Friday Film: 'Black Leather Jackets'

Here we have another example of pop culture's fascination with the bad biker. It's a 1964 episode of "The Twilight Zone," called "Black Leather Jackets."

I'm about to spoil the surprise in the plot, so if you don't want that, skip the rest here and go watch it instead. It'll be on TV Saturday during the Syfy Channel's annual New Year's Day "Twilight Zone" marathon.

This episode is scheduled to air at 9 a.m. EST Jan. 1. Happy new year!

**************************

Written by Earl Hamner Jr. of "The Waltons" fame (he also contributed other scripts to TZ), it combines earthly fear of toughs on two wheels with a more sinister fear common during the space race of the 1960s.

Here's the story:

Three young men rumble into a small town on motorcycles, wearing black jackets and rolled-up jeans, and move into an empty house next door to a nuclear family -- dad Stu, mother Martha and daughter Ellen (Shelley Fabares) -- arousing suspicion in dad and simply arousing young Ellen.

We quickly see the leader of this trio has the ability to move objects with a squint of his eyes, and when Stu goes next door to complain about his suddenly poor TV reception, he turns zombielike and goes back home, telling his wife, "They're very nice boys."

When Ellen misses her bus, one of the leather boys, Scott (Lee Kinsolving), offers her a ride to the library on his bike. When she expresses gratitude, using the expression, "Thank your lucky stars," he begins to expound on the "nature of the galactic structure," till she looks quizzically at him. He quickly shifts gears and says, "I mean, I dig stars, but ... so they're lucky? That's a gas!"

His "brothers" spy on him from a room filled with high-tech equipment but no furniture, and they see that he's forming a relationship with a woman. They no longer trust him. They call home to a giant Eye in Space, showing us they are part of an invasion force planning to take over the Earth.

When Scott tries to warn Ellen, she worries about his mental state. Scott pleads with the alien leader, saying that in addition to hatred and violence, humans are also capable of love and compassion. But the conspiracy rolls over him.

The moral of the story? When someone tries to warn you that things aren't what they seem, listen.

I'm a big fan of Rod Serling and "The Twilight Zone." So what if it's a little dated and stilted? It's still creepy fun.

"Black 
Leather 
Jackets" by 
Earl Hamner Jr., 
Episode 138,
Season 5 
of "The 
Twilight Zone,"
original air date
Jan. 31, 1964


I give it 4 Revs out of 5

'Anarchy' Star at Easyriders Show

Charlie Hunnam as Jackson "Jax" Teller on
"Sons of Anarchy."

Biker heartthrob Charlie Hunnam, who stars as Jax Teller on the FX-TV show "Sons Of Anarchy," will be featured guest next month on the Easyriders 2011 Bike Show Tour.

Hunnam will host, sign autographs and pose for pictures on Saturday, January 8, at the Los Angeles Convention Center and on Saturday, January 15, at the Sacramento Convention Center.

According to a press release from Easyriders, Time Magazine called Kurt Sutter's "Sons Of Anarchy" "devastatingly powerful" with more than 5.9 million viewers tuning in weekly to FX's highest-rated series ever.

"Our goal at Easyriders Events is to bring our patrons one of a kind, quality entertainment while always striving to achieve top quality service and do our very best to bring in the talent and attractions that our patrons want," Easyriders Events owner Greg Hicks said in the release. "Sons Of Anarchy is the most popular show on TV today so who better to get than the star of the show Charlie Hunnam 'Jax.' We want our patrons to be able to come to our shows meet and see not only one of the most popular names in the motorcycle industry, but also in all of entertainment today."

Although I'd never heard of him before "Sons," he appeared in the gay drama "Queer as Folk" as well as high-profile Hollywood film "Cold Mountain." He got his start at the age of 15 in an English series "Byker Grove," and learned to ride a motorcycle for Alfonso Cuarón's 2006 apocalyptic drama "Children of Men." Here's a quickie bio, and a more extensive overview from Clutch & Chrome.

