The Glory Stompers

source: The Glory Stompers

Rebel motorcycle gangs love to ride, and ride hard, but there are three other facets that they like: (1) drink, (2) party orgy-like, and (3) wreck things. In this film they don't wreck much, but they do the others well. If you want to see them wreck things, see "Devil's Angels" (1968). Produced for the independent American International Pictures (AIP), "The Glory Stompers" followed the success of the " The Wild Angels" (1966). "The Glory Stompers" cost $100,000 to make, but grossed more than thirty times that much. Now that's a successful production! A rival gang of the Stompers, the Black Souls led by the unbalanced Chino (Dennis Hopper), kidnap blonde Chris (Chris Noel), girlfriend of Darryl (Jody McCrea), leader of the Stompers. Darryl is badly beaten up and left for dead (never mind the silly details), but somehow has amazing recovery powers. It's up to him and two pals, ex-member Smiley (Jock Mahoney) and Pony (Gary Wood) to track down the bad guys and reclaim his chick. Will he succeed? And will Magoo (Robert Tessier) eventually rape Chris; he certainly tries hard? Note that the gorgeous girl who strips and skinny-dips along the way is the alluring Doreen (Astrid Warner). Kudos rightfully belong the Mario Tossi for his enjoyable cinematography: See the great shots of the motorcyclists on the sand dunes. So there is some value after all.

I've always held Dennis Hopper in high regard as an actor but he must have literally been starving to take part in this picture. As Chino, the leader of the Black Souls biker gang, Hopper consistently goes over the top to the point of embarrassment, as demonstrated when he reacts to his brother Paul's (Jim Reader) death in the latter part of the story. It's actually quite hilarious if you get to see it. And knock me over with a feather, but I couldn't get over the idea of Casey Kasem as the mouth behind The Mouth, another Black Soul with maniacal tendencies. He mostly tag-teams with a character called Bones who isn't identified on the credits list, so at least that actor's name doesn't suffer the indignity of being identified with this flick. Actually, it got a little difficult to pinpoint the movie's genre at one point when the outlaw bikers rode into a love fest including hippies and flower children with a body painting in progress. Then knock me over double when one of my childhood fave's rides into view, good old Range Rider/Wild Bill Hickok himself, Jock Mahoney as a former Glory Stomper. The picture utilizes him to at least offer a semblance of normalcy to the proceedings when he advises Stomper Darryl (Jody McCrae) to leave the group and become a 'citizen'. But gee, if girlfriend Chris (Chris Noel) couldn't convince him, I don't know how Smiley would have. Just not in the cards. What makes the picture even more surreal if you watch for them, are the numerous continuity lapses between scenes when Darryl's facial bruises go away and reappear again, the same with Magoo's (Robert Tessier) right eye and the discoloration on Chris's forehead that's evident when she reunites with Darryl but is gone as soon as they kiss. At least the tear on her shirt remained intact for the entire picture, someone was paying attention to that one. Well I guess if you go for this stuff there's a lot here to keep one entertained. I can watch just about anything once, so at least now I can say I saw a Dennis Hopper motorcycle gang flick. A heck of a way to go though with a knife to the neck by a girlfriend's erratic knife throw. That was almost as gross as Clean Cut brother Paul spit-cleaning Chris's bloody lip. Eeeuuwwwww!

"Darryl" (Jody McCrea) is a member of the motorcycle gang called the Glory Stompers. One day while walking with his girlfriend "Chris" (Chris Noel) he is severely beaten up by five members of a rival gang called the Black Souls. Believing that they killed him and not wanting any witnesses, the leader named "Chino" (Dennis Hopper) decides to forcibly take Chris with them to Mexico where she is to be sold into prostitution. What Chino doesn't know is that Darryl's wounds weren't nearly as critical as he initially thought and upon gaining consciousness Darryl is determined to catch up to the Black Souls and get Chris back one way or the other. Anyway, so much for the rather standard plot. As far as the overall movie was concerned, I will just say that it was okay as far as biker films go. Naturally, Dennis Hopper performed in his usual energetic manner which helped add a little life into some of the slower scenes. Likewise, Chris Noel--and to a lesser extent Astrid Warner (as "Doreen")--definitely added some nice scenery along the way as well. In any case, although I doubt anybody would consider this film to be that great, it wasn't that bad either and as a result I have rated it accordingly. Average.

