RUN ANGEL RUN 1969

 "He Squealed On His Gang...And The Word Was Out...WASTE HIM!"

 RUN ANGEL RUN from 1969 is notable for having several "firsts" attached to it. It was the first biker film that William Smith (THE LOSERS 1970) appeared in and in which would be a genre that he in the coming decade he would become synonymous with. It also marked the acting debut of blog favorite Margaret Markov (BLACK MAMA WHITE MAMA 1973)

and most importantly was the directorial debut of the great Jack Starrett (RACE WITH THE DEVIL 1975) who would go on to helm a string of drive-in classics along with being a vastly underrated actor (check him out as the evil deputy in FIRST BLOOD).

Produced by Joe Solomon (WEREWOLVES ON WHEELS & ANGELS FROM HELL and who specialized in these) and Paul Rapp SCREAM FREE & THE STUDENT NURSES) it was released during the pivotal year of 1969 for biker films that also included the classics THE CYCLE SAVAGES, FIVE THE HARD WAY, HELL'S BELLES, HELL'S ANGELS '69, NAKED ANGELS, SATAN'S SADISTS, and of course EASY RIDER. All of which would lead to an explosion of choppers, iron crosses, and sleaziness which burst on the screen the following year. Although an exploitation genre film at its core (including a couple of brutal offscreen rapes) there is a surprisingly rather tender love story in RUN ANGEL RUN that makes this film a bit of an outlier.   

Angel (William Smith) has incurred the wrath of his fellow outlaw cycle gang members as he has sold a tell-all story about the biker lifestyle to a major weekly news magazine (titled "Like") for the sum of $10,000.  Unfortunately, Big Bill Smith did not seem to think this one through too carefully as not only does he have to wait two weeks to collect his payment but in addition, he must drive from his home base of L.A. up to San Francisco to retrieve it. Adding to his problems he is thrown in jail and upon having bail posted by his girlfriend, Laurie (Jack Starrett's daughter Valerie Starrett) he learns surprisingly (to him at least -somewhat oddly it would seem) that he is the subject of a massive manhunt by the biker community. All of whom are angrily clutching the magazine while snarling vengeance.

Heading off on his chopper with Laurie he is immediately sent upon by a gang of bikers who pursue him to a railroad yard where Starrett stages an excellent chase sequence involving a moving train that climaxes with Laurie jumping into an open boxcar (probably courtesy of stunt woman Randee Lynn Jensen) and Angel jumping his bike on a flatcar which is helped by some quick editing and changeover from a chopper to a motocross bike for the jump. The sequence also has some multi-screen editing and is a precursor to what a great director Starrett was and his feel for staging terrific action sequences. 

After tangling with some hobo-rapists Angel and Laurie take to the backroads and finding themselves in a small, isolated town they set up home in an abandoned house and attempt a kind of domestic tranquility (which is shaky at best) as Angel gets a job with local sheep rancher Dan Felton (Don Kemp THE GIRLS FROM THUNDER STRIP) where he initially seems eager to settle down. He bonds with Felton after repairing the rancher's antique motorcycle and begins to learn the intricacies of sheep farming including "sheep dipping"(??). Things turn dark when Angel's old gang tracks him down and begin their brutal revenge which tragically involves Felton's teenage daughter Meg (Margaret Markov).

Made for under $100,000 and shot in 13 days it went on to gross 13 million at the box office putting it directly behind A BOY NAMED CHARLIE BROWN and just ahead of THE WILD BUNCH making it one of the most successful films of the outlaw biker drive-in genre. Starrett gets the most out of the film's meager budget and it does get bogged down for short periods of time with some of the mundane plot elements there's slow-building tension as Angel's old gang tracks him down. Although the scenario of the biker wanting to quit and go straight would be used later (such as 1970's ANGEL UNCHAINED), RUN ANGEL RUN is deservedly considered one of the best among the golden period of biker films. 

Thanks to an engaging script and the presence of William Smith who even in this early big screen appearance has a gravitas that comes bursting through. Although seeming eager to settle down with Laurie ("the straight life") he slowly begins to get frustrated only coming to life slowly with the restoration of Felton's antique motorcycle and later during the film's violent climax.

Markov who although in a small early role here shows the beginnings of her later cult status as an actress in the coming decade who is not only a beautiful face on the screen (she is one of those actresses that the camera seems to love) but bringing a wonderful presence to her film roles. After her marriage to actor and later producer Mark Damon she would drop out of sight but in the past several years has turned up in several DVD extras and documentaries. 

The screenplay was written by Jerome Wish (his other two credits are THE GAY DECEIVERS and ANGELS FROM HELL) and a V.A. Furlong. As this is the pseudonym-sounding V.A.'s only screen credit I'm wondering if it could actually be Jack Starrett? The busy Stu Phillips (BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS, THE CURIOUS FEMALE, FOLLOW ME, and a truckload of other credits) supplies the score with the catchy & melodic (and a bit out of place) title theme by country superstar Tammy Wynette with some additional songs by The Windows.   

