The Wild Angels
Encyclopedia
The Wild Angels is a 1966 Roger Corman
film, made on location in Southern California
. The Wild Angels was made three years before Easy Rider
and was the first film to associate actor
Peter Fonda
with Harley-Davidson
motorcycles and 1960s counterculture
. It was also the film that inspired the outlaw biker film
genre that continued into the early 1970s.
The Wild Angels, released by American International Pictures
(AIP), stars Fonda as the fictitious Hells Angels
San Pedro, California chapter president "Heavenly Blues" (or "Blues"), Nancy Sinatra
as his girlfriend "Mike", Bruce Dern
as doomed fellow outlaw "the Loser", and Dern's real-life wife Diane Ladd
as the Loser's onscreen wife, "Gaysh."
Small supporting roles are played by Michael J. Pollard
and Gayle Hunnicutt
, and according to literature promoting the film, members of the Hells Angels
from Venice, California. Members of the Coffin Cheaters motorcycle club also appeared.
In 1967 AIP followed this film with Devil's Angels, The Glory Stompers with Dennis Hopper
, and The Born Losers
.
, fights, sexual assault
, loud revving Harley chopper
engines and bongo drum
s, the Angels ride out to Mecca, California
in the desert
to look for the Loser's stolen motorcycle. They blame a group of Mexicans in a repair shop, and the two groups brawl
. The police
arrive, chasing the Angels on foot, and the Loser escapes on a parked police motorcycle. After a chase on mountain roads, one of the officers shoots the Loser in the back, putting him in the hospital
.
Blues leads a small group of Angels that sneaks him out of the hospital, and one of them begins to sexually attack a black nurse until Blues pulls him away. The nurse identifies Blues to police though he stopped the attack. Without proper medical care, the Loser goes into shock and die
s. His cohorts forge a death certificate
and arrange a church
funeral
in the Loser’s rural hometown. Blues interrupts the service and, the Angels have a "party
." The Angels remove the Loser from his Nazi
flag-draped casket
, sit him up and place a joint in his mouth, knock out the minister
, place him in the casket, and two Angels drug and rape
the Loser’s grieving widow
, Gaysh, while Blues is apparently having sex with another woman.
Later, the Angels proceed to the Sequoia Grove cemetery
to bury the Loser. There, the locals throw stones
at the Angels and provoke a fight. As police sirens
approach and everyone scatters, Mike begs Blues to leave immediately, but he refuses and tells her to leave with another member of the gang. Blues stays behind, and before burying his friend on his own, says with resignation, "There’s nowhere to go."
called The Wild Angels "OK after about 24 beers
." It opened the Venice Film Festival
in 1966, to tepid response. Corman took chances with this subject matter and the Charles B. Griffith
-authored screenplay
, without being overly graphic, which paid dividends commercially: The Wild Angels was the twelfth largest-grossing film of 1966, earning US$ 5,500,000.00 in domestic (U.S. and Canada) rentals.
While promoting another of his 1960s counterculture movies, The Trip
, and autographing a movie still from The Wild Angels depicting Bruce Dern and him sharing one motorcycle, Fonda conceived the film Easy Rider
. Easy Rider was also about two men, but with each riding his own motorcycle.
The Wild Angels made a small but lasting impact on several indie
rock bands and club acts. Davie Allan and the Arrows scored a hit with the fuzz guitar-laden instrumental
"Blues Theme", which opens this film. The punk band Cheerleader 666
featured a still of Fonda on his bike on the cover of their Gutter Days
EP.
Primal Scream
's Loaded
, Mudhoney's In 'N' Out of Grace
, Evil's Toy's Dear God,and several club acts such as Peran in Good time and Ultra in Free have all sampled parts of the "eulogy
" spoken by Heavenly Blues at Loser’s funeral:
The Magnetic Fields song Papa Was a Rodeo from the album 69 Love Songs features a character called 'Mike' whose female gender is only revealed at the end of the song. This is an oblique homage to Nancy Sinatra .
