The strange behavior of various characters in this movie made me wonder if this might be a parody of biker movies. It was funny when the stereotypical dumb, lazy and cowardly Latino deputy was on screen.
A quick once over and The Rebel Rousers seems nothing more than a good guy versus evil biker gang midnight movie. But,look closer and you see a story about the conflict of conforming to the norms of society or rebelling against them.
"Paul Collier" (Cameron Mitchell) is an architect who drives into a small town in search of his girlfriend, "Karen" (Diane Ladd) who is noticeably pregnant. He wants to marry her but she essentially wants to raise her child all by herself.
This late carefree, but crudely gruff low-cost b-grade biker exploitation (that was shelved for a couple of years before being released because of the fascinating performance of Nicholson in the 1969's biker flick 'Easy Rider') is nothing more than a minor curious piece for its well oiled cast, who would go onto better things. Namely Jack Nicholson and Harry Dean Stanton.
Rebel Rousers, The (1970) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Silly but mildly entertaining biker flick about a man (Cameron Mitchell) who travels to a small town to try and get back his pregnant wife (Diane Ladd) but while the two are talking he's beaten and she's kidnapped by a biker gang led by Bruce Dern. The battered husband manages to make it back to town where he tries to find someone to help him.
"The Rebel Rousers" is a short, sloppy biker pic from 1970 that showcased future stars like Harry Dean Stanton, Dianne Ladd, Bruce Dern & Jack Nicholson. The cast is so good they give gravity to an otherwise disposable film.
J.J.
Many times as I sat watching this god-awful film it sure looked like there really wasn't a script. In many places, it looked as if the director, if there was one, just told everyone to 'wing it'--and often the actors talked over each other, spouted gibberish or just talked to hear themselves talk.
The Rebel Rousers a few times feels like it could be aiming for something more on its lunch-money used for a budget. It's got a very simple crux to the story- Bruce Dern and Cameron Mitchell as old school friends (hey, they may be oh two decades apart, but it was college I guess) say hello and go their separate ways at the start of the film, the former being a biker club leader and the latter a soon-to-be father of a possibly illegitimate child by Diane Ladd's character.
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