The Choppers

. . . which isn't saying much, as besides this and the excellent "The Sadist," Fairway's output was nothing but Grade-Z trash. There are several factors, however, that raise this a notch or two above the usual Fairway garbage. One is that director Leigh Jason makes this film look better and more professional than it deserves. Jason, a Hollywood veteran who had been directing since the 1930s, had obviously fallen on hard times if he was reduced to working for Fairway, but he still knew how to put a film together, something that Fairway never seemed to quite get the hang of. Another factor in the film's favor is leading lady Marianne Gaba. While she's no great shakes as an actress, she is nonetheless competent, and also drop-dead gorgeous (as one would expect a former Playboy Playmate to be) and a welcome relief from the embarrassing attempts at acting from most of the rest of the cast (one odd thing, though, is her "romance" with Tom Brown, who plays her boss. Brown, who had been an actor since the 1920s, has to be at least 25 years older than Gaba, and that kind of age difference was seldom, if ever, seen in Hollywood films until relatively recently). Veteran heavy Bruno VeSota is his usual enjoyable if somewhat hammy self as the crooked owner of a junkyard. Whatever pluses the film has, however, are more than outweighed by the laughable, self-consciously "hip" dialog by writer/producer Arch Hall Sr.--some of the "slang" he writes for the teenagers is out of the 1940s, not the 1960s--and the almost non-existent production values. Most of the film is shot outdoors and the few interior sets are threadbare in the extreme. The "rock n' roll" score is, as has been previously mentioned, perversely enjoyable in its awfulness. A few neat old cars--especially an absolutely gorgeous '59 Cadillac convertible that is seen in the very beginning of the film and never shown again and a very nice early '50s Kaiser that is, unfortunately, stripped to the bones and trashed--and the beautiful Gaba make this a film that you might want to see once, but that's about it.

This movie essentially begins with five young men who turn to a life of crime by stripping cars which they find along the road and selling the parts to an auto salvage yard. Although they are quite good at what they do the problem is that they soon become a public menace and rather than laying low for a month or two they continue on at the same rate even though the police are getting closer to discovering who they are with each passing job. Now rather than reveal any more of this movie and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this film was quite typical for its time and probably won't appeal to everyone. In that regard I suppose it's an acquired taste. The acting was adequate for the most part with the most annoying detail being the slang dialogue which just never seemed to stop. Even so, the plot was still interesting and the presence of Marianne Gaba (as "Liz") certainly didn't hurt this film in any way either. Again, some people may not like this movie for various reasons but I didn't think it was too bad and as a result I have rated it as about average.

A delicious little JD film about kids who strip cars for parts. Yes, our youth has gone wild! But what's up with that song Arch Hall Jr. sings? "Monkeys in my hat band. I can do a hand stand" Poetic genius.

Would you believe that a life of stealing parts off cars can lead to a violent death? Lives are thrown by the way side in a climatic shoot out in the junk yard. And who's to blame? The parents.

For a movie that rhymes "Monkeys in my Hatband" with "I can do a handstand" for the lead character's big song, this movie was pretty good.

It's a movie with a moral that if parents don't look out for their kids they will start stealing car parts and shoot a bunch of cops. Does anybody know what he meant by "Monkeys in my hatband"?

I don't get it. Perhaps watching this movie on the roof of a supermarket in center city Philadelphia made it a bit more entertaining.

I hope that Arch Hall Jr. is one day recognized as the genius he is.

The Choppers is a fun hour filled B movie of youth gone wrong genre. Led by Cruiser (Arch Hall Jr), it's fun seeing how the gang operates. Man, dig that huge cell phone! Plus, see Arch in his hot rod tapping to the beat of his own song playing on the radio! Another shameless plug from Arch Hall Sr. who reminds me of the poor man's Walt Disney. Bruno VeSota, one of my favorite B actors, is great as Moose: the stubbly junkyard owner who smokes a stogie, is involved in shady deals, and takes a nap now and then. And what's up with Cowboy and his ballad "Entertain your lawyers"? For more laughs, watch Gypsy's face during the chase scene (she's got a great scream!). There's even a corny moral thrown in thanks to Torch's drunk Pop. The stereotypical 50s/60s B movie drunk is always a hoot to watch.

With a lot of slang and teen lingo and Conga Joe (hee hee ha!), it's fun to look back at deviance of yesteryear in this not wholly serious, yet entertaining flick.