The Rebel Rousers/Comments

• If there was ever a film in the Biker genre to really avoid unless one wants to document it's history, it's this one. This was a film made in 1967, and it obviously looked like that no company wanted to have anything to do with this until the stars were big names enough for it to be released for quick cash. Four Star Excelsior, looking like it was going for films to play at the drive ins, took this on, and in retrospect that decision might some wonder if their far more interesting films like The Hard Road were not doing as well at the Grindhouse and Drive In box offices. Those who have seen it and wondered where the action went, considering that some of the stars are among the Biker Films best known, will possibly have to look within it's troubled production history to find the real answer. Looking at who was at the camera, the fault can not be found in that department, and while the music is not great, it's passable as the work of Exploitation Film industry pros just doing some work. The blame could rest within the writing, like the work of those who wanted to play but did not have what it took to create a strong Biker Film with the amount of talent on the scene - Cohen was obviously a first timer here clearly not in his true element, moving on to be a Co-Producer of films like Blood of Dracula's Castle (With Kovacs at the Camera) and then, after a very long break, Humanoids from the Deep, and the other two having to wait until 1972 for something to happen for their histories in a film called Brute Cops. This is clearly for the collectors. The machine may have looked great to ride, but the gas used in the tank was very low octane. Co-Producer Rex Carlton committed suicide in May, 1968, seven months before the release of a film he wrote, The Angry Breed. The Producer of The Brain That Wouldn't Die (1962), a legend in Grindhouse film history, was also a Producer of two films Directed by Al Adamson, Blood of Dracula's Castle (1969) and Hell's Bloody Devils (1970). The Rebel Rousers was the last release of a film connected to his history. --Screen13