Hells Angels on Wheels
Hells Angels on Wheels
| 01 June 1967 (USA)
Hells Angels on Wheels Trailers

At first gas station attendant Poet is happy when the rockers gang “Hell’s Angels” finally accepts him. But he’s shocked when he learns how brutal they are – not even murder is a taboo to them. He gets himself in trouble when the leader’s girlfriend falls in love with him – and he welcomes her approaches.

Reviews
Titreenp SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?
Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.
Celia A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.
Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
Scott LeBrun Good if not great as biker cinema goes, "Hells Angels on Wheels" had the legendary Angel Sonny Barger as its technical adviser, making it supposedly more true to life than other depictions of the notorious motorcycle gang, although the word "supposedly" will need to be stressed. The movie has a few elements that manage to make it a must see, but these don't have much to do with the story, which is thin and has an episodic nature. Jack Nicholson, the obvious breakout star, is prominently featured as a gas station attendant who captures the attention of a bunch of Angels and earns their respect. He's voted in as a member, but he finds that their wild way of life is a little too much for him. They like to promote themselves as fun loving rebels, but they possess decidedly more edge than that, and are not above murder. Nicholsons' character, who gets nick named "Poet", also does not like the way that they pass their women around, especially as he falls for Shill (Sabrina Scharf), who is ordinarily the main squeeze of this packs' leader, the charismatic Buddy (Adam Roarke). Despite Nicholsons' presence and performance, Roarke really is the one to watch here, doing an engaging job of creating a memorable character. A couple of familiar faces fill out the supporting and bit parts: John Garwood, Jack Starrett, Gary Littlejohn, and Bruno VeSota, with directors Bob Kelljan and John "Bud" Cardos also appearing. This is exciting at times, with the expected number of fight scenes, as well as some filler / montage sequences, and music that is very much of the time. The movie isn't helped, however, by an abrupt and unsatisfying ending. If one is interested, they can check out other biker pictures from producer Joe Solomon such as "Angels from Hell", "Run, Angel, Run!", "The Losers", and "Werewolves on Wheels". Director Richard Rush would also direct Nicholson in "Psych-Out", and of course would go on to great fame as director of the cult favourite "The Stunt Man" (in which he again worked with Roarke). One can also note the stylish and colourful cinematography by Laszlo Kovacs, who's billed as Leslie Kovacs. Overall, not bad, and a cult film worth a look. Seven out of 10.
mikebell The majority of "Hell's Angels On Wheels" was shot in and around Bakersfield, California doubling for Nevada. The trashed motel is the Bakersfield Inn, which had suffered a major fire in the year before. The scenes of the gang cruising along the highway, taking part in a hill climb, running the old man off the road, and lounging around in a wooded park were all shot in the Hart Park/Lake Ming area just NE of Bakersfield. And the wedding sequence was shot on the grounds of the Kern County Museum's "Pioneer Village." It's interesting to note that a major scene of the gang riding up and down a city street was shot along 19th street in downtown Bakersfield. A couple of years later, Jack Nicholson walked the same two blocks in "Five Easy Pieces."
Janus Høi Directors office 1967: "Let's make a cool movie.." "Yeah.. What kind of movie" "What about a road-movie?" "Mmm.. A road-movie with motorcycles?" "Sounds good.. With some bad boys?" "The baddest boys in the world.. HELLS ANGELS!" "Oh no.. Don't be kidding me.. Not the ANGELS?" "Oh yes.. With a lot of bitches too." "Sounds good. But.. How can we make those guys look very cool?" "Hey.. This is the late sixties.. It's very easy to look cool: Drink and drive, never change your clothes, smoke some pot, take bath in beer and grow beard." "This gonna be sooo cool!" No.. It was a big mistake, instead."Hells Angels on wheels" are a total waste of time.
Jack Spencer Not to say I didn't enjoy this movie, I love the Hells Angels and all the books and movies about them. This was a good story, but it could have been told in 10 minutes. The other hour and 50 minutes, is silly, and boring. But it does have redeeming qualities, which makes it worth watching on late nite TV. Jack Nicholson is good in a very early role,(see what he was like before he started to take himself too seriously!) the girls were hot, hot, hot, and there is a great scene at the start, that shows Sonny Barger in his early days. But scenes of guys driving around in circles on their bikes, to the weirdest music I ever heard, shows that the director was a film school dropout!