This movie started in the middle of the night when nothing else was on so I decided to give it a chance. Glory Stompers is not the greatest movie but for some reason I couldn't change the channel!! Two years later the movie came on again and here I sit, watching it again!! This movie just draws you in.. ..

"The Glory Stompers" is one of dozens of cheap biker films made during the era...and most seemed to be from American International Picture. This one is a bit different than some, as it's not completely bad....some parts are even pretty good. But sadly, there also is quite a bit of this film that seems plotless and cheap. When the story begins, the Black Souls motorcycle gang arrive at a gathering of the Glory Stompers gang and soon are chased away by the Stompers. Feeling irked by this, when the Black Souls see a couple of the Glory Stompers without their gang, they follow Daryl (Jody McCrea) and his girl, Chris (Chris Noel). And, when the pair are alone in an isolated place, the Black Souls attack and it appears as if they killed Daryl. Not wanting a witness, they kidnap Chris...though it sure would have made a lot more sense to kill her as well. What the gang don't realize is that Daryl is NOT dead and soon he meets up with an ex-member of his gang (Jock Mahoney) and the pair go out in search of the kidnapped girl. The main plot idea isn't bad. Also, Dennis Hopper is pretty good as the leader of the Black Souls. But the film has two things against it that make it tough to love. First, portions of the film are practically plotless...mostly consisting of biker types and biker chicks having a party...too much of it. Second, for a tough group of killers, the film overly sanitizes much of the story. The language is all G-rated and when girls rip off their tops, there isn't much to see. However, I did feel uncomfortable with all the attempted rape scenes....it seemed creepy to use this as entertainment. Overall, an okay biker film but one that most folks would grow tired of very quickly.

If you can get passed the standard revenge plot, "The Glory Stompers" is considerably better than expected. A fuzz guitar soundtrack adds tremendously to the overall enjoyment. Recognizable talent early on is displayed by Dennis Hopper and a pre "chrome dome" Robert Tessier. Another big plus is the on location photography, with well shot riding sequences. Of course all the "hey man" stuff dates the film squarely in the 1960s, and the acting by those not named Hopper or Tessier is wooden. Best looked upon as a time capsule with a very familiar plot, "The Glory Stompers" is something to be watched occasionally, when one reminisces about motorcycles pre C.G.I.. - MERK

''The Glory Stompers'' is hardly a classic-even in the ''Biker'' genre, but it's a decent, entertaining little flick from AIP. Dennis Hopper stars as a member of the ''Black Souls'' motorcycle gang, who beat up rival ''Glory Stompers'' member Jody McCrea,leave him for dead, and kidnaps his girl, Chris Noel. He and his gang (who include ''Born Losers'' alumni Robert Tessier, Edwin Cook and Paul Prokop) plan to sell Chris to a Mexican flesh peddler somewhere south of the border. However, McCrea(once he recovers) joins up with ex-Stomper Jock Mahoney and sets out to rescue her. Complicating matters is Hopper's psycho ''Momma'' (Saundra Gayle, a LONG way from ''The Wonderful World Of The Brothers Grimm'') who can't wait to dispose of Chris. And so it goes.The Widescreen photography is very good. The acting is decent all around. Hopper, despite his limited vocabulary (he says ''man'' in almost every sentence) is OK until the climax, when he screams, shakes, whimpers, whines, froths at the mouth and seems to be auditioning for a summer stock tour of ''Hamlet''. And, when all else fails, they toss in a ''Love-In'' along with a brief fight between a couple of tough looking'' Biker Chicks''. The soundtrack, which features, among others, ''The Arrows'' who were a Biker Film staple by now, is good, if somewhat overdone.Mike Curb, former Lt Governor and Motorcycle Music specialist, (The Wild Angels'' ''Devil's Angels'' etc) produced and wrote most of the music-even adding a song called ''Black Souls'' for future ''America's Top 40'' DJ Casey Kasem, who is seen in a bit part as one of the ''Souls''. Fortunately, this one didn't make it into the film's final cut, though, in all probability, it was just intended to help fill up the quickie tie-in soundtrack album.However, the title song ''The Stompers Ride'' did-though it was just a recycled version of Curb's ''Wild Angels Theme''. In fact, much of the music in the AIP biker films was used more than once for their other exploitation titles. Nevertheless, the Sidewalk Recording from the movie is now a highly prized collectors item, which goes for big $$$ whenever it surfaces on EBAY. Ironic, considering that back in the early ''70's, these and other Sidewalk/Tower exploitation soundtracks could be found in discount and drug stores for as little as (Gulp!) three for $1.00. MGM and Twentieth-Century-Fox have just released a nice DVD of this title. The print shows it's age from time to time, but it's in Anamorphic Widescreen with nice color and a sharp image.(the Widescreen process used was probably ''Panavision'', but here it's called ''Colorscope''). and the sound quality is also very good. As a ''Limited Edition'' DVD-R, there are no extras, but it's still nice to have an ''Official'' release at last. Incidentally, of AIP'S many Cycle Sagas, only two others were made in the ''Scope''process -''The Wild Angels'' and it's follow-up ''Devil's Angels''.All of them should have been filmed this way, because, like this one, most of the others feature a lot of footage with the Bikers zooming up and down the highway. And that sort of thing was ideal for the format. Catch a ride with the Stompers and hang on!.

