The "Angels", a San Pedro motorcycle gang, party their way through the Coachella Valley while searching for a bike stolen from them by Mexicans, clashing with police along the way.The "Angels", a San Pedro motorcycle gang, party their way through the Coachella Valley while searching for a bike stolen from them by Mexicans, clashing with police along the way.The "Angels", a San Pedro motorcycle gang, party their way through the Coachella Valley while searching for a bike stolen from them by Mexicans, clashing with police along the way.
- Awards
- 1 nomination
- Director
- Writers
- Charles B. Griffith
- Peter Bogdanovich(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe Hells Angels brought a $5 million defamation lawsuit against Roger Corman for what they perceived as a negative portrayal of their image.
- GoofsThe last bike of the funeral procession has a flat rear tire.
- Quotes
Heavenly Blues: We don't want nobody telling us what to do. We don't want nobody pushing us around.
Preacher: I apologize. But, tell me, just what is it that you want to do?
Heavenly Blues: We wanna be free! We wanna be free to do what we wanna do. We wanna be free to ride! We wanna be free to ride our machines without being hassled by The Man. And we wanna get loaded. And we wanna have a good time. And that's what we're gonna do. We are gonna have a good time. We are gonna have a party.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Roger Corman: Hollywood's Wild Angel (1978)
The result is a decently entertaining picture (which most Corman films tend to be), but overall full of filler material that gets boring after a while (such as party sequences that go on for a very long time) as a substitute for character and story development (another Corman trademark as well). As the saying goes, "Good, quick, and cheap - pick two". This film, however, wasn't inexpensive according to Corman standards - it cost almost 1 million to make (and it raked in over 3 million in its first week alone, with many bikers rolling in to drive-in cinemas to see it).
For 1966, the content (people clad in swastikas, partying and drinking their lights out in a protestant church, women scantily clad in their underwear, passing the occasional joint, and 2 inexplicit rape sequences) was obviously a shocker. Today a film like this would have been ten times more disguisting and explicit, and the church scene would be milked for it's offensive potential (and it wouldn't be able to earn the profit this one did, given today's consolidated theater market).
The film's visual style is exciting, with some interesting camera movement and handheld camerawork, lending a documentary feel (complete with soft focus shots). The soundtrack does not feature any exciting 60's music, only the usual film score by a jazzy rock band. The performances are not as bad as the dialogue itself - if the judges at the Venice Film Festival spoke English, it is unlikely this film would have made it in. Peter Fonda does not come off as a great Hell's Angel, and his performance is on the stiff side (probably afraid of how his dad might react). However, this film - and Corman's next film, "The Trip" - inspired Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper to make Easy Rider (which Corman tried to help finance), a considerably better developed, more meaningful picture than this one - in all departments.
- Tgrain
- Apr 3, 2000
- How long is The Wild Angels?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- All the Fallen Angels
- Filming locations
- Idyllwild, California, USA(funeral procession)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $360,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 33 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1