If you get to the show, say hi for me.

Don't be fooled by the American
accent, ladies, Charlie is a Brit.

Roadside Reading: 'No Angel'

Jay "Bird" Dobyns with a couple of biker chicks.

Jay Dobyns wanted nothing more than to be the best at his job.

His job was catching bad guys. To do that he became one.

As an undercover agent of the ATF — the federal bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms — he was assigned in 2002 to infiltrate the Hells Angels in Arizona and build a case against the members by gathering evidence of drug dealing, illegal gun sales and racketeering.

His memoir, “No Angel,” gives much detail about how he did his job, re-creating himself as the baddest Angel of them all. He accomplished quite a bit, although in the end it’s doubtful whether the mostly unsuccessful prosecution was worth the long months of anxiety-producing, life-threatening work he did, placing himself and his family in danger for the rest of their lives.

Dobyns fully admits that in order to be a bad-ass biker, he had to be an absent father, coldly hurting his children through his words and actions.

“I’d just gotten my bottom rocker, and I wasn’t going to spoil it by taking time to have a chat with my little girl,” he writes near the climax of the story. “I was so upside-down with who I’d become that I’d been willing to lose my daughter’s and my own respect, in the service of a case.

“I knew (the Hells Angels) knew I’d just hung up on my daughter, and I knew they approved.”

His vivid book takes readers on an exciting journey in which Dobyns places himself above those he emulates, even as he appears to participate in criminal activities — riding the edge, slipping out just before being implicated.

His team was lucky enough to be able to create a genuine chapter of a real bike club, then impress the Hells Angels enough to get him recruited to their ranks.

Dobyns’ memoir gives insight into the code and practices of outlaw bikers who, despite their need for “freedom” follow strict pack hierarchy and rules of conduct that when violated can end in murder.

Not much of a biker himself, “Bird” had to learn the rules:

“We might ride with these guys tonight,” his club president explained. “We gotta keep up. They blow a light, we blow a light. They get trafic-stopped, we get traffic-stopped. Mesa rides like the Blue Angels on Memorial Day. Other charters hate riding with ’em ’cause they’re such ... road Nazis. Stay eighteen inches off the wheel in front of you. And stay back. Never, ever cross the line of a full patch’s front wheel. You pass one of these guys and there will be hell to pay.”

He notes the appeal of the club.

“It must’ve felt incredible to the Angels. These were guys who if they didn’t have the Death Head (patch) stitched to their backs, would be broke-dick drifters sitting alone at the end of the bar counting quarters to see if they could afford another can of Bud. Instead, the drinks were free and the women lined up.

“Their world travels with them, a bubble made of leather and motorcycles.”

He’s alarmed when a biker encourages “Bird” to take liberties with underage girls.

“I was being offered the flesh of a minor — and that of her friend — by her own father,” he writes, noting it was intended as a gesture of respect. “In the biker world, I was a catch. Sad.”

While he lied his way into their confidence, as a reader I felt guilty for him. But deep in the undercover persona, Bird never did. It wasn’t until later that he could see “the Hells Angels weren’t all bad — and I wasn’t all good.”

Reminiscent of William Queen’s “Under and Alone,” this is a fascinating look at a secretive world and, like Queen, Dobyns learns too late, “I’d thought I was the one infiltrating them. I had it backward. They were the ones who had infiltrated me.”

“No Angel: 

My Harrowing 

Undercover 

Journey to 

the Inner 

Circle of 

the Hells 

Angels,” 

Jay Dobyns 

and Nils 

Johnson-Shelton.

I give it 5 Revs out of 5.

Friday Film: 'It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year'

Nate Fisher accepts a gift at Christmas.

This week, in keeping with the season, we're watching a Christmas classic — not actually a movie, but an episode of the greatest TV series HBO ever produced, "Six Feet Under."

Even if you've never seen the show, any rider will get a kick out of "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year," episode eight of the second season.

