Gargoyle Good Time

 

 (imdb)

GARGOYLES-1972-Anthropologist Mercer Bolley (Cornell Wilde) and his daughter Diana (Jennifer Salt) run afoul of an ancient race of gargoyles. An old geezer (Woody Chamblis) tells them a story and shows them a weird skeleton just before his shack is set ablaze and he burns to death. Bolley rescues a skull and he and Diana hightail it to a sleazy hotel run by Mrs. Parks (Grayson Hall). Later 2 gargoyles break in and steal the skull. While fleeing, one is killed. Still the sheriff (Warren Stevens) blames everything on a motorcycle gang and it's leader (Scott Glenn). The gargoyle leader (Bernie Casey with the dubbed voice of Vic Perrin) kidnaps Diana. The bikers team up with local authorities to hunt the monsters who want to wipe out mankind and take over. They have a cave full of eggs and the leader takes a shine to Diana. Though mankind is eventually saved, the leader gets away. 

Stan Winston did some work on the gargoyles in this underrated horror tale that seems to have gained a cult following in recent years. It's certainly one of the best TV horror movies ever! Director Bill Norton (sometimes known as BWL Norton) made it between CISCO PIKE and MORE AMERICAN GRAFFITI. His next film was 1985's BABY: SECRET OF THE LOST LEGEND. He then worked mostly in television.

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 (public domain pictures)

   

Kicks, Baby, Kicks

 

 (imdb)

THE WILD REBELS-1967-Rod Tillman (Steve Alaimo) quits his race car driving and hooks up with the dumb motorcycle gang Satan's Angels led by goofball Jeeter (John Vella). The gang is made up of biker chick Linda (Bobbie Byers), Fats (Jeff Gillen) and Banjo (Willie Pastrano). They want Rod to drive the getaway car for crime they are plotting. He turns them down but then is approached by police Lt. Dorn (Walter R. Philbin) to infiltrate the gang. He agrees and winds up driving their getaway car when they rob a bank. There's a big shoot out with the police in some kind of tower where Rod is cornered by Jeeter until Linda shoots him. 

Stupid cliche nonsense from writer/director William Grefe' who'd made more entertaining films like DEATH CURSE OF TARTU and THE STING OF DEATH (both 1966) and would go on to make a spat of oddball productions like THE HOOKED GENERATION (also with Alaimo), THE NAKED ZOO with Rita Hayworth, STANLEY, IMPULSE with William Shatner and Bacardi rum commercials.

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Teenage Cheapy

(wikiwand)

TEENAGE DEVIL DOLLS-1955-A detective (Robert A. Sherry) relates the story of Cassandra (Barbara Marks), who works for her "much married mother" but escapes her repression by joining a motorcycle gang led by Packard (William Kendell). They introduce her to marijuana. She plays around with them and her grades plummet, losing her chance to attend college. Fortunately for her, a fool named Johnny Adams (Robert Norman) is sweet on her and they get married. 

Bad move! Cassandra becomes a bored, frustrated housewife prone to mood swings and depression. Her meds don't help. Neither does the dog hubby brings home one day. She leaves and once again hooks up with Packard and his gang. Cassandra freaks out on Seconal and is arrested after crashing her car. After a stay with the police, she returns to her parents and hubby but runs away. Later she cooks something up with a drug addict/dealer Martinez (the director) and almost dies from withdrawal in the desert. 

There's no dialogue in this basement budget exploitation film produced, written, edited and directed by one Bramlett L. Price, Jr. in his only movie making outing. There's only a lone narrator (Greg Martell) who is also supposed to be the detective. 

Director Price (who's own father plays Cassandra's stepfather) supposedly borrowed the money to make this from his then wife actress Anne Francis. AKA: ONE WAY TICKET TO HELL. Francis Coleman must have watched this before making his movies.

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"Jesus Died So We Could Ride"

 

 (imdb)

THE BIKER BABYLON-1969-"Something primitive and terrifying is happening".

This is a documentary about protests against the Vietnam War in DC featuring a motorcycle gang called "The Aliens", who do a lot of talking about being harassed by "The Man". Dick Gregory appears as himself. Then everyone attends a rock festival but no acts are mentioned or seen. The sarcastic narration sounds like it was written for Jack Webb! Aka IT'S A REVOLUTION MOTHER. 

Director Harry Kerwin (brother of William Kerwin/Thomas Wood from BLOOD FEAST) later made GOD'S BLOODY ACRE (1975) and BARRACUDA (1978). While he made some movies before BIKER like the comedy MY THIRD HUSBAND, GEORGE (1968), I believe some very early credits are actually for another Harry Kerwin.

