The Wild Angels

Hard to believe that this film went up against The Battle of Algiers at the Venice Film Festival in 1966. Roger Corman is responsible for starting the biker flicks phenomenon with this film.

Peter Fonda is the essence of coo as he performs a role that he made even more popular in Easy Riders three years later.

He is accompanied by Nancy Sinatra as Monkey, Michael J. Pollard as Pigmy, and Bruce Dern as Loser; along with three time Oscar nominee, and Golden Globe and BAFTA winner, Diane Ladd in her first credited movie role.

Radical scene in the church where Fonda debated the preacher (played by Frank Maxwell, Det. Lt. McAllen in one of my favorite films, Mr. Majestyk).

Exciting action, but missing the gratuitous bits featured in other biker films. PG at best.

This film had it all; sex, drugs and rock and roll. This is the trademark of all of Corman's films. Another trademark with this type of film is the fact that he, and other low-budget directors, rely on the children of Hollywood legends (Peter Fonda, Nancy Sinatra) to attract an audience. This is an okay film, and the Peter Bogdanovich's script is pretty decent. The only thing though is that it relied too much on the action to carry the story. Also, the women in this film are mainly used as window dressing. In fact, I don't think Nancy Sinatra had more than ten lines of dialogue in the whole picture. At least Dianne Ladd had more to say. However, the thing I loved the most about the film is the score, which was one of the first examples of what would become heavy metal.

That's what it seemed like ''way back in 1966. Producer Roger Corman set out to make a film based on the notorious California-Based ''Hell's Angels'' motorcycle gang, having seen a cover story about them in Life Magazine.Legendary ''B'' movie studio, American International Pictures was just as anxious to jump on the ''Biker Bandwagon'' (they eventually produced or distributed eleven more films on this subject) and gave the OK to Corman. Though George Chakiris (''West Side Story'' Oscar Winner) was originally cast in the lead role, it was Peter Fonda who ended up playing the part. Playing his ''Old Lady'' was Nancy Sinatra, who was then riding high with her hit single ''These Boots Are Made For Walkin'.Bruce Dern played ''The Loser'' the part originally intended for Fonda, and Dern's then wife Diane Ladd portrayed his on-screen spouse. There were a few familiar faces among the supporting actors as well, including Gayle Hunnicutt, in an early appearance, and Assistant Director Peter Bogdonavich, who is glimpsed in the climactic brawl,as is Corman himself. The story itself is really just a loosely connected series of incidents which allow the viewer to follow the ''Angel's'' exploits as if they were viewing a Documentary about the gang. Since ''The Wild One''aside, this was the film that started the whole ''Cycle'' cycle, it's not surprising that it has a very experimental feel to it.The location photography is excellent, and belies the brief three week shooting schedule, while the musical score written by future AIP Biker music stalwart (and future Lieutenant Governor) Mike Curb, is dynamic and fits the visuals like a glove. The same goes for the group (''Davie Allan And The Arrows'') who perform it. In fact ''Blues Theme'' was a hit single for the group, and the Soundtrack Album proved so popular that a second volume was released. Both records, in fact, started the ''Motorcycle Soundtrack'' craze, most of which were released on Curb's ''Tower/Sidewalk'' labels, a Capitol Records affiliate during the 60's. The actors themselves are not given much opportunity to spread their wings and fly, so to speak, but, under the circumstances, they do all right. Dern is especially convincing as ''The Loser'' and Ladd evokes the sympathy her character calls for. Fonda is a bit weak as ''Heavenly Blues'' the leader, but Sinatra makes a pretty tough ''Momma'' and though her natural beauty is downplayed, she is still very easy on the eyes.Upon it's release, the low-budget film proved enormously popular (AIP'S biggest hit so far) and convinced them to launch a whole series of ''Protest'' films. (A wise decision on their part, because they kept the studio in the profit margin for years to come). The Biker genre would have it's share of hits and misses, and, thanks to a few Poverty-Row, independent productions like ''The Hellcats'' ''The Rebel Rousers'' and ''The Cycle Savages'' (starring Dern) all of which made this one seem fairly lavish by comparison, it had petered out by the early seventies. Nevertheless, ''The Wild Angels'' and a few successors like ''Devil's Angels'' and ''Born Losers'' (both released in 1967) remain among the most popular''B'' films of their era.

"Wild Angels" was the first of the American International biker pictures, which were a drive-in staple of the late 60's and early 70's. Coming almost a generation after "The Wild Ones" these films were enjoyed by anyone who enjoyed a beer-assisted drive-in fantasy about being an outlaw biker for a few hours (they usually played as double features). It was a big game of lets pretend.

And like "Wild In the Streets" much of the appeal was the fear and disgust these things elicited from parents; as they were the only ones who actually took any of the stuff seriously. Many a Peter Fonda poster from "Wild Angels" went up on bedroom walls as parents pondered where they had gone wrong.

The gang in "Wild Angels" did not wear Hells Angels colors, they were "Angels-San Pedro" although some Hells Angels from the Long Beach chapter actually appeared in the film. AI's biker films had very colorful titles and often mentioned Hell or Angels in the title: "Devils Angels", "The Born Losers", "The Savage Seven", "The Mini-Skirt Mob", "Angels from Hell", "Hells Angels 69", "Hells Belles", and "The Hard Ride".

"Wild Angels" was ground-breaking stuff when it was released and featured more Nazi stuff than the later films because once the surfers adopted the Iron Cross it was no longer cool. It broke the outrage meter with its finale as the funeral for The Loser (Bruce Dern) turned into a gang-bang of his widow (Diane Ladd), the destruction of the chapel, the assault of the minister, the abuse of the corpse, and a rumble with the outraged townspeople. And throw in some drug use.

Roger Corman's direction is his most active ever, and the editing by Monte Hellman keeps the pace moving along. You don't notice until it is over that very little actually happened. Fonda is super cool and Nancy Sinatra is unintentionally hilarious. Michael J. Pollard and Gayle Hunnicutt are instantly recognizable in supporting roles. Mike Curb's score is high-lighted by Davie Allan and the Arrows' hit "Blues' Theme."

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

I first saw this show in '66 when I was a cycle rider myself. I liked it so much that I went to see it twice. Even liked the music. After watching it again over 30 years later, I have to ask myself just what it was that I found so appealing about the film. It was corny, overacted, sometimes badly acted, and it had a juvenile storyline. I guess what I liked about it back then was all the motorcycles. Good to see that Peter Fonda has improved with age.