This series, which lasted five seasons, focuses on a Los Angeles family, the Fishers, who run a funeral home. One son, Nate (Peter Krause), had left home to avoid the whole death thing, but returns home at Christmas in the pilot episode to find his father, Nathaniel (Richard Jenkins), has been killed in a traffic crash. That leaves Nate to decide whether to join his brother in running the business and grow up, be responsible for once, or continue being a free spirit.

That's the back story.

This episode takes place one year later. Now, this would be a spoiler, but you need to know that every episode of 'Six Feet' begins with a death. So whoever you see at the beginning of the show is likely to be the stiff. And this time out, it's a biker who bites the dust.

That's just about all I'm going to tell you except to say that regardless of whatever else happens to the regular characters in the show, the highlight of this one is a Christmas Day biker funeral. And it's a party that never seems to end, frustrating the Fisher family who live at the funeral home at the heart of the series.

Marilyn Johnson (Rusty Schwimmer)
talks with Nate (Peter Krause)
at her husband Jesse's funeral.

"If he were a careful man, he might've lived longer, but would he have enjoyed his life as much? Would I have enjoyed his life as much?" his widow, played by the marvelous Rusty Schwimmer, tells funeral director Nate Fisher. "Jesse always said you have to live every day like you might die tomorrow."

I give it 5 out of 5 Revs

Paris "Motoracer" Hilton

What does Paris Hilton know about motorcycle racing?

Three things:
1. She can afford to sponsor a team.
2. It will bring her lots of publicity.
3. She looks good in skin-tight leather.

We do know that in 2006 she sat on a chopper for a photo-op beside Kimberly Stewart (celebrity daughter of Rod and Alana Stewart) — who was the victim of a prank when someone sneaked up and turned on the engine. Stewart managed to ride for 30 feet or so before falling off, while Paris loudly proclaimed "Oh, my God!"

Paris Hilton, rich poser

The notorious socialite/hotel heiress and star of "reality TV" and sex tape traveled to Spain last Saturday to announce the launch of her new motorcycle team, SuperMartxe VIP by Paris Hilton, which is to compete in the 125cc MotoGP World Championship, riding Aprilia RSA two-stroke 125s at speeds of up to 225 km/hour (about 140 mph).

The Daily Mail in the UK drooled:
"Paris will be required to attend five of next season's races as part of her contract. Her new venture will add to her ever-expanding conglomeration of perfumes, accessories collection and reality shows. As always, the socialite tweeted about the experience in typical Paris lingo.
'Posing on my new Motorcycle ;) Loves it!' she tweeted.
Later in the day she added: 'Had an amazing press conference today - Hot!' "

Maverick Viñales, actual racer

The Huffington Post obviously knows nothing about motorcycles, either, tripping over the bad metaphor of Hilton being "ready to hit the shift stick hard into full throttle." (uhh, stick shifts are on CARS, not motorcycles.)

I've been searching all over, but can't find any references to her actually riding a motorcycle.

Paris didn't assemble the team, which features Spanish racers Sergio Gadea and Maverick Viñales.

Sadly, even the moto racing sites such as Motogp.com are noting how she overshadowed her stars with this announcement.

"I can't believe I have my own racing team! So cool! :) "

Some of us can't believe it either, Paris.

Sergio Gadea: actual racer

I can say this for her. She does look good in all that pink and white leather. But I would really hate to see what happens when a bee flies down her cleavage.

Roadside Reading: 'God on a Harley'

I'd seen the book "God on a Harley: A Spiritual Fable" long before I picked it up to read it. Then an acquaintance who learned I was riding a motorcycle suggested I check it out. I saw online that I could download an audio book, which suited me because I spend more time driving than reading books.

So I DL'd it and burned it to disk, then on a long trip, I listened. I'm glad I did, because if I had read it I probably wouldn't have finished the book. Several times I got annoyed with the main character and turned it off in disgust. Whenever I get annoyed with a story, it lands in the pile of books I never finished.

Although I did like the theme of Joan Brady's book — finding your life's purpose and the courage to do what you love instead of what you think you need — the story and especially the whiny lead character annoyed me.

