Höllenengel und Company

Largely forgotten now, this movie was viewed by a lot of people in the 1970s. Parents saw it, mainly for Ann Margeret, in movie theaters during its 1st run, older kids caught it, mainly for Joe Namath, during its drive-in run and all us youngsters saw it when it made it's way to TV in the mid-1970s. I remember it fondly.

A product of a by gone era, it's really not as bad as some have made it out to be. Worth it for the novelty of Joe Namath and the 1970s cheese factor alone. Broadway Joe isn't really half bad because he did have tremendous charisma and a screen presence which somewhat compensates for his lack of acting chops. Plus as his adversary, we have quintessential 1970s bad guy, William Smith (the unforgettable Falconetti from Rich Man, Poor Man mini series or bad-ass Jack Wilson in Clint Eastwood's Any Which Way You Can) who turns in a fine performance. Throw in Sid Haig, Crispin Glover's father Bruce (of Diamond's Are Forever fame) and a delightfully campy performance from Teda Bracci and you have a pretty memorable Biker gang.

I wonder if Ann Margret and her husband originally thought of Elvis for the title role because this film is similar to many of his mid-sixties on screen personas (misunderstood rebel woos wary girl, defeats opposition in race at end). Fortunately for Elvis, his career, unlike Miss Margret's at the time, had just been spectacularly reignited with his TV Comeback Special and Vegas headlining. Anyway, Ann always possessed a great screen presence of her own; enough, along with all the outdoor scenery, to keep the viewer interested.

I think if you take this movie for what it is, a mindless artifact of late 1960s/early 1970s culture starring one of that era's biggest icons, you won't regret having spent 90 mins. watching it on a dreary Saturday afternoon.

Attempting to parlay athletic success into movie stardom is fairly common. Namath is likeable, but his acting talent was nil. I saw this when it came out theatrically, and I also remember William Smith being a very nasty bad guy, and Ann Margaret's nude sex scene with Namath.

As far as low budget biker films go, "C.C. and Company" definitely makes enjoyable viewing for a number of reasons. Of course, the main reason is Joe Namath, who fumbles (bad pun), stumbles and basically sleep walks (I guess he simply cannot act) through this abomination of the "so bad it's good" variety. Watching Joe in this film now is rather funny, because you wonder what he was thinking in even signing to do this movie, hoping to have some sort of film career.

Of course there is also Ann-Margaret, who is very good looking, but she isn't much in the acting department either. Actually it's safe to say that the two big names in this flick are the film's worst actors, and you can almost fall asleep in the scenes where it's just Joe and Ann. Everyone else, dare I say, seems to be having a lot more fun making this movie, especially the leader of The Heads, Joe's biker gang. He's the most fun to watch, especially when he's mad at 'ol Joe for not giving all his money into the biker "pot."

There's some good bike action, especially the final showdown between Joe and the Heads' leader on a track. Tons of cheesy scenes abound, but it's all a lot of fun. It's funny how in almost all these old biker films, many of the bikers are of the "goofy" type, and do things like carry each other in their arms. Even the big chair the leader gets to sit in looks funny. Many of the biker girls are pretty, especially when they go out on the road to "earn" some cash for the gang's money pot.

It was especially good to see this film in it's original "R" rated uncut form, after a bunch of times watching as a kid on TV in the 70's.

I found "C.C. and Company" on a DVD with two other 1971 biker flicks, "Evel Knievel" and "Angels Hard As They Come" (Gary Busey's first flick) for less than ten dollars, talk about a great bargain! The DVD was called "Classic Biker Movies" and is a definitely great deal. Even the quality was pretty decent.

I wonder how 'ol Joe feels about this flick now. No doubt he'd probably be up for a sequel!

Although Ann-Margret is gorgeous as always, Joe Namath cannot carry a suitcase, let alone a movie. I loved him as a quarterback, ...BUT, except for his horrendous performance in NORWOOD with Glen Campbell, he just doesn't have it. Thank God, William Smith (fine actor) has plenty of scenes with Joe and Ann-Margret.

A 4 out of 10. Best performance = Mr. Smith. Exchanging furtive glances, Mr. Namath and Ann simply look foolish, although there are great location shots..I believe in the Southwest. Pure exploitation but just not enough fun, skin, plot, or talent. Ann has a great hairstyle though in 1970!

While Joe Namath was likeable in his role, William Smith, who made a living mostly playing "bad guys" in many B pictures, gave the best performance in this movie. Smith looked like a biker, unlike Namath. He was nasty, grizzled, and mean. Just what you would expect from a "Hells Angel." With an R rating it would have been nice to see a little more skin (especially on a young Ann Margret) but the movie is worth seeing anyway.