Director: William Grefé
Writer: William Grefé
From: Cult Cinema
Watch: Mystery Science Theater 3000
A race car driver joins a bank-robbing motorcycle gang at the request of the police to help take the gang down.
I saw that there was an MST3k version of this movie and you bet your ass I watched that instead. This flick is pure MST fare: overly loquacious thugs, a plot that adamantly refuses to move, and a hero that’s a doughy white guy who does nothing. In fact, I think I just summed up the movie. I’m going to get drunk.
Okay, the “plot.” We open on stock car superstar Rod Tillman wrecking his car in a race. He’s so mad about the wreck that he decides to quit racing entirely and auctions off all his equipment. Shades of Burnout, although this movie does more than just have the whiny driver have everything handed to him. Rod catches a ride to a bar with just the bag on his back and his trusty guitar. Is he going to sing later? Do you believe in a just and loving God? Well you’re wrong because of course he sings later and it’s awful.
At the bar, the “Satan’s Angels” biker gang recognizes Rod and asks him to visit their “pad” to hear a “proposition.” While these are the exact words they use, everything they say sounds like there’s a non-zero chance they’re inviting him to participate in a three-way. Rod leaves with Linda, the woman in the gang, while the three other gang members, Banjo, Jeeter, and Fats, hang back to beat up some college boys at the bar for having danced with Linda. (This is how you know they’re bad. Because the swastikas all over their jackets weren’t enough of a clue. Let’s not be presumptuous though. Let’s reserve judgment until the third fawning New York Times profile on the group.)
Back at the gang’s shack, Linda and Rod are making out in front of a giant Nazi flag.
Jesus fuck… Give me a minute… Okay.
He calls a stop to it just before the gang arrive. Turns out they’re bank robbers and want Rod to drive the getaway car for them. He refuses, leaves, and is immediately arrested by the cops. They convince him to flip and work as the getaway driver so they can successfully arrest the gang. Apparently they know the gang is involved in all sorts of crimes, but can’t prove any of it because the gang is too smart.
Sure.
Anyway, Rod agrees. The gang keeps him in the dark about the details, but the cops are constantly watching. Tensions rise when Banjo catches Rod making out with Linda leading to a minor fight that doesn’t go anywhere. They steal some guns from a pawn shop and then get ready for the bank robbery itself. The cops follow them, but the gang manages to give them the slip. Since the cops don’t know which bank is going to be robbed, they’re left trying to follow Rod who gives them the slip pretty easily.
At the bank, Rod flashes his brights at some passing cops who stop to talk to him. He tells them there’s a bank robbery going on, but Banjo sees the whole thing. The cops get shot and Rod has to drive the gang away. Cops start following them, they get cornered at a lighthouse, cops shoot Banjo and Fats, and Rod tries to run up the stairs to escape. Jeeter follows, corners Rod, but is then shot in the back by Linda. Cops come in, arrest Linda, and walk away with Rod. THE END.
That’s right, the hero of the piece flashes his brights and that’s it. That’s the extent of his heroic action. Linda kills Jeeter, the leader of the gang, for no explicable reason. Also, there’s no explanation for why the cops don’t arrest them after the gun heist. That’s armed robbery and they have the stolen guns in their possession. Isn’t that enough for an arrest? Then again, what do you expect from a police force that can’t pin any crimes to the swastika-wearing biker gang that doesn’t wear masks during robberies? Yeah, right, forgot, the gang’s too smart. Brutally stupid.
Watching the MST3k version was so much more fun. This was a season 2 episode so still pretty early in the show’s run. Joel has a small chin beard, like an inverse soul patch, and the host segments largely focus on Gypsy’s emotional state. A solid enough episode, though.
As for the movie itself, catch the MST3k version or just skip it. It’s not terrible, but very little happens and it’s pretty cheaply made. One of the jokes they make constantly in the episode is how bright everything is. Despite most of the movie taking place at night, everything is shot in the middle of the day. We’re not talking day-for-night, we’re talking daylight with a motorcycle’s headlights on to indicate that it’s dark out. Hilariously bad on that level. Otherwise, pretty dull.
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