I wasn't aware that a bunch of juveniles protesting on the streets constituted a riot, but then again, I didn't write the screenplay.
Aldo Ray plays a police lieutenant who is trying to hold L. A. together and promote harmony between the fuzz and the populace. It seems the cops are rousting teens for typical crap like smoking joints, underage drinking, and impersonating actors. As one of the teens explains, "the only reason grass is illegal is that the public doesn't understand. It's an anachronism." Well, it isn't anymore. Just ask Colorado. Ray meets with a bunch of semi-intelligent long-hairs, and they reach an agreement in principle: the kids will police themselves, and the police will kid themselves that the kids are policing themselves.
Unknown to Ray, his estranged daughter (Mimsy Farmer) is hanging out with the wrong crowd. The crowd includes Tim Rooney (yes, Mickey's son) and Laurie Mock. The crowd ends up breaking into an expensive home, and some of them start dropping acid. Mimsy gets slipped a mickey, and within seconds, she trips out into a 5-minute dance routine set to some far-out psychedelic music. Apparently this was not choreographed by a human being. The dance includes mopping the floor with her hands and lining up at center to snap a football. Mimsy is then taken advantage of by several hooligans.
Ray and other officers arrive at the scene, just in time to let everyone escape except Mock, who is laughing convulsively, probably because she realizes her acting career is over. Ray discovers his daughter and she is taken to the hospital. Mock squeals on Mimsy's attackers, and they are arrested and brought to the same hospital, which gives Ray an excuse to beat the crap out of them. The only mistake he makes is not reading them their rights first.
TV journalist Bill Baldwin, playing a TV journalist, wastes no time going on the tube to tell everyone that Ray was abusive to the suspects. Now the Strip is about to explode, since the juvies figure Ray used excessive force. Local business owners are looking forward to some butt-kicking. As one says, "Well, they're bound to lay the wood to a few heads, but isn't it worth it?"
Ray heads to the strip, tells a cop not to hit a kid, and everything calms down .
There is a short rumble inside a club called "Pandora's Box," but that's just between the patrons. There are too many musical interruptions by bands I never heard of playing songs I never heard of. One guy does a Mick Jagger impersonation and shakes his maracas, but he looked more like an epileptic to me. Mimsy's hair is too big, and it's not until about the last 5 minutes of the movie that you realize she can act. Mock doesn't act, but since she spent most of the film wearing a backless short green dress, I didn't care. Ray is average (which for Ray, is good). I've always thought his best performance was as the only sane person in "God's Little Acre," a film I could not stand, except for perhaps Tina Louise's remarkable front porch.
Aldo Ray plays a police lieutenant who is trying to hold L. A. together and promote harmony between the fuzz and the populace. It seems the cops are rousting teens for typical crap like smoking joints, underage drinking, and impersonating actors. As one of the teens explains, "the only reason grass is illegal is that the public doesn't understand. It's an anachronism." Well, it isn't anymore. Just ask Colorado. Ray meets with a bunch of semi-intelligent long-hairs, and they reach an agreement in principle: the kids will police themselves, and the police will kid themselves that the kids are policing themselves.
Unknown to Ray, his estranged daughter (Mimsy Farmer) is hanging out with the wrong crowd. The crowd includes Tim Rooney (yes, Mickey's son) and Laurie Mock. The crowd ends up breaking into an expensive home, and some of them start dropping acid. Mimsy gets slipped a mickey, and within seconds, she trips out into a 5-minute dance routine set to some far-out psychedelic music. Apparently this was not choreographed by a human being. The dance includes mopping the floor with her hands and lining up at center to snap a football. Mimsy is then taken advantage of by several hooligans.
Ray and other officers arrive at the scene, just in time to let everyone escape except Mock, who is laughing convulsively, probably because she realizes her acting career is over. Ray discovers his daughter and she is taken to the hospital. Mock squeals on Mimsy's attackers, and they are arrested and brought to the same hospital, which gives Ray an excuse to beat the crap out of them. The only mistake he makes is not reading them their rights first.
TV journalist Bill Baldwin, playing a TV journalist, wastes no time going on the tube to tell everyone that Ray was abusive to the suspects. Now the Strip is about to explode, since the juvies figure Ray used excessive force. Local business owners are looking forward to some butt-kicking. As one says, "Well, they're bound to lay the wood to a few heads, but isn't it worth it?"
Ray heads to the strip, tells a cop not to hit a kid, and everything calms down .
There is a short rumble inside a club called "Pandora's Box," but that's just between the patrons. There are too many musical interruptions by bands I never heard of playing songs I never heard of. One guy does a Mick Jagger impersonation and shakes his maracas, but he looked more like an epileptic to me. Mimsy's hair is too big, and it's not until about the last 5 minutes of the movie that you realize she can act. Mock doesn't act, but since she spent most of the film wearing a backless short green dress, I didn't care. Ray is average (which for Ray, is good). I've always thought his best performance was as the only sane person in "God's Little Acre," a film I could not stand, except for perhaps Tina Louise's remarkable front porch.