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Biker Werewolves

 

WEREWOLVES ON WHEELS-1971-Biker gang scum (including “Eve of Descruction” singer Barry McGuire and “Father Knows Best” co-star Billy Gray) run afoul of a group of Satanists led by One (Severn Darden). After the gang is drugged the Satanists perform an elaborate ritual where a woman dances with a snake and a cat is sacrificed. The bikers break up the ritual and drive away. When they are frolicking in the woods that night a werewolf shows up and kills two of them. One of the gang is really a werewolf. The scenes are too dark, there's too much talk, the ending is stupid and there aren't any werewolves on wheels! 

Director Michael Levelesque started out doing production design for Roger Corman and made only one more feature length film SWEET SUGAR the next year. He was also was an art director on many TV shows and several Russ Meyer films. He died in 2010.

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Wilde In The Future

 

(IMDB)

NO BLADE OF GRASS-1970-When a mysterious virus nearly wipes out England's agriculture and pollutes the water, a man, John Custance (Nigel Davenport) and his wife Ann (Jean Wallace) and two kids along with their friend Roger (John Hamill) head for a farm in the country. Along the way they pick up the violent Pirrie (Anthony May) and his flirty wife Clara (Wendy Richard). It doesn't take long for the group to descend into killing and stealing. The wife and daughter are raped by 3 creeps and their cars and goods are taken by a town. Meanwhile the government has fled and the world is descending into cannibalism. Things don't turn out like they planned and there's a wild fight with a motorcycle gang. They make it to the farm but problems arise with David (Patrick Holt) John's brother. 

Basically this treats a future calamity in pretty depressing chilling dog eat dog terms (more so then say PANIC IN THE YEAR ZERO which at times GRASS imitates). Where as Ray Milland's character worked against a breakdown in society, John readily accepts it's kill or be killed and might makes right (especially in the climax). There are a few lapses but overall this is an ahead of its time feature directed and co-written by actor Cornel Wilde (he and a lead actress Wallace were married in real life) especially with the world situation today.

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"Gabriel, can't you see we're menacing somebody?"

 

 (wkipedia)

CHROME AND HOT LEATHER-1971-Casey (Michael Hayes), a member of The Wizards motorcycle gang led by TJ (William Smith) kills the finance of Green Beret Mitch (Tony Young). To get revenge Mitch recruits his army buddies (including Marvin Gaye) to hunt down the gang. Mitch tries to infiltrate the gang but is found out. Fortunately his buddies save him. Later while TJ and Casey fight for the gang leadership the Berets attack. After the gang gets its ass kicked TJ is forced to finger Casey as the culprit and they all go to jail. Big band singer Herb Jeffries is a bartender. Bobby "Boris" Pickett is Sweet Willy. 

Director Lee Frost was a force in exploitation films in the 60's and '70's (MUNDO BIZARRO, THE ANIMAL, LOVE CAMP 7) but the next year made the notorious THE THING WITH TWO HEADS. Co-star Michael Hayes co-wrote the script and was also a stuntman in many movies. This is one of two movies singer Marvin Gaye appeared in. The other was a TV movie in 1969 called THE BALLAD OF ANDY CROCKER.

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Bikers

THE REBEL ROUSERS-1970-Strange biker film with Bruce Dern as JJ Weston, the philosophical leader of a weird motorcycle gang which includes Bunny (Jack Nicholson decked out in wool hat and striped pants), the seemingly out of place Halverson (Harry Dean Stanton) and (phony) Mexican Miguel (Robert Dix). Weston meets his old high school buddy Paul Collier (Cameron Mitchell) now an architect who's having problems with his pregnant girlfriend Karen (Diane Ladd who was married to Dern at the time). They smoke pot and talk about abortion and marriage. Eventually she's kidnapped by the gang. Paul is beaten up and escapes but no one in town will help him except some Mexican migrant workers. Weston and Bunny wind up having a knife fight. 

Many people who worked with Al Adamson contributed to this Paragon Entertainment Pictures production. It's also the only movie directed by Martin B. Cohen who years later provided the story for and produced HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP. He was the executive producer of Adamson's BLOOD FROM DRACULA'S CASTLE the year before.