Christine Moore is a trauma nurse in her 30s returning to the hospital she ran away from to escape a lover who wouldn't commit to her. She likes to believe she's grown, but she still acts like a petulant child when she sees him and learns he has married someone else. She seethes in anger and cannot accept that he didn't love HER.

Get over it, girl, I want to scream.

Then she meets God, in the guise of "Joe" a handsome Harley-riding dude. She plays cool and haughty toward this irresistible stranger. But he's unfazed; he knows all about her. He doesn't try to fool her — he tells her exactly who he is and that he's there to help. And he warns her against harboring romantic feelings toward him. She finds that bit hard to do (oh, but he couldn't just appear as a bald, old man with crooked teeth, now could he?).

Anyway, "Joe" is a God who tells her to forget about those commandements of the Old Testament, because they don't apply anymore. He says we're all evolving — even him. He gives her six new commandments customized for her own needs instead. Ones that bring her to her truest self. He tells her:

1. Do not build walls, but learn to transcend them.
2. Live in the moment, for each one is precious and not to be squandered.
3. Take care of yourself, first and foremost.
4. Drop the ego. Be real. And watch what happens.
5. All things are possible all of the time.
6. Maintain universal flow. In giving, something is gained, and it is an act of generosity to receive.


This new-age feel-good God guides and encourages her to build a life she can love, promising that when she's right with herself, the right partner will appear. And he does — on a motorcycle, no less. Happy ending at last.

So in the end I liked it, but I won't be "reading" it again soon. Your mileage may vary.

 
"God on 
a Harley:
A Spiritual
Fable,"
by Joan
Brady
Atria Books
176 pages


I give it 2.5 Revs out of 5.

Friday Film: On Any Sunday

"On Any Sunday" is the classic motorcycle movie that only real motorcyclists remember. I hadn't heard of it until I visited the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum in Ohio.

This film is a documentary made in 1971, focusing on motorcycle racing in its various forms. It has only one Hollywood star, the late Steve McQueen — who's not really the star of this film, merely one of many serious-minded racers featured in it. Real racing stars in the movie include David Evans and Mert Lawwill.

When I first popped the DVD into the machine and hit the command to play "feature," I wondered if I'd selected the wrong thing. It played images of little kids and some pretty goofy music. But stick with it; once it got rolling, it became fascinating and hilarious at times — both intentionally and unintentionally.

There were the motocross racers who did stupid things and ended up in complicated heaps on the track. There was a dessert racer who managed to set his entire bike on fire. There was the guy up to his hubs — and knees — stuck in mud. There was the turtle on the route who got in the way of more than one racer.

And there are extremes, like the ice racers of Quebec City, Quebec.

Then there were the amazing real-life stories of men — yes, they are mostly young men — who spend their entire waking lives racing, working on their bikes or driving to races.

 

Directed by Bruce Brown, the movie is so much like one of those Disney documentaries we watched around that time — touching one minute, and lighthearted the next. Brown goes behind the scenes, giving us a perspective on these tough young competitors and how they will do anything to be the best. Or to simply beat an opponent to 10th place. He shows the customized, low-tech equipment they use — layered tear-off face shields to remove mud in a hurry, iron drag shoes strapped on with homemade buckle straps, a back brace to replace the cast one competitor soaked off his broken back so he could race six weeks after a serious crash.

When I started watching the movie, my Ironman was determined to take a nap on the couch, insisting he wasn't interested. But I noticed he never did close his eyes, and halfway through the movie he was sitting up and giggling. Well, not a girlie giggle, but he WAS laughing. And definitely ooohing. He was entertained.

You can see this material is old — just look at the hairstyles, and the clothing of the spectators. Not to mention the corny score. But since I don't know much about racing, I wondered how much of what we see holds true today.

For sure, the bikes have changed some in the intervening years. But probably less than you'd think.

Seen from the distance of 40 years, it has an  unintended quaintness. But for many middle-aged bikers, it'll be a thrilling nostalgia trip.