So bad...it's bad. Dennis Hopper and his biker goon gang beat rival biker Jody McCrae to a pulp and kidnap his "old lady." McCrae recovers (very quickly despite sustaining what had to be traumatic brain injuries) to seek revenge. This is a hopelessly bad biker flick with Hopper nearly intelligible as the leader. The direction by Tony Lanza is even worse than his later junk (THE INCREDIBLE 2-HEADED TRANSPLANT). Insane close-ups of arms, breasts, bra straps, et al. As the leading lady (McCrae's "old lady"), Chris Noel is pretty, but shows no acting talent whatsoever. McCrae ("Bonehead" in the BEACH PARTY films) is laughably bad. Hopper made this dog in between QUEEN OF BLOOD and THE TRIP. Jock Mahoney plays somebody named Smiley and a nearly unrecognizable Casey Kasem plays Mouth, fitting since he went on to become famous as a radio star.

Excellent riding sequences and plenty of action made this a great movie to watch. You won't see the excessive carnage that I saw in "The Savage Seven" and "The Losers" but this movie has more than enough brutality to qualify it as a violent biker film. The Glory Stompers starts off by introducing you to the two basic types of bikers. Those who ride for pleasure and those who look for trouble. The Glory Stompers believe in fun and friendship while the Black Souls behave like opportunistic predators. The plot is rather simple yet engrossing. The Black Souls ambush a lone Glory Stomper, Darryl (Jody McCrea), and leave him for dead. The only witness is the Stomper's girlfriend, Chris (Chris Noel), so the Black Souls decide to silence her and cash in on her misfortune by selling her to some Mexican criminals. When Darryl regains consciousness he sets out alone after the Black Souls. The Black Souls make up an interesting group of villains. Dennis Hopper is brilliant as Chino the tough and ruthless leader. Chino's lady, Jo Ann (Sondra Gayle), can best be described as a knife-happy psycho. Paul (Jim Reader) seems to be too civilized to ride with the Black Souls until we learn that he is Chino's younger brother and that they have no other family. Magoo (Robert Tessier) is the largest and most sadistic member of this group. Mouth (Casey Kasem) and Monk (Lindsay Crosby) are the comic relief of the Black Souls as they spend most of their time just clowning around together. While Darryl is following the Black Souls he runs into Smiley (Jock Mahoney) who used to be a vice president of the Glory Stompers. Now older and wiser Smiley becomes Darryl's mentor and joins him on his pursuit of the Black Souls. They are eventually joined by Darryl's best friend and fellow Stomper, Pony (Gary Wood), and Pony's new bride Doreen (Astrid Warner). This posse of Stompers pursues the Black Souls into the desert where the Black Souls are waiting in a ghost town to sell their captive to the Mexican criminals. This sets up the final showdown. During my teens this film was one of my personal favorites. If you like "Good versus Evil" and "Damsel in Distress" movies, set to a motorcycle theme, then you should find this one entertaining. On researching this movie I found some interesting trivia about three of the actors who played Black Souls. Casey Kasem was inducted into the Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 1995. Casey was also the voice of "Shaggy" in the Scooby Doo cartoons. Robert Tessier shed his hair and went on to play bald-headed, tough guys most notably in "Hard Times" with Charles Bronson and "The Longest Yard" with Burt Reynolds. Lindsay Crosby's father was none other than the legendary singer/actor Bing Crosby. By: Ron Forestieri