The full-frame DVD from Media Blasters is taken from a VHS master and features a Joe Bob Briggs commentary.

THE LOSERS 1970

aka NAM'S ANGELS

Ultimate Bad-Ass William Smith & His Biker Gang 
Channel Some Dirty Dozen Style Action in Vietnam !!

"THE ARMY HANDED THEM GUNS... AND A LICENSE TO KILL !"

      During the Vietnam war, the U.S. Army is faced with a risky mission in forbidden Cambodia and unable to send regular U.S forces they do the next logical thing and recruit a biker gang to carry out the mission. Combining plot elements of THE DIRTY DOZEN mixed with the biker movie genre and adding in tough guy William Smith along with cycle flick regular Adam Roarke, the weaslley Paul Kolso (in a rare semi- sympathetic role) and direction by the great Jack Starrett which when all combined together would seem to create instant drive-in alchemy.
     Although any biker movie with William Smith is pretty much an automatic thumbs up the problem with THE LOSERS is that it doesn't seem to have much of an idea with what to do with itself before the climactic attack sequence. Filmed entirely in the Philippines it probably would have benefited from some more recruitment and back story plot workings (ala' THE DIRTY DOZEN) but most likely because of budget and the ease and economics of using Filipino filming exclusively for the entire film this was not to be.

      Opening with a bang and a roar, we're shown a U.S. Army truck convoy being ambushed as they travel along a jungle road and then upon arriving in camp, gang leader "Link" (William Smith) and his cohorts (who are all fitted out in full biker regalia) chamber off the back of the trucks. The gang which includes "Duke (Adam Roarke DIRTY MARY AND CRAZY LARRY), "Dirty Denny" (Houston Savage),"Speed" (Eugene Cornelius RUN ANGEL RUN) and "Limpy" (Paul Koslo MR. MAJESTYK) have been recruited by an Army major (who happens to be Link's brother) for a secret mission. A diplomat/CIA agent has been captured and is being held in Viet Cong prison located just over the Cambodian border. Seeing how American forces aren't allowed to cross the border, the U.S. Army hires a gang of bikers (!) to complete the rescue as there's obviously no problem with a group of denim and leather-clad bikers from the U.S.A. tearing into the war and blowing up tons of stuff.

     Several of the gang members are ex-military and upon arriving in camp they find themselves under the leadership of ramrod straight Capt. Jackson (Bernie Hamilton from STARSKY AND HUTCH), along with his right-hand man Sgt. Winston (John Garwood HELL'S ANGELS ON WHEELS). Immediately they jump into things bikers from biker movies do best - including the requisite fighting, drinking and messing around with women, all of which leads to a lengthy wait until the film's climax. In the meantime, they do get to hang out at a bar complete with a rock band and a woman in her underwear go-go dancing.
     To the film's credit, it does attempt to give a bit of depth to the characters as Roarke's "Duke" hooks up with his old girlfriend from his service days and Limpy falls in love (in the space of about two minutes) with a young Vietnamese widow, developing a bond with her and her young child. Luckily Dirty Denny is around to keep the biker credo alive by jumping into his old business of running a bar/whorehouse and engaging in orgies with his girls.

You can't have a sweaty Filipino drive-in flick without Vic Diaz !!

     It's here that the proceedings get s a bit bogged down as there's not a whole lot of action to move the plot along, but the film in the place of this does try for some character development that differs from most biker films (plus, there's a nifty sequence involving the gang customizing their cycles's into combat mode complete with armor plating and rocket launchers !). As with most biker films there lots of footage of motorcycles rolling down the road (although down a jungle road here) and the sequences with Roarke and Koslo's romantic interludes while giving the depth of the character does slow things down a bit. As mentioned Koslo's transformation from grungy biker to caring family man seems to happen literally from one scene transition to the next.

    The cast helps with this immensely as with lesser actors in these roles the lengthy middle sequences would suffer even more. Although he often played tough roles Roarke always lent a bit of pathos to his characters and was always undervalued as an actor. Paul Koslo has spent his career playing weaselly spineless characters so it's a bit of a change here to see him playing a more honorable guy (albeit a biker) and is one of those actors that seems to quietly steal whatever movies he appears in.

     And then there's William Smith as "Link". Without a doubt, blessed with one of the greatest on-screen presence in the history of movies he seems to engulf the entire film just by standing there and when he's not around you can almost hear the air deflating from the plot.  Here playing an ex-serviceman returning to Vietnam, he quietly convoys a man who once believed in the cause but now is disgusted to see what its becomes and becomes increasingly suspicious of their mission's murky reality. In reality, Smith has an actual life biography that's even more impressive than his IMDB page!

      Director Starrett was one of the true icons of 70's drive-in movies. Although best known to most people as the sadistic deputy in 1982's FIRST BLOOD he directed such classics as RACE WITH THE DEVIL (1975), CLEOPATRA JONES (1973) and A SMALL TOWN IN TEXAS (1976). He sadly passed away in 1979 at the age of only 52 before his career could be fully appreciated.
      The film ends with a suitably rousing finale with lots of explosions with bodies & motorcycles flying about and those typical Filipino stunts that make you wonder what the real-life casualty rate was during the film's production. The climax also features a cameo by Jack Starrett as the raving paranoia-fueled CIA agent whose object of the rescue.  