You can view the trailer here. The nicely remastered DVD runs 96 minutes, plus extra features. Or you can watch the 89-minute-long film on Hulu.com.

"On Any
Sunday,"
documentary
directed by
Bruce Brown,
with Steve
McQueen,
David Evans
and
Mert Lawwill.
rated G.

I give it four Revs out of five.

Tron Lightcycle

The sequel to the groundbreaking 1982 computer-animated film "Tron" — "Tron Legacy" — opens nationwide this week, but before the newly redesigned lightcycle even hit big screens, Florida motorcycle designer Parker Brothers Choppers built 10 actual street-legal Light Cycles.

Based on film publicity images, they were selling for a reported $55,000 apiece. And here's the latest app for iPod — instead of gauges, this cycle can be controlled through an iPod dock. Knew that device was useful for something!

Brothers Marc and Shanon Parker have also built a "Batpod," a "Doghouse Bike" and a "Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man FXR" — plus they have planned projects of a Playboy bike, Gene Simmons KISS bike and a Negative Lightcycle.

Wired reports the Light Cycle weighs 474 pounds, is a little more than 100 inches long and 23 inches wide, and the rider perches 28.5 inches off the ground. I had a little trouble getting the Parker Brothers site to load, and really didn't find much there to see anyway, but you can find them on Facebook, and here's a YouTube video of the cycle. It looks awkward, but still interesting.



The original "Tron," released in 1982 by Disney, was the first of its kind to employ extensive computer generated animation. It stars Jeff Bridges as hacker Kevin Flynn — and also as his avatar inside the electronic world, CLU — Bruce Boxleitner as Tron and Tron's "user," Alan Bradley, and David Warner as antagonists Sark, the program, his "user," Ed Dillinger, and the voice of the Master Control Program. The plot unfolds as Flynn attempts to hack into the ENCOM mainframe to expose Dillinger's piracy, but is sucked into the digital world. There, he teams up with Tron, Bradley's program, to defeat the Master Control Program.

The characters zoom around on these amazing lightcycles during action sequences on a digital landscape.

It was so influential, "The Simpsons" even spoofed during one of the "Treehouse of Horror" episodes, in which Homer falls through a time/space warp and winds up in a 3-D world. "Have you ever seen 'Tron'?" he asks, calling back to his "normal" world. "No," his friends all say. "Oh ..." I looked on YouTube, and found this version dubbed in Español!



Now, almost 20 years later, Bridges and Boxleitner return to add to the legend. And through the miracle of digital technology, you get to see Young Bridges side by side with Old(er) Bridges. I like 'em both, but you see for yourself.

The original movie is pretty dated and not nearly as exciting as I thought when I saw it as a kid, but the new one, naturally, is supercharged for a modern audience.

I also obtained some publicity pics from the movie, provided for promotional purposes by Disney and Buena Vista, that I thought were neat, so I'm sharing them here. Enjoy!

Roadside Reading: Proficient Motorcycling

David L. Hough is a daily motorcycle commuter and journalist who has long been writing about motorcycle safety and risk assessment for various motorcycle publications, including his monthly series "Proficient Motorcycling" in Motorcycle Consumer News, on which this book is based.

Hough begins by breaking the taboo against discussing crashes and death on two wheels. He provides statistics accounting for experience, road conditions, bike types and intoxication. Then he moves to explaining in detail how motorcycles work, centers of balance, inertia, gyroscopic stability, traction, braking force and tactics for maneuvering in traffic, on inclines and around corners.

Finally, he advises on special situations, how a passenger affects your bike, what to know when riding with other bikers and protecting yourself from the elements.

Graphics, illustrations and color photos add to your understanding of his scientifically based lessons, and the book comes with a bonus CD with 144 more pages of text.

This is an excellent resource, whether you are a beginner or an experienced rider and  think you've seen it all. Read it; study it; practice it.




