Die teuflischen Engel

With the death of Casey Kasem having occurred about a week ago, I decided to check out some of his films on the internet starting with this one-his first live-action appearance playing a character and one he was associate producer on. He plays a member of a motorcycle gang named Mouth and while his beard didn't make it easy to recognize him, his voice was unmistakably his! Dennis Hopper is the leader of this gang who kidnaps a girlfriend (Chris Noel) of a rival gang member left for dead. Jody McCrea-son of legendary star Joel McCrea-is that rival gang member. Another Hollywood son that appears is Lindsay Crosby-offspring of Bing. He eventually killed himself in 1989. This movie was quite cheezy and cringe-inducing, especially whenever Ms. Noel nearly gets raped, but never boring, that's for sure! Oh, and Ms. Noel wasn't the only gorgeous blonde here, get a load of Astrid Warner when she strips to her bikini! As for Kasem, he's quite amusing whenever his familiar voice says such unintelligible lines! So on that note, The Glory Stompers is worth a look.

The Glory Stompers is vintage AIP fare, which isn't to say necessarily it's one of the best from the company. But it is an example of what a hardcore genre biker flick from the period was like (sans a few of the extra hippies that dipped in and out of some of the others), with a straight laced biker's girl getting kidnapped by Chico (a usually crazed and drugged up Dennis Hopper, somehow turning in a good performance) and his gang the Black Souls. The girl keeps on trying to escape, and as well gets tortured sexually here and there, while Darryl, her beau, is still on the trail of the gang with an ex-Black Souls member (or is it the Glory Stompers, I keep forgetting, who cares exactly).

It's a lot of rowdy fun for a late night, and there's even an exuberance to some of the scenes where the director Anthony M. Lanza and his cameraman go in like it's half a documentary on the proceedings. The budget was probably so low this was the only way to do it, to get right up into the action like gangbusters and gather what they could to move on. There's at times some tension created too, like when Chris (played by Chris Noel) uses as her bait the one sympathetic biker who seems like a genuine OK dude - not a good idea if there's a crowbar nearby (music cues)! The Glory Stompers is unmistakably dated, but in the context it was made it's no bad shakes when compared to something atrocious like the Hellcats. This is some quality, near "classic" trash, the kind you rub off with your arm to reveal some sharp elbow grease amid some hard rocking, conventional times with the boys from AIP.

Rebel motorcycle gangs love to ride, and ride hard, but there are three other facets that they like: (1) drink, (2) party orgy-like, and (3) wreck things. In this film they don't wreck much, but they do the others well. If you want to see them wreck things, see "Devil's Angels" (1968). Produced for the independent American International Pictures (AIP), "The Glory Stompers" followed the success of the " The Wild Angels" (1966). "The Glory Stompers" cost $100,000 to make, but grossed more than thirty times that much. Now that's a successful production!

A rival gang of the Stompers, the Black Souls led by the unbalanced Chino (Dennis Hopper), kidnap blonde Chris (Chris Noel), girlfriend of Darryl (Jody McCrea), leader of the Stompers. Darryl is badly beaten up and left for dead (never mind the silly details), but somehow has amazing recovery powers. It's up to him and two pals, ex-member Smiley (Jock Mahoney) and Pony (Gary Wood) to track down the bad guys and reclaim his chick. Will he succeed? And will Magoo (Robert Tessier) eventually rape Chris; he certainly tries hard?

Note that the gorgeous girl who strips and skinny-dips along the way is the alluring Doreen (Astrid Warner). Kudos rightfully belong the Mario Tossi for his enjoyable cinematography: See the great shots of the motorcyclists on the sand dunes. So there is some value after all.

"Darryl" (Jody McCrea) is a member of the motorcycle gang called the Glory Stompers. One day while walking with his girlfriend "Chris" (Chris Noel) he is severely beaten up by five members of a rival gang called the Black Souls. Believing that they killed him and not wanting any witnesses, the leader named "Chino" (Dennis Hopper) decides to forcibly take Chris with them to Mexico where she is to be sold into prostitution. What Chino doesn't know is that Darryl's wounds weren't nearly as critical as he initially thought and upon gaining consciousness Darryl is determined to catch up to the Black Souls and get Chris back one way or the other. Anyway, so much for the rather standard plot. As far as the overall movie was concerned, I will just say that it was okay as far as biker films go. Naturally, Dennis Hopper performed in his usual energetic manner which helped add a little life into some of the slower scenes. Likewise, Chris Noel--and to a lesser extent Astrid Warner (as "Doreen")--definitely added some nice scenery along the way as well. In any case, although I doubt anybody would consider this film to be that great, it wasn't that bad either and as a result I have rated it accordingly. Average.

If you can get passed the standard revenge plot, "The Glory Stompers" is considerably better than expected. A fuzz guitar soundtrack adds tremendously to the overall enjoyment. Recognizable talent early on is displayed by Dennis Hopper and a pre "chrome dome" Robert Tessier. Another big plus is the on location photography, with well shot riding sequences. Of course all the "hey man" stuff dates the film squarely in the 1960s, and the acting by those not named Hopper or Tessier is wooden. Best looked upon as a time capsule with a very familiar plot, "The Glory Stompers" is something to be watched occasionally, when one reminisces about motorcycles pre C.G.I.. - MERK