The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.

ANGELS DIE HARD (1970)

Run Time: 1:26:32
Producer: Angel Productions
Director: Richard Compton
Writer: Richard Compton
Key Cast: Tom Baker, William Smith, Carl Steppling

FILM MAKERS

Angels Die Hard was the first film distributed by Roger Corman’s New World Pictures. Half its budget being provided by Roger Corman himself. Corman of course coined the phrase “Biker Flick” back in 1966 when directing Wild Angels, the film that opened the flood gates for the deluge of trashy Bike-Sploitation “B” films to follow between 1966-1972.

“Roger Corman’s New World Pictures (1970-1983): The environment Roger Corman established at New World Pictures allowed young filmmakers like Jonathan Demme, Paul Bartel, Joe Dante, Jonathan Kaplan, Jack Hill, James Cameron, Ron Howard and me to gain invaluable experience making movies. Film scholars and general readers alike will find much to enjoy in this oral history. – Steve Carver (Director, Big Bad Mama, Capone, Lone Wolf McQuade)In 1970, Roger Corman launched his own film production-distribution company, New World Pictures. Over the next thirteen years, he would supervise the creation and release of more than one-hundred films, including such classics as Death Race 2000 (1975), I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977), Piranha (1978), and Rock ‘N’ Roll High School (1979). Filled with entertaining anecdotes and insiders’ insights about the filmmaking process, Roger Corman’s New World Pictures (1970-1983): An Oral History, Volume 1 features interviews with twenty individuals who worked on New World movies, among them Belinda Balaski, Jon Davison, Dick Miller, John Sayles, Lewis Teague and Jack Hill, as well a conversation with Corman himself.It’s time for a collection like this about New World Pictures and the man that made it all happen, Roger Corman. Roger is the seed of more careers than you can imagine in Hollywood.” – Belinda Balaski (Actor, Piranha, The Howling) – excerpt from the book: The Fantastic True Story of Roger Corman’s New World Pictures (1970-1983)

SUMMARY

The film which was written in three months, revolves around a gang of bikers who try to save people from a mining accident. Compton shot the film on location in Kernville, California, on the shore of Lake Isabella, an old gold-mining town that was used for filming early Hollywood Westerns.

Review courtesy of The Video Beat: The local rednecks frequent a juke joint called the Arcade Club. They’re a nasty bunch of hicks who don’t like bikers. The film opens with townsfolk leaping from their pick-ups wielding two-by-fours, pipes and other bludgeoning devices to kick the you-know-what out of the Angels who merely stopped in for a drink. The Angels are doing a good job of whooping some hillbilly butt when the sheriff arrives and breaks up all the fun. The Angels drunkenly agree to leave town.

The next day the town is having an annual celebration of some sort that includes American flags, pig wrestling and other stuff. Next we see the Angels sitting in what looks like a junkyard, drinking beer and reading poetry, when they discover that the town rednecks have just murdered an Angel on the other side of the town line.

The Angles, with their fallen brother in a pine box, return to town and proceed to wreck a pool joint and rape a busty waitress while they smear spaghetti all over her—and themselves. But believe it or not, the bikers are the good guys in this film.

Lots of original rock music on the soundtrack including Dewey Martin of Buffalo Springfield who gives us “Indian Child,” and psychedelic rock band, Fever Tree who play “Death Is A Stranger.”

There are several fine fuzz guitar workouts among the bands on the soundtrack. A large portion of the score was laid down by East-West Pipeline, a fairly obscure group from Colorado who play on nine tracks including the heavy sludge riffing of “You Could Be” and “Taking a Bath,” and the sweet psychedelia of “Questions.” Tom Baker, William Smith, Carl Steppling, Frank Leo, Alan DeWitt, Gary Littlejohn, Beach Dickerson, Rita Murray, Dan Haggerty, Bambi Allen, Dirty Denny, Dixie Peabody. Angels Die Hard.

RELATED MEDIA

Watch The FULL FILM via Cine Meccanica

Buy The DVD at The Video Beat

Read The Fantastic True Story of Roger Corman’s New World Pictures (1970-1983)

 

 

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