"Proficient
Motorcycling:
The Ultimate
Guide to
Riding Well,"
by David L.
Hough,
2008,
BowTie Press



I give it 5 Revs out of 5.

Friday Film: The Babysitter/Weekend with the Babysitter

This week we're going to take a look at two drive-in "classics" from the late 1960s and early '70s -- a time when motorcycles and motorcycle gangs were the rage: "The Babysitter" and "Weekend with the Babysitter."

Packaged along with the bizarre cross-dressing "Pink Angels" and five other films in the "Drive-in Cult Classics Vol. 3" box set, these two seemingly related movies have little in common save their male star, George E. Carey.

There are a number of movies called "The Babysitter," but the one we're discussing here was released in black and white in 1969. In it, Carey plays George Maxwell, a prosecutor likely to be promoted to district attorney. But that ambition — actually his frigid wife's goal, not his own — is threatened by his affair with Candy Wilson (Patricia Wymer), the free-loving babysitter who invites friends to play rock and roll, dance, undress and smoke dope downstairs when the Maxwells go out. That night, he hits on her while driving her home.

Later, as Maxwell focuses on a big case against a biker who kidnapped a woman and beat her to death, the biker's old lady plots to blackmail Maxwell into letting him go free. So naturally, Candy terrorizes the biker chick to thwart her plan. Guess that makes her the good guy.

The bikers are a tiny part of this movie, but their point of view is represented along with their motives — they aren't just mindless figures of evil. Cornball performances and a typically cheesy score mark this low-budget pic, however the rock music isn't awful, and there's even a quaint lesbian love scene meant to be shocking.

The transfer is horrid, however, as no good copies were available when this DVD was created, so it was mastered from a PAL format, leaving ghost images for a 3D-without-the-glasses feel to parts of the film.

"Weekend With the Babysitter" is not the sequel it might appear to buyers of this set. Here George Carey plays Jim Carlton, a Hollywood screenwriter married to a washed-up actress with a secret addiction. She goes off to her "mother's," leaving Jim at home with the babysitter — coincidentally named Candy Wilson — played in this movie by Honda Dream-riding Susan Romen. Ooh, you meet the nicest people on a Honda.

After dropping their young son with mother, Mona Carlton (Luanne Roberts) goes to see her drug dealer, an unctuous lounge-singer type who likes to berate the junkies on which his livelihood depends. He taunts the suffering Mona and demands the use of her husband's boat to pick up more junk in Mexico.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Candy convinces Jim that he needs to get out a little and see what's really going on in the world. So they go to a club where he buys drinks for her sponging hippie biker friends, and they invite him to come see motocross the next day. This is where motorcycle action picks up the pace of this turgid soap opera. Things pretty much go downhill from there, as Jim takes Candy flying to a secluded cabin for a night of crackers and milk in bed while Mona tries to survive being the hostage of a lunatic drug dealer somewhere off the coast of Mexico. The good bikers in this flick, of course, come to the rescue in the end.

"We picked up on each other, we swung, then it got too heavy. For both of us," Candy says as she walks away, voicing my feeling about this film exactly.


"The Babysitter"
1969, starring
Patricia Wymer, 
George E. Carey, 
Anne Bellamy 
and Kathy Williams
I give it 2.5 Revs out of 5


"Weekend With the Babysitter," 1970, starring
George E. Carey, Susan Romen, James Almanzar, Luanne Roberts and Anthony Victor

I give it 2 Revs out of 5

Roadside Reading: 'Hell's Angel'

The Oakland, Calif., charter of the Hell's Angels
with Sonny Barger front and center, 1995
(Photo by Tina Hagen)

Sonny Barger is a survivor. He's survived drugs, prison, a life of violence surrounded by violent people and throat cancer from years of heavy smoking.
At 70, he seems to have mellowed — at least, that's the impression after reading a couple of his recent books. It's amusing, in fact, to compare "Let's Ride: Sonny Barger's Guide to Motorcycling," published in June, in which he says he doesn't go out of his way to antagonize people, with his 2000 memoir "Hell's Angel: The Life and Times of Sonny Barger and the Hell's Angels Motorcycle Club."

