embarrassingly bad. The direction does them no favors either. Special scorn, however, must go to the truly hideous bit of "acting" turned in by Walley as the gang's lone female. She is atrocious; never more so than when she tries to avoid being uncovered by Benji near the films end. During the bulk of the film, there is a leisurely pace that may not sit well with viewers used to more frenetic editing and action. However, no one can deny the innate charm of the little four-legged star (and, to a lesser extent, his furry leading lady!) Dog-lovers will take him to heart, no matter the less-than-stellar production values.

SurpriseIIIIIIIme Full marks to Joe Camp for making such a beautiful film!.... Its all too easy for the dog lovers to absolutely fall in love with the movie, and Benji.....but this movie will always have the ability to change people from dog haters to dog lovers .... Benji is absolutely fabulous in this rendition of a street dog who has a certain way of living with with the people in the city.What changes things is the kidnapping of Benji's human friends. But what is beautiful about the movie is that without using the crutches of special effects (read - talking animals), the expressiveness of Benji in various stages of the movie with just the barking to help is fabulous..... he falls in love (with another beauty of a pooch)...questions using his eyes, flaps his ear to express doubt, rolls on the grass to impress Tiffany (the pooch!)... the works!!! ...Benji impresses!... and how...!... It doesn't take too much to know that the acting abilities of the humans in the movie aren't too much to talk about. But maybe that just enhances Benji's talent....You would fall in love with BEnji and have tears flowing down your cheeks when they do the close-up on his sad eyes....Yes, I am a dog lover.... but Benji .. he is the love of my life!