Hells Angels on Wheels

Although this film doesn't do much, it accomplishes everything that it set out to do. It successfully exploits just about everything in order to fulfill its duties. Sex, drugs, and violence are king here. The plot is like the women in this film: loose. There a lot going on but nothing much gets done to further a story. However, a romance is at its center. There are some scenes of bikers running amok set against hippy music that work well. The acting was very good from the entire cast, not just Nicholson (who, as always, was superb). I'm not going to give anything away, but the ending could have been better. It was a little cheesy. This is a pretty good biker exploitation flick although I would recommend Russ Meyer's Motorpsycho if you're in the mood for motorcycle chaos.

'Hells Angels on Wheels' is a surprisingly tough and entertaining b-grade 60s biker movie. Jack Nicholson plays a gas attendant named Poet who becomes involved with some Hells Angels. Their leader Buddy (Adam Roarke) takes a shine to Poet, and Poet is attracted to Buddy's old lady Shill (Sabrina Scharf). Nicholson went on to movie superstardom, Roarke to cult status and an untimely death, and Scharf a bit part in 'Easy Rider' and then a career in politics. Most people will probably watch this to get some cheap laughs out of early Nicholson. He is actually pretty good here, better than the material deserves, but the real star performance in the movie is from the seriously underrated Roarke. Roarke was often the best thing about the sometimes awful movies he had to appear in (see 'Dirty Mary Crazy Larry' for example), and he exudes charisma and intelligence here. Director Richard Rush obviously valued him, as he reteamed him with Nicholson in the hilarious 'Psych-Out' and even gave him a small role in his masterpiece 'The Stunt Man'. 'Hells Angels on Wheels' obviously isn't anywhere near as good as the latter, but it is much better than you'd expect and definitely worth tracking down.

Hell's Angels on Wheels, if you're into the biker genre, is not a second-rate vehicle for its promoters, the Hell's Angels (Sonny Barger, reportedly at the time, said it was the "most accurate" of the films on them). Going by the sort of Roger Corman standard (not just for biker movies but for his brand of 'fast-food' style films, not very good for you but it goes down fast), of a fight or some other form of action happening every 15 minutes or so, the film is hip in its period way, and isn't pretentious in the slightest.

Even with the name of Jack Nicholson's character, Poet, nothing near the intellectual and philosophical realm of Easy Rider comes close (though Nicholson's main scenes are some of the best in the film, more comparable to Five Easy Pieces than the Wild Angels). It's about a guy, Poet, who is a gas station attendant who decides randomly to go along with the Angels. Some of the standard plot stuff happens; the hero's girl flocking to someone 'else'; shenanigans in a small town; beefs with the 'pigs'. Leading along the way, in a sense almost in an unintentional training form for a later triumph, Laszlo Kovacs is the DP and he takes down these images usually in more of a documentary form as they ride around, and there is an added (if of course all in good, violent biker fun) intensity to the fight scenes. Along with Nicholson, his usual brooding, cool self, is Adam Rourke, turning in not a bad performance as the leader of the gang.

Is it trash? Sure. Is it worth watching once? Absolutely, at least if you're curious about/into the period and sub-genre (the music isn't very good, by the way, a sign of what was needed in Easy Rider). Does it give a little room for Nicholson to give a little of his great B-movie gusto? No doubt about it. And is the story paper thin? No doubt about it. Hell's Angels on Wheels is stupid, rollicking good drive-in style fun, with some technical flair and character actor hipness to cover the tracks of the many flaws.

This Richard Rush biker film is better than the Wild Angels, Angels Unchained, Devil's Angels, Cycle Savages, The Glory Stompers, or The Savage Seven. First of all it has the beautiful and talented Sabrina Scharf (from Easy Rider) who later became a Senator or some such thing. Adam Roarke was always a good addition to low-budget films and Nicholson shines as the Poet (a somewhat reluctant biker to begin with).

None of these films is high quality, but this one has some refreshing scenes that stand out. A 6 out of 10. Best performance = Jack Nicholson. If you can find it, it's worth your time. Richard Rush was always been a good director.

Good if not great as biker cinema goes, "Hells Angels on Wheels" had the legendary Angel Sonny Barger as its technical adviser, making it supposedly more true to life than other depictions of the notorious motorcycle gang, although the word "supposedly" will need to be stressed. The movie has a few elements that manage to make it a must see, but these don't have much to do with the story, which is thin and has an episodic nature. Jack Nicholson, the obvious breakout star, is prominently featured as a gas station attendant who captures the attention of a bunch of Angels and earns their respect. He's voted in as a member, but he finds that their wild way of life is a little too much for him. They like to promote themselves as fun loving rebels, but they possess decidedly more edge than that, and are not above murder. Nicholsons' character, who gets nick named "Poet", also does not like the way that they pass their women around, especially as he falls for Shill (Sabrina Scharf), who is ordinarily the main squeeze of this packs' leader, the charismatic Buddy (Adam Roarke). Despite Nicholsons' presence and performance, Roarke really is the one to watch here, doing an engaging job of creating a memorable character. A couple of familiar faces fill out the supporting and bit parts: John Garwood, Jack Starrett, Gary Littlejohn, and Bruno VeSota, with directors Bob Kelljan and John "Bud" Cardos also appearing. This is exciting at times, with the expected number of fight scenes, as well as some filler / montage sequences, and music that is very much of the time. The movie isn't helped, however, by an abrupt and unsatisfying ending. If one is interested, they can check out other biker pictures from producer Joe Solomon such as "Angels from Hell", "Run, Angel, Run!", "The Losers", and "Werewolves on Wheels". Director Richard Rush would also direct Nicholson in "Psych-Out", and of course would go on to great fame as director of the cult favourite "The Stunt Man" (in which he again worked with Roarke). One can also note the stylish and colourful cinematography by Laszlo Kovacs, who's billed as Leslie Kovacs. Overall, not bad, and a cult film worth a look. Seven out of 10.