Roger Corman
Roger William Corman is an American film producer, director and actor. He has mostly worked on low-budget B movies. Some of Corman's work has an established critical reputation, such as his cycle of films adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe, and in 2009 he won an Honorary Academy Award for...
film, made on location in Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
. The Wild Angels was made three years before Easy Rider
Easy Rider
Easy Rider is a 1969 American road movie written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern, produced by Fonda and directed by Hopper. It tells the story of two bikers who travel through the American Southwest and South with the aim of achieving freedom...
and was the first film to associate actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
Peter Fonda
Peter Fonda
Peter Henry Fonda is an American actor. He is the son of Henry Fonda, brother of Jane Fonda, and father of Bridget and Justin Fonda...
with Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson , often abbreviated H-D or Harley, is an American motorcycle manufacturer. Founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, during the first decade of the 20th century, it was one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression...
motorcycles and 1960s counterculture
Counterculture
Counterculture is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. Counterculture can also be described as a group whose behavior...
. It was also the film that inspired the outlaw biker film
Outlaw biker film
The outlaw biker film is a film genre that portrays its characters as motorcycle riding rebels. The characters are usually members of an outlaw motorcycle club.-History:...
genre that continued into the early 1970s.
The Wild Angels, released by American International Pictures
American International Pictures
American International Pictures was a film production company formed in April 1956 from American Releasing Corporation by James H. Nicholson, former Sales Manager of Realart Pictures, and Samuel Z. Arkoff, an entertainment lawyer...
(AIP), stars Fonda as the fictitious Hells Angels
Hells Angels
The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is a worldwide one-percenter motorcycle gang and organized crime syndicate whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporation. Their primary motto...
San Pedro, California chapter president "Heavenly Blues" (or "Blues"), Nancy Sinatra
Nancy Sinatra
Nancy Sandra Sinatra is an American singer and actress. She is the daughter of singer/actor Frank Sinatra, and remains best known for her 1966 signature hit "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'"....
as his girlfriend "Mike", Bruce Dern
Bruce Dern
Bruce MacLeish Dern is an American film actor. He also appeared as a guest star in numerous television shows. He frequently takes roles as a character actor, often playing unstable and villainous characters...
as doomed fellow outlaw "the Loser", and Dern's real-life wife Diane Ladd
Diane Ladd
Diane Ladd is an American actress, film director, producer and published author. She has appeared in over 120 roles, on television, and in miniseries and feature films, including Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore , Wild at Heart , Rambling Rose , Ghosts of Mississippi, Primary Colors, 28 Days , and...
as the Loser's onscreen wife, "Gaysh."
Small supporting roles are played by Michael J. Pollard
Michael J. Pollard
- Early life :Born Michael John Pollack, Jr. in Passaic, New Jersey, he is the son of Sonia and Michael John Pollack. He attended the Montclair Academy and the Actors Studio.- Career :...
and Gayle Hunnicutt
Gayle Hunnicutt
Gayle, Lady Jenkins , known by her birth name Gayle Hunnicutt, is an American actress.-Personal life:Hunnicutt was born in Fort Worth, Texas, the daughter of Colonel Sam Lloyd Hunnicutt and Virginia Hunnicutt, and attended the University of California, Los Angeles. She worked as a fashion model...
, and according to literature promoting the film, members of the Hells Angels
Hells Angels
The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is a worldwide one-percenter motorcycle gang and organized crime syndicate whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporation. Their primary motto...
from Venice, California. Members of the Coffin Cheaters motorcycle club also appeared.
In 1967 AIP followed this film with Devil's Angels, The Glory Stompers with Dennis Hopper
Dennis Hopper
Dennis Lee Hopper was an American actor, filmmaker and artist. As a young man, Hopper became interested in acting and eventually became a student of the Actors' Studio. He made his first television appearance in 1954 and appeared in two films featuring James Dean, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant...
, and The Born Losers
The Born Losers
This article is about the film. You may be looking for the song http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Born_LosersBorn Losers is a 1967 action film and the first of the Billy Jack movies. The film introduced Tom Laughlin as the half-Indian Green Beret Vietnam veteran Billy Jack...
.
Plot
In between sprees featuring drugsRecreational drug use
Recreational drug use is the use of a drug, usually psychoactive, with the intention of creating or enhancing recreational experience. Such use is controversial, however, often being considered to be also drug abuse, and it is often illegal...
