''Nam Angels'' is a 1989 Philippine

biker Biker or bikie may refer to: * A cyclist, a bicycle rider or participant in cycling sports * A motorcyclist, any motorcycle rider or passenger, or participant in motorcycle sports ** A motorcycle club member, defined more narrowly than all motor ...

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about naval, air, or land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle scenes means that war fi ...

directed by

Cirio H. Santiago Cirio Hermoso Santiago (January 18, 1936 – September 26, 2008) was a prolific Filipino film producer, director and writer. He used the screen names Cirio Santiago, Cirio H. Santiago and Leonard Hermes. Life and career Santiago was born on Janua ...

and written by Dan Gagliasso. The film was released in West Germany as ''Hell's Angels in Vietnam''.

Plot

During the Vietnam War an American patrol engages in a firefight with a strong force of NVA regulars. The Americans fight their way into a cave containing gold that is in the territory of aboriginals who kill the NVA as well as a few Americans, but capture the majority of the patrol with the exception of its leader, Lt. Vance Calhoun. Calhoun beseeches his commanding general to allow him to return to the area to rescue his men, but the General explains they have no resources, and the area will be bombed by

B-52 The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the United States Air ...

s in a few days time. Aware that four

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 Corporatio ...

bikers are visiting Vietnam and had have been arrested and had their motorcycles confiscated, Calhoun gets the General to allow him to release the Hell's Angels to be under his command to rescue his patrol. In exchange for their services, he offers the Angels a share of the gold but does not mention the prisoners. After fighting their way through NVA held territory with the aid of friendly South Vietnamese, they discover the aborigines are led by a German named Chard who has remained in Indochina since his French Foreign Legion service. Chard plans to sell his American prisoners to the NVA.

Cast

* Brad Johnson as Lt. Vance Calhoun *

Vernon Wells Vernon Michael Wells III (born December 8, 1978) is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and the New York Yankees. Wells ...

as Chard *

Mark Venturini Mark D. Venturini (January 10, 1961 – February 14, 1996) was an American actor best known for his roles as Suicide in a cult classic film The Return of the Living Dead and Vic in Friday the 13th: A New Beginning. Personal life and career Mar ...

as Bonelli * Kevin Duffis as Hickman * Rick Dean as Larger * Jeff Griffith as Carmody *

Romy Diaz Jose Romeo Bustillos Diaz (November 28, 1940 – May 10, 2005) was a Filipino actor. He performed in films such as ''Ang Maestro'' (1981), ''The Impossible Kid'' (1982), ''Gising Na... Ang Higanteng Natutulog'' (1995) and ''Si Samson at Si Deli ...

as Turko * Ken Metcalfe as Gen. Donipha * Archi Adamos as Trinh * Eric Hahn as Morey

Hells Angels lawsuit

On October 26, 1989, the

Hells Angels Motorcycle Club 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 Corporatio ...

filed a federal trademark infringement lawsuit in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

against

Concorde-New Horizons New Concorde (NC) is an American Los Angeles, California based film distribution company founded by Roger Corman. NC got its start in 1983 when Corman formed the production and distribution Concorde-New Horizons (CNH) as one of the first producti ...

, which produced ''Nam Angels'', and against

Media Home Entertainment Media Home Entertainment Inc. was a home video company headquartered in Culver City, California, originally established in 1978 by filmmaker Charles Band. Media Home Entertainment also distributed video product under three additional labels — ...

, which distributed the film on video, over infringements on the club's registered trademarks.Hells Angels say trademark used without permission
Steve Harvey, ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' (October 27, 1989) Hells Angels sue over alleged trademark infringement
Dave McNary,

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ...

(October 26, 1989) Hells Angels spokesman George Christie said: "There is absolutely no way our board or membership would have approved the portrayal of the Hells Angels in this movie. In fact, the portrayal of our members as disloyal to each other is totally contrary to the most important values of our organization – loyalty and trust". He further stated: "We have a structure in place for negotiating commercial licensing arrangements and we would be perfectly amenable to working with any enterprise interested in using Hells Angels trademarks within the guidelines we've established." Barry Fischer, the Hells Angels'

Century City Century City is a 176-acre (71.2 ha) neighborhood and business district in Los Angeles, California. Located on the Westside to the south of Santa Monica Boulevard around 10 miles (16 km) west of Downtown Los Angeles, Century City is one of ...

-based attorney who filed the suit, claimed: "I have never seen a movie where the trademark infringement was so pervasive. The most important thing to the Hells Angels is that the movie be stopped. I'm not saying the damages aren't important, but they are secondary to having the film pulled." A spokesman for Concorde-New Horizons responded that "the lawsuit is unfounded". The suit was ultimately

settled A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer. Settle ...

out of court.Look Homeward Angel: Cycle Icon Sonny Barger Kick-Starts Life As A Free Man By Violating Parole
Philip Martin, ''

Phoenix New Times ''Phoenix New Times'' is a free digital and print media company based in Phoenix, Arizona. ''New Times'' publishes daily online coverage of local news, restaurants, music and arts, as well as longform narrative journalism. A weekly print issue ...

'' (December 2, 1992)

References

External links

* Vietnam War films 1989 films Outlaw biker films Films shot in the Philippines 1989 action films American action war films 1980s war films Philippine war drama films 1980s English-language films Films directed by Cirio H. Santiago 1980s American films Philippine action drama films Hells Angels {{Philippines-film-stub