C.C. & Company

C.C. Ryder (Joe Namath), a motorcycle mechanic, is a somewhat reluctant member of an outlaw biker gang known as The Head. By accident, he meets a fashion photographer, Ann McCalley (Ann-Margret), and saves her from the other members of his gang. C.C. falls for Ann, but realizes he'll have to leave the gang if he is to win her over. C.C. enters and wins a dirt bike race, giving him the funds he needs to strike out on his own and pursue Ann. But gang leader Moon (William Smith) doesn't see it that way. He wants C.C.'s money for his own and goes after Ann to prove his point. C.C. will have to defeat Moon if he is to be free of The Head.

Given its relatively poor online reputation, I'm as shocked as anyone by how much I enjoyed C.C. and Company. The movie just clicked with me and worked quite nicely. Director Seymour Robbie may have been mainly a television director, but I felt he handled this transition to film very professionally. C.C. and Company is well-paced with plenty of sight gags and fight scenes that work as intended. For example, the scene where C.C. steals the dirt bike is really cleverly handled. The shot of him towing the dirt bike behind his chopper was a real kick. As for fight scenes, the fight between C.C. and Moon in the creek is really well choreographed and filmed. It's a solid action piece. Robbie also manages to throw in some menacing set-pieces, none more so than the kidnap of Ann. Again, nicely done.

The acting in C.C. and Company is also a highlight. I wasn't expecting much from Namath, but he gives a reasonably competent performance. In a lot of scenes he's not asked to do much more than sit on his bike and smile, but when challenged, he's more than capable. Ann-Margret is Ann-Margret and gives the performance you expect. The chemistry she had with Namath seemed natural and easy. The real star for me, however, is William Smith. He plays Moon as a hulking, menacing presence capable of snapping at a moment's notice. He's always struck me as a wonderful actor and, here, he really gets a chance to shine.

As I said near the start of this, I enjoyed C.C. and Company more than most. I was entertained throughout and that's all I ask of a film. A solid 7/10 from me.

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!

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.

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!

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.