GLORY STOMPERS, THE
(director/writer: Anthony M. Lanza; screenwriter: John Lawrence/James Goran White; cinematographer: Mario Tosi; editor: Len Miller; music: Mike Curb of Sidewalk records; cast: Jody McCrea (Darryl Hunter), Dennis Hopper (Chino), Jock Mahoney (Smiley), Chris Noel (Chris), Jim Reader (Paul), Casey Kasem (Mouth), Lindsay Crosby (Monk), Robert Tessier (Magoo), Gary Wood (Pony), Astrid Warner (Doreen), Saundra Gayle (Jo Ann); Runtime: 85; MPAA Rating: NR; producers; John Lawrence: MGM; 2021)
“It isn’t even up to AIP’s usual low standards.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
A ridiculous outlaw biker film made by AIP and fruitlessly directed by Anthony M. Lanza (“Squezze Play”/”Tell It Like It Is”) and written as an exploitation film by James Gordon White and John Lawrence. It isn’t even up to AIP’s usual low standards. But it did well at the box office (especially a favorite at drive-in movies). It was made for around $300,000 but netted a profit of over 3 million dollars.
The Black Souls (an all white gang) are an aimless and violent California motorcycle gang, under the leadership of the slang-talking tough guy psychopath Chino (Dennis Hopper, 3 years before his breakthrough role in Easy Rider), with the other members being the potential rapist Magoo (Robert Tessier), Mouth (Casey Kasem, who flunks as an actor but soon hits it big as a DJ), the vicious Monk (Lindsay Crosby, Bing’s youngest son) and Chino’s clean-cut, nice guy brother Paul (Jim Reader).
The Glory Stompers, the rivals, are an aimless and violent California motorcycle gang, under the leadership of the conflicted Darryl Hunter (Jody McCrea, son of Joel).
While the Stompers were having a party at a general store drive-in for Darryl’s clean-cut, attractive girlfriend Chris (Chris Noel), five members of the Black Souls and Chino’s possessive gf (Saundra Gayle) drop in on them with Harleys. The menacing Chino is wearing Nazi symbols while roughly trying to get Chris to go with him, but is stopped by Darryl.
Chris and Darryl go off in the woods to have a private talk, where Chris tells him to quit the loser gang and go straight and that “she wants something better than to be a Stomper girl.” This film was so stupid that when she first said that, I thought she meant she wanted to be a Black Soul girl.
The lovers are spotted talking at the roadside by the Black Souls, who knock Darryl unconscious. They think they killed him, so they hide him in the bushes and kidnap his girl. Their plan is to rape her and take her to Mexico and sell her to sex-traffickers, thereby she won’t be able to tell the cops about the murder they thought they committed. Though in a hurry to skip town, they still have time for an over-the-top orgy.
When Darryl wakes up a day later from that awful beating without so much as a scratch on him, he is approached by the older, former Stomper, Smiley (Jock Mahoney, the former Tarzan). He wisely tells Darryl the same message Chris told him, that it’s time to stop being an outlaw and be a citizen. But good ole Smiley feels sorry for the kid and helps him track down the rival gang to rescue his girl.
The acting couldn’t be worse, the dialogue was risible, the orgy was awkwardly done and the story was trashy. In the lingo of Hopper, let me say “Man,” this was a bad film. It was so bad it was hilariously bad.
REVIEWED ON 7/18/2021 GRADE: D