Hell's Angels '69/Comments

This is my favorite of the classic biker films of the 60s/70s. I love the up close look at the Angels’ lifestyle, action, humor, overall tone, pacing, the groovy soundtrack and of course the heist plot. Two wealthy half brothers/playboys (Jeremy Slate & Tom Stern) decide to rob a Vegas casino for fun. Their plan: Dress up as traveling bikers from Boston and somehow tag along with the Hells Angels (the real deal) as a cover. Lets just say the Angels arent people you want to mess around with. These guys’ idea of fun is getting drunk and stomping people. Sonny Barger the leader seemed mellow to a point but his underboss Terry The Tramp was a total loose cannon. This guy comes off as an abusive psycho on film, I can only imagine what he was like in real life. The brothers go through a kind of initiation to get in with the Angels and then put their plan in motion. Everything goes off without a hitch… except they didnt count on the Angels finally realizing they were just being used as dupes. UH OH. This is a road movie-adventure/undercover schemer/heist/wild biker/revenge film all rolled into one. I rewatch it at least once a year. --Pete