La guerre des anges

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.

"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.

Glory Stompers, The (1968)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

AIP biker film has Black Souls member Chino (Dennis Hopper) beating the pulp out of a Glory Stomper (Jody McCrea) and stealing his girlfriend (Chris Noel). They think the Glory Stomper is dead but he eventually comes seeking revenge. As far as biker flicks goes this one here certainly isn't at the top of the group but it's a decent entry. There are enough plot holes here that you might find yourself laughing when you're not suppose to. One such moment happens early on after they beat up McCrea. For whatever reason they think he's dead but they never check a for a pulse or anything else. This here is why he's able to come after them as they didn't finish the job or even check to see if they did. Another such moment is when Hopper tells everyone that they'll never find the biker's body because they hid it yet all they did was put him and his bike under a tree where everyone could see it. It's that type of goofiness that gives this film its charm as well as other scenes including one where there's a mass orgy of body painting. There's some silly sex scenes thrown in but everyone keeps their clothes on and just rolls around in the dirt. Hopper is at his very best here playing a real nut who is constantly coming up with silly things to say and always threatening someone. McCrea doesn't have his father's acting ability but he's fun enough in the role. I didn't care too much for Noel as I found here way too bland for the character even though she is playing the goodie type. Robert Tessier, with hair, has a pretty good role as the muscle-bound thug and most will remember him from his bald roles in HARD TIMES and THE LONGEST YARD. Casey Kasem and Lindsay Crosby (Bing's daughter) also appear. The movie moves along quickly enough and there's enough charm to make it worth viewing if you're a fan of the genre. There's certainly nothing terrific or ground breaking here but Hopper is a lot of fun and makes it worth checking out.

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.

Excellent riding sequences and plenty of action made this a great movie to watch. You won't see the excessive carnage that I saw in "The Savage Seven" and "The Losers" but this movie has more than enough brutality to qualify it as a violent biker film.

The Glory Stompers starts off by introducing you to the two basic types of bikers. Those who ride for pleasure and those who look for trouble. The Glory Stompers believe in fun and friendship while the Black Souls behave like opportunistic predators.

The plot is rather simple yet engrossing. The Black Souls ambush a lone Glory Stomper, Darryl (Jody McCrea), and leave him for dead. The only witness is the Stomper's girlfriend, Chris (Chris Noel), so the Black Souls decide to silence her and cash in on her misfortune by selling her to some Mexican criminals. When Darryl regains consciousness he sets out alone after the Black Souls.

The Black Souls make up an interesting group of villains. Dennis Hopper is brilliant as Chino the tough and ruthless leader. Chino's lady, Jo Ann (Sondra Gayle), can best be described as a knife-happy psycho. Paul (Jim Reader) seems to be too civilized to ride with the Black Souls until we learn that he is Chino's younger brother and that they have no other family. Magoo (Robert Tessier) is the largest and most sadistic member of this group. Mouth (Casey Kasem) and Monk (Lindsay Crosby) are the comic relief of the Black Souls as they spend most of their time just clowning around together.

While Darryl is following the Black Souls he runs into Smiley (Jock Mahoney) who used to be a vice president of the Glory Stompers. Now older and wiser Smiley becomes Darryl's mentor and joins him on his pursuit of the Black Souls. They are eventually joined by Darryl's best friend and fellow Stomper, Pony (Gary Wood), and Pony's new bride Doreen (Astrid Warner). This posse of Stompers pursues the Black Souls into the desert where the Black Souls are waiting in a ghost town to sell their captive to the Mexican criminals. This sets up the final showdown.

During my teens this film was one of my personal favorites. If you like "Good versus Evil" and "Damsel in Distress" movies, set to a motorcycle theme, then you should find this one entertaining.

On researching this movie I found some interesting trivia about three of the actors who played Black Souls. Casey Kasem was inducted into the Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 1995. Casey was also the voice of "Shaggy" in the Scooby Doo cartoons. Robert Tessier shed his hair and went on to play bald-headed, tough guys most notably in "Hard Times" with Charles Bronson and "The Longest Yard" with Burt Reynolds. Lindsay Crosby's father was none other than the legendary singer/actor Bing Crosby.

By: Ron Forestieri