  

RACE WITH THE DEVIL 1975

"When You Race With The Devil...You'd Better Be Faster Then Hell !"

"God Help You When The Devil Wants You !"

    Combining two of the 1970's most beloved genres as in devil worshiping and the "road" movie (which in terms of 70's movie culture can both be traced back to the late 60's with ROSEMARY'S BABY and EASY RIDER from 1968 & 1969 respectively), RACE WITH THE DEVIL is almost the perfect example of what a 1970's drive-in movie should be. Everything comes together as you've got the leading man team of Peter Fonda & Warren Oates (in the second of three films they stared in together and who's real life friendship is evident here), a full speed ahead script by exploitation king Lee Frost along with his frequent collaborator Wes Bishop and direction by drive-in guru Jack Starrett. Plus you've got cinematography by Robert Jessup, a alternately buoyant/creepy score by Leonard Rosenman , AND Loretta Swit and Lara Parker (along with car & Winnebago chases along miles & miles of desolate highway, shotguns, motorcycles, R.G. Armstrong, rattlesnakes, devil worshiping, and Loretta & Lara in bathing suits !). Holy crap !

    During the 1970's the devil worshiping movie genre seems to have had a special affinity for the state of Texas (and the southwest in general with some being filmed in Mexico - particular Durango). Along with being a hotbed of low budget/exploitation film there was also the desolate eerie desert landscape along with miles & miles of lonely highway (both of which RACE WITH THE DEVIL takes full advantage of) that provided some ready made atomshere. These settings were also featured in THE DEVIL'S RAIN ("Heaven help us...when The Devil"s Rain" !), the low budget and eerie ENTER THE DEVIL from 1972 and the 1970 Dallas based MARK OF THE WITCH (which I want to do a post on someday).

    Buddies & motorcycle store co-owners Roger Marsh and Frank Stewart (Peter Fonda & Warren Oates) along with their wives Kelly and Alice (Lara Parker from DARK SHADOWS and Loretta Swit in the midst of MASH) head out from San Antonio in the Stewart's spankin' new RV (fully decked in 70's shag carpeting, wood paneling and plaid upholstery) for some skiing in Aspen. Along the way they stop at a secluded spot (with a creepy gnarly tree handily close by) for some overnight camping and later that night Roger and Frank secretly witness a satanic ritual and sacrifice under said gnarly tree which precipitates their pursuit by the satanic cult.
   Back in the local small town they look for help from the sheriff (played by R.G. Armstrong -most famous for playing religious characters of questionable sanity in Sam Peckinpah movies) and while the menfolk head out with sheriff R.G. to look for clues the wives find a note with runic symbols attached to the motor home. Continuing on their vacation the two couples are soon set upon by carloads and truckloads (along with RV parks & country/western bars !) full of belzebub followers - which seemingly comprise the entire state of Texas.
   The film beautifully sets up a premise of slowly encroaching evil combined with the growing (and justified) paranoia of the fleeing couples, such as with all the phones being out of order as the result of a "big wind up north". Although on afterthought the premise of literally everybody they come across as being part of the satanic horde seems a bit ludicrous the film moves at such a rapid pace and with such conviction that you can't help but get caught up in speeding 88 min. run time and forgive whatever shortcomings & plot holes there might be.

     The film features some pretty spectacular stunts with Peter Fonda even cambering atop the speeding RV to do battle with some pre Mad Max style highway destruction. Although the make and models of cars sometimes isn't consistent between chase & crash mode and dents seem to disappear and re-appear again these aren't notiched (unless you've seem the movie countless time like myself) as you are caught up in the gonzo crashing & burning vehicle mayhem (which comprise almost the entire last 1/3 of the film).
    Plot-wise Loretta and Lara as the wives aren't really given a whole lot to do as they only have a couple scenes together without the men such as when they discover the runic note and and later doing some research at a library, but for the most part they just attempt to cook meals in the constantly under attack RV (plus cleaning up the aftermath) and scream a whole bunch. Lara in particular really goes off the deep end after a rather gruesome scene involving a family pet and later when a couple of rattlesnakes are planted in the RV. In addition they both add some scenery for the publicity materials when they go swimming.

     Writers Frost and Bishop (who plays a deputy here) tone down their usual exploitation quota of sex (what no Uschi Digard cameo !) and violence as the pivotal sacrifice (and its attached nudity) is sorta obscured by fire and the while the violence later in the movie is startling for the most part is pretty much blood free. Available on a double feature from Shout Factory as both a DVD and bu-ray and paired with DIRTY MARY CRAZY LARRY, which also stars Peter Fonda (and Susan George !). I did a very short post on RACE WITH DEVIL earlier in this blog's history when the blu ray was announced but as I love this movie so much it felt like time to do an expanded one (and what the heck, it's my blog).