Shadow of the boom mic can be seen on the wall behind Buddy, during the sequence when Officer Bingham busts in on the party at Shill's apartment.
Glass bottle breaks before hitting the biker's head.
Obvious dummy when Buddy's bike explodes.
Camera operator shadow visible when Poet tosses a Madcap into the toilet in the girl's bathroom during the bar fight.
During the fight in the pool, one of Poet's attackers acts out being punched to the ground, but Poet never throws the punch.
Gotta be a scooter bum to dig this flic. Kinda corny but it's cool.
Wow, of all the silly motorcycle gang movies of the 1960s and 1970s, this one is THE WORST, and that's saying a lot, since most all were just awful.Jack Nicholson was lucky his career survived this nonsensical slop, especially since he kept being referred to as a "kid", even though he was 30 years old but looked 40, with a deeply receded hairline and a forehead with so many wrinkles it looked to be made of linen.
No Sons of Anarchy this!A simple biker movie with beer drinking, hell raising (aka fighting), partying and women.
This is a whitewashed, sanitized view of the 'hells angels' motorcycle club. These guys in the movie are basically creeps with motorcycles.
B-grade "wheeler" has motorcycle gang infiltrating a small community, getting everyone riled up, especially service station attendant Jack Nicholson, who is introduced to us roughing up a middle-aged customer who just wants to fill his gas-guzzler with ethyl. Richard Rush is credited with the direction, however the real standout here is cinematographer Leslie Kovacs (aka László Kovács), whose attentive eyes and ears give us some provocative shots of the townspeople interacting with the biker hellions, aided by William Martin's editing.
Biker films came into vogue after the 1966 release of the infamous "The Wild Angels " they remained popular for the next 5-7 years or so. This time in history was the era of the "counter culture," people who rebelled against the status quo of the culture at large (and with good reason).
This has to rate as the third best biker film of the 1960s behind Easy Rider and The Wild Angels. As bad as the script is, it's clear that Jack Nicholson as Poet, an angry gas-pump jockey who joins the Hell's Angels is a star in the making.
Despite the downbeat ending, this movie gives off a clear feeling that the cast really enjoyed making it. There is a sense of fun and playfulness about the bikers' way of life, in stark contrast with the grim, depressing storyline of Corman's The Wild Angels.
HELL'S ANGELS ON WHEELS is an enjoyable addition to the run of biker flicks that filmed cinema screens in the late 1960s. I liked it better than the arty, overrated EASY RIDER, and it's another one to feature Jack Nicholson, this time in the leading role.
