This is arguably the quintessential exploitation film that doesn't rely on a mainstream story to fulfill the audiences and instead gives a sordid and narcissistic look at a wild gang of bikers. Story is about the leader of the Venice Hell's Angels named Heavenly Blues (Peter Fonda) who tells his biker pal Loser (Bruce Dern) that they might have found his stolen chopper in a nearby town called Mecca. They and the other members go there and confront the Mexican gang that are responsible and a big brawl erupts that brings the cops but everyone runs off except Loser who steals a cops motorcycle. During a chase on the highway Loser gets shot in the back and is caught by the police who put him in a hospital in critical condition.
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
The Hell's Angels read about Loser in the paper and Blues decides to get him out with the help of his girlfriend Mike (Nancy Sinatra) and after they sneak him out they take him back to his girl Gaysh (Diane Ladd). Everyone watches Loser bleed to death and since the police are looking for them they decide to have a funeral in a small town where they won't be found but at the funeral the Hell's Angels assault the preacher and start a wild drunken orgy.
This was one of the last times that Roger Corman directed a film for a long time and it was because of the way that the distributor wanted to promote his film so after this he started his own company. This is so much more than an exploitation flick and Corman pulls no punches with this story as every character seems to lack any type of integrity. Fonda's character is the leader but he's such a brooder that most of the time he seems annoyed by everyone and that includes his girlfriend. The gang here is portrayed ruthlessly and during the funeral while Ladd is weeping over the body of Dern a few members grab her and rape her behind the coffin! Then when they're done they wave over some others so that they can have a chance. This gang has emblems such as iron crosses and swastikas adorned on them and they yell about just being left alone to do what they want and not be hassled by "The Man". Corman allows the film to end without any message as the characters are involved in another brawl and he doesn't want to showcase these bikers as lost youth or some such nonsense but instead chooses to make a film that will exploit them and also scare audiences. One of the interesting things about these films from the 1960's is to see what certain cities looked like back then such as Palm Springs and Venice with the canals before the condos were built. Other known actors have small roles such as Michael J. Pollard, Norman Alden, Frank Maxwell, and of course Dick Miller. In his own way Corman changed the way films were to be made and not just in an exploitation manner but with showing characters as anti-social and rebellious and omitting the usual message that they supposedly learn from. This probably sounds like a horrid film with nothing to say but I think it's fascinating to watch for the same reasons and in it's own disruptive way it captures a specific time in our country that was taking place.
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
The Hell's Angels read about Loser in the paper and Blues decides to get him out with the help of his girlfriend Mike (Nancy Sinatra) and after they sneak him out they take him back to his girl Gaysh (Diane Ladd). Everyone watches Loser bleed to death and since the police are looking for them they decide to have a funeral in a small town where they won't be found but at the funeral the Hell's Angels assault the preacher and start a wild drunken orgy.
This was one of the last times that Roger Corman directed a film for a long time and it was because of the way that the distributor wanted to promote his film so after this he started his own company. This is so much more than an exploitation flick and Corman pulls no punches with this story as every character seems to lack any type of integrity. Fonda's character is the leader but he's such a brooder that most of the time he seems annoyed by everyone and that includes his girlfriend. The gang here is portrayed ruthlessly and during the funeral while Ladd is weeping over the body of Dern a few members grab her and rape her behind the coffin! Then when they're done they wave over some others so that they can have a chance. This gang has emblems such as iron crosses and swastikas adorned on them and they yell about just being left alone to do what they want and not be hassled by "The Man". Corman allows the film to end without any message as the characters are involved in another brawl and he doesn't want to showcase these bikers as lost youth or some such nonsense but instead chooses to make a film that will exploit them and also scare audiences. One of the interesting things about these films from the 1960's is to see what certain cities looked like back then such as Palm Springs and Venice with the canals before the condos were built. Other known actors have small roles such as Michael J. Pollard, Norman Alden, Frank Maxwell, and of course Dick Miller. In his own way Corman changed the way films were to be made and not just in an exploitation manner but with showing characters as anti-social and rebellious and omitting the usual message that they supposedly learn from. This probably sounds like a horrid film with nothing to say but I think it's fascinating to watch for the same reasons and in it's own disruptive way it captures a specific time in our country that was taking place.