In the memoir, he says he wore Nazi symbols not for philosophical reasons but because a free swastika belt he got from a friend "pissed people off"; and he wore a goatee because it "scared more people."

His colorful story is compelling reading — profane, amusing, horrifying.

"Hell's Angel" is a historical document of a notorious group with far-reaching cultural influence. It tells how in 1957 Barger co-founded the Oakland, Calif., chapter of the motorcycle club and facilitated its growth to centers of power across U.S. and around the world. Freedom and brotherhood were their code; loyalty and respect a matter of life and death. If an outsider insulted an Angel, he was expected to beat on the offender; if he didn't, his club brothers would beat on him.

Barger speaks plainly of crimes leading to his 21 arrests and eight convictions for drunken driving, assault with a deadly weapon, illegal possession of guns, drug possession, false imprisonment and conspiracy.

"In Texas a cop asked me, 'Excuse me, partner, but ... why do you and your friends carry those big knives?'" Barger writes. "I told him, 'Because we're all felons and we can't carry a big gun like you.'"

To the government, the Hell's Angels was an organized crime syndicate. To hear Barger tell it, they were just a group of guys who liked to ride motorcycles and "have fun." Their idea of fun was roaring 90 mph in 200-bike formations, bar brawling, drinking, drugging, group sex and sleeping on the ground wherever they fell.

There's hypocrisy in a group that rebels against conforming to society, yet dresses and behaves uniformly. Barger makes it seem logical, though, explaining how many GIs returning from war traded straight lives for the freedom of the road. But they (he) still needed structure the club offers.

And though he ignored laws he disagreed with, he is a patriot in his own way. For instance, the Angels fought anti-Vietnam war demonstrators in the 1960s because, "As a vet, I felt we ought to stick up for America."

"As long as there's at least two people on earth, there's going to be war," he writes, justifying aggression. "If you can't settle peacefully, then fight it out. If you don't want to participate in the war, fine, but don't yell chickenshit names and throw blood on the guys forced to go."

He calls the '60s "the best thing that ever happened to the Hell's Angels."

"Chief" in 1965
(photo by Gene Anthony)

"Every hippie was glad to give you his old lady ... sometimes in exchange for a ride on your motorcycle." They were befriended by popular musicians, and "everybody was making bike movies." Filmmakers paid HAMC chapters and hired Barger as a consultant.
The pop culture love affair ended in 1969 at the Altamont Raceway. The Angels were recruited as security for the Rolling Stones' free rock festival. Barger describes the Stones as wimpy posers who got what they deserved when the audience became unruly, and an Angel stabbed to death a fan who had a gun. He says the victim, Meredith Hunter, shot an Angel, who couldn't be taken to a doctor because he was a fugitive.

With such a lifestyle, Barger never had time for a job, a fact the feds brought up in his prosecution under RICO — the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organization Act. So how did he earn his living? Barger doesn't explain. Although he eventually opened a motorcycle shop.

Always associated with Harley-Davidson motorcycles, Barger cracks the myth, saying, "I don't like Harleys":

"In 1957, it was either ride a Harley or settle for a Triumph or a BSA. They'd already stopped building Indians. It's always been important for Hell's Angels to ride American-made machines. In terms of pure workmanship, I personally don't like Harleys. I ride them because I'm in the club and that's the image, but if I could I would seriously consider riding a Honda ST1100 or a BMW. We really missed the boat not switching over to the Japanese models when they began building bigger bikes."

And how did "the Chief" treat women? There were plenty — a certain type was drawn to "the Filthy Few." Barger says he doesn't even remember all of his girlfriends, but he generally stuck with one at a time. His first wife, Elsie, died after attempting a home abortion. His second wife, a model and speed freak, decided she couldn't stay clean while living with him. He married again in 1999, and still lives with his wife, Noel, who rides her own motorcycle.

Hero or villain, it's hard not to admire such a man. His is a life not many could survive.

