Motorcycle Gang

This movie is hilarious, though I don't think it was intended to be. The character of Speed comes up with some very amusing slang terms that act as some comic relief. The motorcycle scenes are fun and energetic. I would watch this movie again for the camp value, but not because it is a great movie.

John Ashley returns to town after a stay in prison, and he's angry, man. During his absence, his motorcycle gang has turned into a club, with rules and a police advisor in Russ Bender. Top man is goody-goody Steven Terrell, with hot chick Anne Neyland. Ashley can't make the club, but he can challenge Terrell, both for bravery and Miss Neyland; she has a wild streak, as even her uncle, Raymond Hatton tells her. So what if his trick almost gets Terrell killed? He only meant it to slow him up (he says).

Director Edward L. Cahn does a lot of location shooting in this AIP-distributed production -- cheaper, I imagine -- and the script does have a point; people can have fun with marginally dangerous activities. Even if bad boys gotta be bad, girls don't really like the bad stuff. I suppose it kept the DAR from picketing the drive-ins. There's an exciting ending to it, as Terrell loses the race to help Bender against Ashley's gang of maniacs. Will they get there in time?

Pretty much a ripoff of "Dragstrip Girl," released a few months after that film, with the same director, writer, and unfortunately some of the original cast (John Ashley, Steve Terrell, Russ Bender). This is the first time I really noticed how much Ashley acts like a chicken. He moves his head and shoulders like he is pecking for food. Terrell's hair is lighter, so apparently we are supposed to be fooled into thinking he is another actor. No such luck. Unknown Anne Neyland replaces Fay Spain, which leads to no improvement in acting. Neyland looks like Tori Spelling, but with a better body. Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer is thrown in as Terrell's buddy - apparently Frank Gorshin was on assignment somewhere.

Terrell and Switzer are breezing down the street on their motorcycles, when Neyland and another chick (also on motorcycles) decide to play some games with them (see "Dragstrip Girl"). Break out the rear projection. The fuzz give chase, but the bikers easily blow them off. Neyland goes headfirst over her handlebars, then does not like the way Terrell resuscitates her. I smell a budding romance. About thirteen minutes into the film, Ashley shows up on his bike (I knew you were all waiting for this). Seems Terrell and Ashley had a falling out - leading to Ashley spending 15 months in stir, while Terrell was placed on probation. Now Ashley's back (and you're gonna be in trouble ...). It takes all of one minute or so for Ashley and Terrell to duke it out. Neyland can't decide which guy she likes more so she plays them both (see "Dragstrip Girl"). Meanwhile, Russ Bender, playing a cop (see "Dragstrip Girl") meets with the "motorcycle club" he has formed with Terrell; this, to keep the streets safe.

For most of the film, rigor mortis sets in. Nothing goes on, and the Terrell-Ashley-Newland triangle is pretty boring. The filmmakers bring in Jean Moorhead (Playmate of the Month, October, 1955) as another possible love interest, which makes this a rectangle. Moorhead looks good as long as she is not in shorts. Her thighs are bigger than Hulk Hogan's. This was one year after she starred in the trashfest "The Violent Years", and just slightly before she had a bit in "The Amazing Colossal Man" as the babe in the bathtub.

Eventually, Ashley challenges Terrell to a road race (see "Dragstrip Girl"), and manages to spew motor oil all over the place (British Petroleum was the technical advisor) so Terrell goes sliding off a bridge. Somehow, Terrell is unharmed - his acting ability is the only casualty. Now the big race is coming up (see "Dragstrip Girl"). In a switch, Ashley is not in this race. No, he and his three amigos are boozing it up and watching the proceedings, when they decide to have a little fun. So they go to a nearby town and terrorize the owner and patrons at a café. Oh, I'm sooooo scared. They are so tough. (Trivia fans take note; the short thin bald hostage is played by Paul Blaisdell, who designed many of the monsters in Roger Corman's epics, my favorite being the carrot on steroids from "It ConqueredThe World.") Cop Bender, who is monitoring the motorcycle race, gets the police broadcast of a problem at the café, so he stops the race, enlists the aid of Terrell and Switzer, and off they go. Apparently, it doesn't occur to Bender to call for more cops - he assumes a non-actor and a Little Rascal will suffice to quell the disturbance.

The climactic fight should have been exciting; instead, it's over in about a minute as the toughs quickly wimp out. Terrell scores with Neyland (see "Dragstrip Girl") and Switzer gets a pie in his face.

In what may be the only decent line of the film, old pro Raymond Hatton, as Neyland's uncle, says "Oh, it's a purty night. You smell that alfalfa?" Somehow "you smell that buckwheat" would not have gone over too well.

The biker films of the 1950s scared a lot of folks. After all, the leather-clad bikers were seen as both counter-culture AND flagrant law-breakers. However, when you see most of these films today (especially the seminal film, "The Wild One"), they seem incredibly tame and the bad behavior just seems a tad rude! For the biker movies that actually were seriously scary, these came in the late 60s and early 70s with films like "The Born Losers" and "Satan's Sadists" and "C.C. & Company". So it's not at all surprising that "Motorcycle Gang" is really square...it's from the first wave of films where the baddies should have been called "The Mild Ones"!

Nick was sent away for 15 months for some sort of criminal activity. When he returns, he's ready to kick butt and cause trouble. So he's really disappointed to find that the old gang have all become squares and joined a supervised and respectable bike club! He's out to make some changes...or possibly die trying! And, cute little Terry (Anne Neyland) isn't helping any when she suggests her boyfriend beat the snot out of Nick...but just be sure to do it when there are no witnesses around, since the boyfriend is on probation already!

All in all, a mildly tough and scary biker film...one that is entertaining but lacks sizzle.

A motorcycle enthusiast named "Randy" (Steven Terrell) is riding his motorbike with some friends one day and just happens to see two young women also riding on their motorcycles. He catches up to one named "Terry" (Anne Neland) and after eluding the police for speeding, asks her out on a date. Although she accepts another event happens just prior to that in which an old colleague named "Nick Rogers" (John Ashley) arrives and engages in a fist fight with Randy because he blames Randy for his recent incarceration in prison. At any rate, Nick is determined to undermine Randy's leading role in a motorcycle club and in order to do that continually challenges him to an illegal race to prove that he is the best biker in town. If that wasn't bad enough, Terry pours gasoline on the flames by dating both men and constantly prodding Randy to go through with the race even though it carries a stiff penalty for him if he is caught. Now rather than reveal any more of this film and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this was one of the earliest biker movies every produced and so it carries a certain amount of novelty with it. Unfortunately, it has some weaknesses which are very hard to overlook with the biggest two being the corny humor and awful slang used throughout the film. It definitely made the film seem somewhat outdated to say the least. In summation, this movie is worth a look if a person enjoys biker films or movies produced during the 50's. But that's about it. In any case, I rate it as slightly below average.