, fights, sexual assault
Sexual assault
Sexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
, loud revving Harley chopper
Chopper
Chopper may refer to:* Helicopter* AK-47 as used in street slang/rap lyrics. Prolific in New Orleans rap, where the city is known as "Chopper City"* Attacking Chopper, the table tennis style* Thompson submachine gun...
engines and bongo drum
Bongo drum
Bongo or bongos are a Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of single-headed, open-ended drums attached to each other. The drums are of different size: the larger drum is called in Spanish the hembra and the smaller the macho...
s, the Angels ride out to Mecca, California
Mecca, California
Mecca is a census-designated place in Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 8,577 at the 2010 census, up from 5,402 at the 2000 census....
in the desert
Desert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
to look for the Loser's stolen motorcycle. They blame a group of Mexicans in a repair shop, and the two groups brawl
BRAWL
Brawl is a real-time card game designed by James Ernest and released in 1999 by Cheapass Games.-Gameplay:Like Spit or Icehouse, players in Brawl do not take turns, instead either making a move or staying inactive as best suits their strategy at that moment...
. The police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
arrive, chasing the Angels on foot, and the Loser escapes on a parked police motorcycle. After a chase on mountain roads, one of the officers shoots the Loser in the back, putting him in the hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
.
Blues leads a small group of Angels that sneaks him out of the hospital, and one of them begins to sexually attack a black nurse until Blues pulls him away. The nurse identifies Blues to police though he stopped the attack. Without proper medical care, the Loser goes into shock and die
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
s. His cohorts forge a death certificate
Death certificate
The phrase death certificate can describe either a document issued by a medical practitioner certifying the deceased state of a person or popularly to a document issued by a person such as a registrar of vital statistics that declares the date, location and cause of a person's death as later...
and arrange a church
Christian Church
The Christian Church is the assembly or association of followers of Jesus Christ. The Greek term ἐκκλησία that in its appearances in the New Testament is usually translated as "church" basically means "assembly"...
funeral
Funeral
A funeral is a ceremony for celebrating, sanctifying, or remembering the life of a person who has died. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from interment itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honor...
in the Loser’s rural hometown. Blues interrupts the service and, the Angels have a "party
Party
A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, or recreation. A party will typically feature food and beverages, and often music and dancing as well....
." The Angels remove the Loser from his Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
flag-draped casket
Casket
A casket, or jewelry box is a term for a container that is usually larger than a box, and smaller than a chest, and in the past was typically decorated...
, sit him up and place a joint in his mouth, knock out the minister
Minister of religion
In Christian churches, a minister is someone who is authorized by a church or religious organization to perform functions such as teaching of beliefs; leading services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals; or otherwise providing spiritual guidance to the community...
, place him in the casket, and two Angels drug and rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
the Loser’s grieving widow
Widow
A widow is a woman whose spouse has died, while a widower is a man whose spouse has died. The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed widowhood or occasionally viduity. The adjective form is widowed...
, Gaysh, while Blues is apparently having sex with another woman.
Later, the Angels proceed to the Sequoia Grove cemetery
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
to bury the Loser. There, the locals throw stones
Rock (geology)
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
at the Angels and provoke a fight. As police sirens
Siren (noisemaker)
A siren is a loud noise making device. Most modern ones are civil defense or air raid sirens, tornado sirens, or the sirens on emergency service vehicles such as ambulances, police cars and fire trucks. There are two general types: pneumatic and electronic....
approach and everyone scatters, Mike begs Blues to leave immediately, but he refuses and tells her to leave with another member of the gang. Blues stays behind, and before burying his friend on his own, says with resignation, "There’s nowhere to go."
Impact and influence
Film critic Leonard MaltinLeonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin is an American film and animated film critic and historian, author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives.-Personal life:...
called The Wild Angels "OK after about 24 beers
Beers
Beers can refer to either:* plural of Beer - an alcoholic beverage.* Beers - a town in the Netherlands part of Cuijk mun.* Beers - another town in the Netherlands...
." It opened the Venice Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
in 1966, to tepid response. Corman took chances with this subject matter and the Charles B. Griffith
Charles B. Griffith
Charles B. Griffith was a Chicago-born screenwriter, son of Donna Dameral, radio star of Myrt and Marge...
