10 Biker Movies You Probably Haven't Seen
We all love movies with motorcycles, biker gangs, riding, and racing in them, right? Are you tired of watching Easy Rider and On Any Sunday over and over? Here's a bushel of biker films you may not have seen.
1. The Glory Stompers (1967)
Perhaps the reason The Glory Stompers is fairly obscure is the fact that it does not feature the words "angel", "hell", "Satan", "wild", or "devil" in the title, which were all code for "biker movie" back then. This movie does feature actual biker club members in some bit parts and as background, as well as Dennis Hopper, Jody McCrea, and a rare film appearance by D.J. Casey Kasem. The plot revolves around a rivalry between two gangs. Straddle your hogs and ride, man!
2. No Limit (1935)
Back when the world was just starting to figure out what a movie should be, and how a motorcycle should work, vaudeville comedian George Formby starred in No Limit. George made a career playing bumbling, good-hearted comic heroes and was possibly the inspiration for the cartoon character Goofy. In this movie, he plays an inventor and motorcycle enthusiast George Shuttleworth. He scrapes together some funds and enters the big Isle of Man TT race on his Shuttleworth Snap. Once there he bumbles his way into the lead, only to be leaned on by some thugs who want their guy to win. What's the best part about this you ask? It was actually filmed at the 1935 Isle of Man races.
3. The Pace That Thrills (1952)
The year before Lee Marvin and Marlon Brando gave bikers a bad name in The Wild One, this The Pace That Thrills was actually portraying them in a much more positive light. This is the classic story of two riding/racing buddies and the woman that, of course, comes between them. It features the sort of only mildly dangerous fun that people on bikes still engage in when they get together before Hollywood realized audiences wanted sensational violence and death in their biker films.
4. The Leather Boys (1964)
The Leather Boys is a British drama about a young man who would rather hang out with his mates, ride his cafe racer, and race to the Ace Cafe. Meanwhile, the marriage he rushed into is a mess, there's no money for the rent, and his best friend may actually be interested in being more than friends. This film was considered controversial back in the day for the homosexual overtones, which you'll barely notice here in the 21st century, but now it's just great to see all those old Triumphs.
5. MotorPsycho! (1965)
If you like naturally well-endowed woman, then you'll love this early Russ Meyers production. MotorPsycho! follows the exploits of 3 young men, who I guess you could call a biker gang, as they rape and murder their way across the desert on Honda Trail 90 mopeds. I know, any healthy woman ought to be able to outrun one of those, but you forget how the shoes and clothing of the day limited women's movements. "Bike riding hoodlums flat-out on their MURDERCYCLES!" Flat out on one of these is about 40 mph.
6. The Hellcats (1968)
The Hellcats are a female led biker gang, which also explains the alternate title The Biker Babes, who are wanted for killing a police man. It is up to the brother and fiance of the dead cop to infiltrate the gang and bring them to justice. Perennial tough guy Ross Hagen plays the brother out for justice, or is it revenge? Leather on the outside... All woman on the inside!
7. The Sidehackers (1969)
Inexplicably, The Sidehackers is also sometimes found under the title Five the Hard Way. In this one, Ross Hagen is again seeking revenge, this time against some kind of psycho cult/gang leader named J.C. who travels around the country with his entourage doing some sort of stunt show... though we never see him perform. What we do see is a lot of sidecar motocross racing, which is pretty damn impressive, even if the rest of the film is laughable. Hard riders! Mounted on burning steel! Ouch!
8. Little Fauss and Big Halsy (1970)
This was the other big motorcycle movie that came out in 1970, besides On Any Sunday. The movie starred Robert Redford and features a Johnny Cash soundtrack, so you would think it would be better known. The problem with Big Fauss and Little Halsey though is that he plays a charming heel, who uses people, and goes from race to race, leaving broken bikes and hearts behind him. Micheal Pollard plays the earnest, quiet, and talented Fauss, who can fix the bikes and ride the bikes, but just can't seem to win. Rumor is Redford is keeping this one from home video release because he doesn't like his character in it.
9. Hex (1973)
Hex is a movie that is confused about what it wants to be, and can't even settle on one name. At various times this movie has been called Hex, Charms, Grass Land, or The Shrieking, but all of them involve a group of bikers in the western frontier immediately after the first world war. They run afoul of the local authorities, hide out with two Native American sisters, who may be witches, and then start to die under mysterious circumstances. With a cast that includes Gary Busey, Kieth Carradine, and Scott Glen, this film was never the less too weird to be a hit. The tone goes from comedy to action, to thriller, to romance so fast you might sprain your brain trying to follow it.
10. The Black Six
Combine blaxploitation, biker movies, and the NFL and you get The Black Six, which is similar in story to The Magnificent Seven. Six friends who are riding around the country working odd jobs get a message from back home that one of their younger brothers has been killed by a racist white biker gang. Now they have to ride home to avenge his death and bring the Nazi bikers to justice. Luckily they are "6 times tougher than Shaft! 6 times rougher than Superfly!"
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