Five delinquent adolescents known collectively as "the Choppers" terrorize the countryside by stripping cars left by the side of the road with ruthless efficiency. The laughably clueless local yokel cops bumble, fumble and stumble around in fruitless circles until the discovery of a lone chicken feather at a crime site (!) steers them in the right direction.
Tautly directed by Leigh Jason, crisply shot in gorgeous black and white, further graced by hip slangy lingo ("square johns" for decent law-abiding citizens, "bandits" for the fuzz), groovy music (highly unlikely and sublimely geeky flash-in-the-pan wannabe teen scream idol Arch Hall, Jr. belts out a couple of endearingly goofy songs), solid acting, continuity errors aplenty, and snappy pacing, this funky little item sizes up as a good deal of trim, no-frills, mean'n'lean early 60's JD crime movie fun. Yummy blonde "Playboy" Playmate Marianne Gaba (Miss September '59) looks quite delectable in her tight sweater and form-fitting skirt. Rotund veteran sleaze film character actor Bruno Ve Sota has one of his best-ever roles as Moose, a greedy, grubby, no-count, cigar-chewing junkyard owner who fences stolen automobile parts on the side. Scrawny chopper Rex Holman also portrayed a member of the lethal highway gang in "Panic in Year Zero." Arch Hall, Sr., who both wrote and produced this picture, pops up in a sizable supporting part as a smooth-voiced radio reporter and does marvelously mellifluous vocal work on the film's nifty trailer. Moreover, this flick scores bonus points for depicting the choppers as toxic products of messed-up families: Musclehead Torch has a pathetic drunk for a dad, Holman was raised by an aunt and uncle after his original parents dumped him when he was just a baby, and cocky ringleader Hall, Jr. is a spoiled rotten rich brat who's hungry for kicks. Those fine folks at Something Weird Video offer this baby on a terrific DVD double bill with the equally excellent and entertaining Arch Hall, Jr. rock'n'roll star vehicle "Wild Guitar." Can you dig it, daddy-o? I sure can -- and certainly did.
Tautly directed by Leigh Jason, crisply shot in gorgeous black and white, further graced by hip slangy lingo ("square johns" for decent law-abiding citizens, "bandits" for the fuzz), groovy music (highly unlikely and sublimely geeky flash-in-the-pan wannabe teen scream idol Arch Hall, Jr. belts out a couple of endearingly goofy songs), solid acting, continuity errors aplenty, and snappy pacing, this funky little item sizes up as a good deal of trim, no-frills, mean'n'lean early 60's JD crime movie fun. Yummy blonde "Playboy" Playmate Marianne Gaba (Miss September '59) looks quite delectable in her tight sweater and form-fitting skirt. Rotund veteran sleaze film character actor Bruno Ve Sota has one of his best-ever roles as Moose, a greedy, grubby, no-count, cigar-chewing junkyard owner who fences stolen automobile parts on the side. Scrawny chopper Rex Holman also portrayed a member of the lethal highway gang in "Panic in Year Zero." Arch Hall, Sr., who both wrote and produced this picture, pops up in a sizable supporting part as a smooth-voiced radio reporter and does marvelously mellifluous vocal work on the film's nifty trailer. Moreover, this flick scores bonus points for depicting the choppers as toxic products of messed-up families: Musclehead Torch has a pathetic drunk for a dad, Holman was raised by an aunt and uncle after his original parents dumped him when he was just a baby, and cocky ringleader Hall, Jr. is a spoiled rotten rich brat who's hungry for kicks. Those fine folks at Something Weird Video offer this baby on a terrific DVD double bill with the equally excellent and entertaining Arch Hall, Jr. rock'n'roll star vehicle "Wild Guitar." Can you dig it, daddy-o? I sure can -- and certainly did.