''Naked Angels'' is a 1969 American
outlaw biker film
The outlaw biker film is a film genre that portrays its characters as motorcycle riding rebels. The characters are usually members of an outlaw motorcycle club.
History
Outlaw biker clubs formed in the late 1940s on the West Coast after the en ...
directed by Bruce D. Clark.
Starring
Michael Greene
Michael Harris Greene (November 4, 1933 – January 10, 2020) was an American actor who was active from the 1960s through the 1990s.
Career
Greene was born in San Francisco, California, the son of Gladys () and Harry Greene. Early in his caree ...
as Mother,
Jennifer Gan
Jennifer Gan (March 2, 1938 – September 15, 2000) was an American stage, film and television actress. She appeared in sixteen film and TV titles in the 1960s and early 1970s.
Career as Ginny Gan
A life member of The Actors Studio, she first be ...
as Marlene, and
Richard Rust as Fingers, it provides an insider's perspective at the lifestyle of outlawed bikers. Actor
Corey Fischer
Corey John Fischer (February 28, 1945 – June 6, 2020) was an American actor.
Early life and education
Fischer was born in Los Angeles, California. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in French and Theatre Arts from UCLA.
Career
In the mid-1 ...
makes an appearance, as well as
Penelope Spheeris
Penelope Spheeris (born December 2, 1945 or 1946; sources differ) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. She has directed both documentary and scripted films. Her best-known works include the trilogy titled '' The Decline of ...
in her first role.
''Naked Angels'' was the last movie distributed by Favorite Films.
Plot
The story concerns a deadly feud between two rival bike gangs. The Angels are out for revenge against their rival gang, the Las Vegas Hotdoggers, who severely beat their leader, Mother (
Michael Greene
Michael Harris Greene (November 4, 1933 – January 10, 2020) was an American actor who was active from the 1960s through the 1990s.
Career
Greene was born in San Francisco, California, the son of Gladys () and Harry Greene. Early in his caree ...
).
Mother is just returning to the Angels and his old lady, Marlene (
Jennifer Gan
Jennifer Gan (March 2, 1938 – September 15, 2000) was an American stage, film and television actress. She appeared in sixteen film and TV titles in the 1960s and early 1970s.
Career as Ginny Gan
A life member of The Actors Studio, she first be ...
), had become the property of Fingers (
Richard Rust), the new head of the clan. When Mother reappears, he quickly reassumes the gang's leadership and rights to the strawberry blonde, lascivious, foul-mouthed Marlene.
The Angels go looking for the Hotdoggers at their hang out, a bar in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
. Not finding their rivals, the Angels ruin the bar and terrorize the local citizenry. A lone Hotdogger betrays his gang and tells the Angels of a secret mine to hang out in the desert where they can find his gang.
Later that evening, Marlene and Mother are riding his chopper around Vegas, when a showgirl in a car catches his eye. He leaves with the showgirl and returns to find Marlene is livid with rage. Setting out into the desert, the Angels and Mother argue about what to do and how to travel through the said desert. Marlene angrily insults Mother. The mother gets angry and says that everyone in the gang can have Marlene. No one in the gang accepts, so Mother takes off on his own.
The Angels and finally Mother meet again at the mine hideout with the Hotdoggers. A dynamite stick brings the Hotdoggers out of the mine for a brawl with tire chains, knives, fists, and boots. The Hotdogger leader steals Angel's bike, but Mother rides him down and finishes him off while the Angels look on and cheer.
After taking revenge on all the Hotdoggers, Fingers and Mother fight it out at the end, but only one can be the leader of the Angels.
Production
The cast of ''Naked Angels'' is actually made up of UCLA film students. They were advised by a former member of the
Hells Angels
The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is a worldwide outlaw motorcycle club whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporati ...
, contributing to the gritty feeling of the film. Financed by
Roger Corman
Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...
and produced by film student David Dawdy,
the film utilized
Francis Ford Coppola's camera truck and technician. It was written in three weekends and shot in three weeks.
Production techniques
The film, released in color, takes advantage of the neon lighting of Las Vegas as many of the filming sequences occur there. The viewer gets a true historical representation of the city's state near the end of the '60s. The film has sequences where the footage alternates between moving action and still photography, which gives it an "art film" feeling. Along with the electric fuzz guitar soundtrack, there are many "dream" or "hallucination" sequences in the film giving it a surreal atmosphere. The camera locations on the motorcycle riding sequences give the viewer a point of view that is unusual in these types of moving action sequences.
Soundtrack
The film's soundtrack was co-written by
Jeff Simmons (eventually to become a member of
Frank Zappa's
Mothers of Invention
The Mothers of Invention (also known as The Mothers) was an American rock band from California. Formed in 1964, their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows.
Originally an R&B band ...
) and Randy Sterling. It was originally released in 1969 on Frank Zappa's "
Straight Records" label.
It has been reissued on CD and vinyl, in combination with Simmons' next album ''
Lucille Has Messed My Mind Up'' from the same year.
Track listing
#Naked Angels Theme 4:10
#Ride Into Vegas 1:16
#Vegas Boogie 3:05
#Vegas Pickup 4:05
#Cop Out 1:12
#First Desert Ride 1:45
#Rank 2:00
#Boinin' (Third Ride) 3:32
#Scots Breath 1:40
#Rat Grind 2:05
#Bar Dream 3:36
#Camper Scene 2:25
#Toccata for Truck 3:35
#End Theme 1:12
The film was scored by Jeff live, laying down the tracks while watching the scenes.
DVD release
Shout! Factory released ''Naked Angels'' as part of ''Roger Corman's Cult Classics'' on their Select DVD series on August 21, 2012.
See also
*
Outlaw biker film
The outlaw biker film is a film genre that portrays its characters as motorcycle riding rebels. The characters are usually members of an outlaw motorcycle club.
History
Outlaw biker clubs formed in the late 1940s on the West Coast after the en ...
*
List of biker films
This list is for films where at least one biker appears as a significant plot element. A bike in a film does not qualify for this list.
Before 1960
* '' The Uncontrollable Motorcycle'' (1909)
* '' Alkali Ike's Motorcycle'' (1912)
* '' A Motorcyc ...
*
Exploitation film
An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical attention, become hi ...
*
Cult film
References
External links
*{{IMDb title, id=0064715, title=Naked Angels
1969 films
1969 crime drama films
American crime drama films
Outlaw biker films
Straight Records albums
1960s English-language films
1960s American films