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Dead Cyclists

PSYCHOMANIA-1973-This starts off with a motorcycle gang riding through graveyard in slow motion while the credits play. Then the gang, called "The Living Dead" and led by Tom (Nicky Henson) drive a car off the road, killing the driver. ("Teach him a lesson. Blow his mind!"). Later Tom makes out with his girlfriend Abby (Mary Larkin) on a grave. He talks about them killing themselves and takes home a frog he finds. At home he talks to his mother (Beryl Reid) about a room that will help him come back to life after he's dead. Their butler Shadwell (George Sanders) hangs around too and offers Tom a medallion to protect him when he's in the room. Tom goes into the room and nearly freaks out but in a smoky mirror he sees a giant frog and what appears to be his mom selling him to a figure all dressed in black. He promptly faints. After he recovers he and his gang really cause a lot of trouble in town. After a high speed police chase Tom drives his motorcycle off a bridge and dies. His friends bury him (sitting on his motorcycle) in a place where some witches were killed while a guy sings a song ("Riding Free"). Later Tom rides out of his grave and kills a gas station attendant. He picks up a girl but later kills her too. He convinces most of the gang to commit suicide so so they all can enjoy being un-dead. Unfortunately Abby doesn't want to die. She pretends to be dead but Tom won't buy that and decides to kill her. His mom decides to break the spell by turning herself into a toad. Tom decomposes before Abby's eyes (a terrible effect) as do all the other un-dead members. Robert Hardy is also featured as a police inspector. The gang members have names like Hatchet, Gash, Hinky and Chopped Meat.

Director Don Sharp (RASPUTIN-THE MAD MONK) can't do much with this dumb premise and the whole thing is pretty much a bore. The bikers don't do much more than any living bikers would do but it was nice to see the great George Saunders (sadly in his last role; ironically he committed suicide before the movie was released) try to bring some dignity to this stupid production.

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"Acting is like roller-skating. Once you know how to do it, 
it is neither stimulating nor exciting"-George Sanders

The Bad Penny Finally Turns Up!

THE HELLCATS-1968-When a police detective investigating a drug dealing motorcycle gang is murdered, his fiance' Linda (Dee Duffy) and soldier brother Monte (Ross Hagen, a regular on TV's DAKTARI at the time) infiltrate The Hellcats, a bunch of weird drug using bikers with names like Six Pack, Hiney, Snake, Zombie and Scorpio. Their kind of leader is Snake (Sonny West). Linda and Monte hang out with the stoned gang and drink beer at a place run by an old man (Fredric Downs). Sometimes everyone talks in a strange incomprehensible slang. Snake and another guy have a chain fight. Monte breaks it up saying "Peace brothers. No more war...yet". Later Monte and Linda are roughed up by the dealers but it's scummy dirtbag bikers to the rescue!

There's a lot of bad acting, boredom and people riding motorcycles...and not much else. Future director Gus Trikonis is in one scene. One of THE HELLCATS producers was Anthony Cardoza (who worked on Coleman Francis' 3 movies) who appears as an artist who gets beat up. Co-writer/assistant director Tony Huston co-starred in 3 Larry Buchanan movies! Director Robert F. Slatzer (who made BIGFOOT in 1970) is Mr. Adrian, a drug dealer.

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Super Sisters On Cycles

DARKTOWN STRUTTERS-1975-In some ways this is the ultimate “blaxplotation” film but it's also a set-up! 4 motorcycle riding black women in outrageous psychedelic “70’s clothes hit town and promptly beat up some white Marines. The quartet is led by Syreena (Trina Parks). They beat up some racist cops (one is played by Dick Miller) several times and then run into a male gang (led by Roger E. Mosley) who they humiliate in a drag race but then become friends with. When Syreena discovers her mother has been kidnapped she investigates which leads to a plot by a Col. Sanders like mad scientist who wants to clone black leaders so they will vote for white politicians!

There’s a lot of broad comedy with sped up action scenes, fart and fat jokes, dancing and singing, guys in weird KKK robes and slapstick. Everyone acts goofy (all the white people are particularly stupid) but the story turns kind of serious when Syreena is inquiring about her mom. The other gang members are played by Edna Richardson, Bettye Sweet and Shirley Washington. SOUL TRAIN host Frankie Crocker also has a role.

Gene Corman was the producer. It was directed by B-movie veteran William Witney who made his first movie in 1937 and by this time was working mostly in TV. I often read this was his last film but according to IMDB he made one more (QUELL AND CO. in 1982). Screenwriter George Armitage wrote GAS for Roger Corman. Star Parks had an unbilled role in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER and was later in THE MUTHERS.

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