The Cycle Savages (1969)

Director: Bill Brame

Writer: Bill Brame

Composer: Jerry Styner

Starring: Bruce Dern, Melody Patterson, Chris Robinson, Maray Ayres, Karen Ciral, Mick Mehas, Jack Konzai, Walter Robles, Casey Kasem

More info: IMDb

Tagline: The WILDEST Bunch of the '70s!!!

Plot: The leader of a biker gang takes exception to an artist sketching them, so he makes plans to crush the artist's hands.

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

The problem with most of these biker flicks is that they tend to have padding to fill out the run time, there's not enough action or they're just too damn slow.  This one runs about 80 minutes but it still drags.  Even with Bruce Dern in menacing psycho mode (you can never get too much of that) a lot of scenes need to be tighter.  Some of the fist fights could use some tightening up, too.  A guy stands waiting for the punch and that takes you out of the picture because you know damn well that wouldn't happen in real life.  This isn't some fantasy picture.  I do loves me some Bruce Dern, especially when he's in bad guy mode.  He's tall, lean and he looks and sounds unhinged and unpredictable.  And how about that plot?  It's fucking hilarious.  I bet writer/director Brame thought it would be silly as shit and challenging if he could make a movie where a tough biker gang sets their sights on an artist who sketched their faces.  Oooooooh, big bad men going after soft artsy fartsy man.  The plot tickles the piss out of me.

While I'm thinking about it, would it have been that much harder to film on location instead of in a studio?  I get the logistics and ease of staying in a studio but the biker's garage would've been so much nicer if it were in an actual bike garage.  If you're going to get brutal and manly, don't make the manliest location in the film look like a school play set.  Just sayin'.  Bill, if you're reading this, drop me a line.  I'd love to talk to you about making this film.  It looks like it was a gas to be a part of.  The MGM DVD sports a great looking anamorphic widescreen print with the theatrical trailer also anamorphic wide.