Benji represents director-producer-writer Joe Camp’s first feature film. As noted in a 30 Jan 1975 DV article, Camp’s previous career in advertising lead to the establishment in 1971 of his Dallas, Texas based company, Mulberry Square Productions, which initially produced only television commercials. Camp told DV that film industry “experts” warned him against making a G-rated feature because they questioned the marketability of family films and argued that Walt Disney Productions had monopolized the genre. In a NYT article on 31 Aug 1975, Camp said that there was such unwillingness on the part of major studios to back a G-rated feature that one company even requested that he add “cuss words” to the script so they could change the rating to PG.
       Hollywood studios were also skeptical about how well a dog actor in a live-action role could carry the plot, according to DV. In a 14 May 1973 Box news item, Camp announced that Benji would represent the first “live-action dramatic picture [shot] totally from an animal’s point of view.” Noting his inspiration from Disney, “the only major production company that stands for anything,” Camp told Box that Benji was different because the Disney films that were told from the point of view of animals were all animated. As reported in various contemporary sources, including Box, Films and Filming in Jun 1976 and DV on 11 Nov 1974, the film’s camera angles were shot entirely from “Benji’s” point of view, four to eighteen inches from the ground. Mulberry Square Productions fabricated custom camera support equipment, including tripods and dollies, because they were not available commercially.
       Despite offers from three unnamed distributors, Camp decided to use his experience in advertising to market the film, himself, according to DV on 30 Jan 1975. Camp speculated that the studios’ lack of interest in G-rated features would result in ineffective campaigns. A 27 Mar 1974 DV news item announced that Mulberry Square Productions formed its own distribution company, Mulberry Square Releasing, Inc., which was established to handle the release of Benji. Terry McIntyre, who had previously worked at United Artists and K-Tel International, was named as head of the company. On 29 Apr 1974, HR reported that Mulberry Square Productions had signed a deal with a subsidiary of the American Broadcasting Company, ABC Merchandising, for product licensing and merchandise distribution.
       According to studio production notes from AMPAS library files, Camp found investors for Benji even before he wrote the script. He sold most of the stock in the film to individuals who had never before invested in a film production on a “confidence-in-our-capability-basis” and a nine-page treatment. As discussed in various contemporary sources, including Box, on 6 Jan 1975, and NYT, on 31 Aug 1975, Camp’s conviction that he could market a G-rated family film to a widespread audience was not unfounded. After a world premiere in Dallas, TX on 22 May 1974 at the NorthPark Cinema, the film’s test run in the South and Mid-West grossed $5 million over several months, according to Var on 30 Jul 1975. A nationwide release in the summer of 1975 and its highly successful marketing campaign brought the film’s total earnings up to $31.5 million, as reported in a 26 May 1981 Var news item, making it the highest grossing family feature film of the year. NYT stated that the film, which cost $500,000 to produce, was expected “to yield a 625 to 850 per cent return on investment to its backers.”
       As reported in Box on 6 Jan 1975, promotions for the second release of the film included a television advertising campaign, special screenings for schools, and a personal appearance tour with Higgins, the dog actor who performed the role of “Benji,” his trainer, Frank Inn and Camp. The film’s soundtrack on Epic Records was widely marketed and the film was advertised through a product tie-in with a major dog food company. ABC Merchandising was expanding Benji marketing with numerous products such as T-shirts, lunchboxes, stuffed animals and a paperback novelization published by Pyramid Publishing Co. According to Box on 26 May 1975, the book had already gone into a second printing with over one million copies ordered. Higgins made many appearances on television shows, including the Mike Douglas Show and the Dinah Shore Show. Mulberry Square Productions sponsored a “Benji” look-alike contest at theaters, where the winner was awarded a trip to Frank Inn’s Sun Valley, CA animal ranch. Benji products were sold in the lobbies of theatres nationwide.
       While booking theatres for the second run of the film, Mulberry Square Releasing had difficulty finding exhibitors in New York City due to its G-rating, according to Var on 30 Jul 1975. In their effort to promote confidence, Mulberry Square paid $14,000 for a full-page advertisement in NYT announcing that Benji was coming soon to New York, even though no theatres had committed to show the picture. As reported in NYT and Var, the Guild Theatre in Rockerfeller Plaza took a chance on Benji and found that the film broke box-office sales records. According to NYT, 65% of the theatre’s ticket sales were to adults, which was highly unusual for a G-rated film.
       Although venues such as the Guild wanted to continue an extended run of the film, Mulberry Square Productions announced as part of its advertising campaign that Benji would be put on a seven-year moratorium after October 1975. According to HR on 22 Jul 1975, Camp admitted that this tactic was inspired by Disney’s marketing strategies. The article reported that Camp was unreceptive to offers from ABC, Twentieth Century-Fox and Universal Television for Benji showcases, spinoffs and series. On 22 Feb 1978, however, HR stated that two television specials were planned for that year on ABC, The Phenomenon of Benji and Benji’s Very Own Christmas Story. The announcement of the shows coincided with an expansion of Benji merchandise that included games, books, costumes and greeting cards. Several other television specials were produced for ABC and CBS, including Benji at Work (1980), Benji at Marineland (1981) and Benji, Zax & the Alien Prince (1983).
       While Camp sought to emulate Disney productions, the success of Benji turned Mulberry Square into a Disney competitor. As discussed in HR on 18 Jul 1975, Benji consistently outgrossed both of Disney’s feature film offerings in 1975, One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing (1975, see entry) and the reissue of Bambi (1942, see entry). The article noted that the favoritism usually shown to Disney by exhibitors was waning and theatres such as Philadelphia’s General Cinema dropped its policy of never showing another family film back to back with a Disney production. According to Camp, this was the first time in recent history that two G-rated pictures were played simultaneously because Disney had stipulated against this practice in their distribution terms.
       According to the Box review on 9 Sep 1974, the film was shot in Denton and McKinney, Texas. HR production charts on 20 Jul 1973 reported that principal photography began on 9 Jul 1973 in Dallas and McKinney.
       In its 19 Nov 1974 review, LAT mentions that Higgins, the fifteen year-old dog who performed the role of “Benji,” was rescued from an animal shelter in Burbank, CA by his renowned trainer, Frank Inn. Higgins was a regular performer on the television series Green Acres and Petticoat Junction. He was fourteen years old when he starred in Benji. The film marked his first and final performance in a theatrical film, as he died on 11 Nov 1975. While the film received mixed, but generally positive reviews, Higgins was upheld by various publications, including Var and HR, both on 13 Nov 1974, as the strongest and most interesting character. As reported in LAHExam on 11 Jun 1975, Higgins won a “Best in Pictures” award at the American Humane Association’s 25th PATSY awards. Higgins was not credited onscreen.
       Despite the death of Higgins, Camp went on the produce three Benji sequels; For the Love of Benji (1977, see entry), Benji the Hunted (1987, see entry) and Benji: Off the Leash! (2004, see entry). Although For the Love of Benji and Benji: Off the Leash! were produced and released by Mulberry Square, Benji the Hunted was released by Disney. Higgins’s daughter, Benjean, took over the role of Benji in the first two sequels.
       Benji was nominated for an Academy Award in the category of Music (Song) for “Benji’s Theme (I Feel Love),” music by Euel Box and lyrics by Betty Box. The film won the Golden Globe award for Best Original Song.