-authored screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
, without being overly graphic, which paid dividends commercially: The Wild Angels was the twelfth largest-grossing film of 1966, earning US$ 5,500,000.00 in domestic (U.S. and Canada) rentals.
While promoting another of his 1960s counterculture movies, The Trip
The Trip (1967 film)
The Trip is a cult film released by American International Pictures, directed by Roger Corman, written by Jack Nicholson, and shot on location in and around Los Angeles, including on top of Kirkwood in Laurel Canyon, Hollywood Hills, and near Big Sur, California in 1966...
, and autographing a movie still from The Wild Angels depicting Bruce Dern and him sharing one motorcycle, Fonda conceived the film Easy Rider
Easy Rider
Easy Rider is a 1969 American road movie written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern, produced by Fonda and directed by Hopper. It tells the story of two bikers who travel through the American Southwest and South with the aim of achieving freedom...
. Easy Rider was also about two men, but with each riding his own motorcycle.
The Wild Angels made a small but lasting impact on several indie
Indie (music)
In music, independent music, often shortened to indie music or "indie" is a term used to describe independence from major commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, and an autonomous, Do-It-Yourself approach to recording and publishing....
rock bands and club acts. Davie Allan and the Arrows scored a hit with the fuzz guitar-laden instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
"Blues Theme", which opens this film. The punk band Cheerleader 666
Kill Cheerleader
Kill Cheerleader was a rock n' roll band whose teenage members formed in 1999 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as "Cheerleader 666". Mainly influenced by punk and heavy metal acts such as The Stooges, early era Guns N' Roses, Mötley Crüe, Iron Maiden, the Ramones, Girlschool, Joan Jett and Neil Young,...
featured a still of Fonda on his bike on the cover of their Gutter Days
Gutter Days
Gutter Days was a 2003 10" vinyl EP re-release of Kïll Cheerleadër's second demo CD, originally released in 2001.Some CD-R versions of "Gutter Days" included a cover of the Ramones song, "I Just Wanna Have Something to Do"...
EP.
Primal Scream
Primal Scream
Primal Scream are a Scottish alternative rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie and Jim Beattie and now based in London. The current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes , Martin Duffy , and Darrin Mooney...
's Loaded
Loaded (song)
"Loaded" is a song recorded by the rock band Primal Scream. It was the first single released from the group's 1991 breakthrough album, Screamadelica.-Inspiration and composition:...
, Mudhoney's In 'N' Out of Grace
Fuck Me I'm Rich
Fuck Me I'm Rich was a grunge compilation album released by Sub Pop in 1990. Each of the songs are available on each artists respective albums. The album include ten songs, two by each of the five artists...
, Evil's Toy's Dear God,and several club acts such as Peran in Good time and Ultra in Free have all sampled parts of the "eulogy
Eulogy
A eulogy is a speech or writing in praise of a person or thing, especially one recently deceased or retired. Eulogies may be given as part of funeral services. However, some denominations either discourage or do not permit eulogies at services to maintain respect for traditions...
" spoken by Heavenly Blues at Loser’s funeral:
The Magnetic Fields song Papa Was a Rodeo from the album 69 Love Songs features a character called 'Mike' whose female gender is only revealed at the end of the song. This is an oblique homage to Nancy Sinatra .
See also
- Outlaw biker filmOutlaw biker filmThe outlaw biker film is a film genre that portrays its characters as motorcycle riding rebels. The characters are usually members of an outlaw motorcycle club.-History:...
- List of biker films
- Exploitation filmExploitation filmExploitation film is a type of film that is promoted by "exploiting" often lurid subject matter. The term "exploitation" is common in film marketing, used for all types of films to mean promotion or advertising. These films then need something to exploit, such as a big star, special effects, sex,...
- Fonda, Peter, "Don't Tell Dad", Hyperion Books (April, 1998).
- PlayboyPlayboyPlayboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
, "Playboy Interview: Peter Fonda", HMH Publishing Co., Inc., pp. 85–108, 278-79 (September, 1970). - LookLook (American magazine)Look was a bi-weekly, general-interest magazine published in Des Moines, Iowa from 1937 to 1971, with more of an emphasis on photographs than articles...
, "Nancy-Another Swinging Sinatra", Cowles Communications, Inc., pp. 59–63 (July 12, 1966).