(Photos borrowed from "Hell's Angel" by Sonny Barger with Keith and Kent Zimmerman, HarperCollins/Perennial)


"Hell's Angel:
The Life 
and 
Times 
of 
Sonny 
Barger
and 
the Hell's 

Angels
Motorcycle 
Club,"
by 
Ralph
"Sonny" 

Barger with 

Keith and

Kent Zimmerman

I give it: 5 Revs out of 5

Friday Film: Knightriders

This is a cool idea: "Excalibur" on motorcycles. In fact, "Knightriders" came out the same year as John Boorman's epic "Excalibur," and even opens with a scene reminiscent of it, as King William (Ed Harris) and his lady, Linet (Amy Ingersoll), awake naked in the forest.

But that's where the similarity ends.

Like any devout renaissance man, King Billy promptly begins his morning ablution au naturale in body of water, flagellating himself with a switch. In foreshadowing, we see Billy is fighting a demon, symbolized by dreams of a crow. When he's done, he dons his armor and mounts his Honda CBX motorcycle with his queen.

If you've ever been to a renaissance fair, you have a good idea what this movie is like -- there's even a Friar Tuck -- but picture a faire with knights on bikes instead of horses. The jousting is real -- as real as a pro wrestling match. People get hurt, but the lances are sawed to snap more easily without killing anyone. (A commentary track on the DVD reveals that the bikes were equipped with spring-loaded ejector seats for greater momentum in the jousting scenes.) After an indecisive battle, knights may choose swords on foot or continue on "hacks" -- chariot-style three-wheelers with a driver on the bike and a standing combatant riding a platform on the side.

The troupe travels around the country in trucks -- one is marked "Fight or Yield" -- and sets up local fairgrounds for public events with vendors peddling pottery and leather goods, minstrels playing and clowns juggling. But the main draw is the knightriders themselves, performing feats of skill on midsize dirt and road bikes. Clad in tights and armor, their ladies in flowing gowns, they take anachronism as far as it can go under the circumstances.

Most of the knightriders are men, but Cynthia Adler, as Rocky, gets a "surprise" moment when she pulls off her helmet after a joust, revealing flowing hair and lipstick.

The clash of medieval and modern pits King Billy against his merry band. When a fan approaches, asking him to sign a Cycle Riders magazine featuring an article with his picture, he's disturbed. "I didn't know anything about this. I'm sorry," he tells the boy, handing the magazine back. "I don't like this kind of stuff. ... This is like Evel Knievel or something like that. It's got nothing to do with what we're doing. Do you understand me?"

His friend and rival Morgan (actor and SFX guy Tom Savini) steps up, takes the magazine and tells the boy, "How about the autograph of the next king? You'll be the first."

Billy remains devoted to his Arthurian ideals, while Morgan craves fame and fortune. Under financial pressure and hassles from a local cop, the troupe splits apart.

Legendary cult master George A. Romero, who wrote and directed this film, made his fame on "Night of the Living Dead" and its sequels. Here he has once again made an imaginative film on the cheap. He even includes a gay subplot, further enhancing his rogue status.

A humorous sideplot includes an impatient tourist who flips head over handlebars for one of the riders. The fan is played by Patricia Tallman, who has a nude scene with the handsome Alan (Gary Lahti). Tallman isn't well known outside the sci-fi crowd, but she played the pivotal role of telepath Lyta Alexander in J. Michael Straczynski's space epic "Babylon 5" and she has a long résumé of stunt work, doubling for Gates McFadden in "Star Trek: Generations," and Laura Dern in "Jurassic Park."

Also watch for horrormeister Stephen King, sitting in the audience with wife Tabitha, in a cameo as "hoagie man," who scoffs at the riders' tricks and picks at his teeth.

The film runs long at 2 hours 26 minutes, testing the viewer's patience. Yet the narrative leaves unanswered questions. Who were these people before they became performing vagabonds? Where are they going in their homeweave shirts and Levi jeans?

Yet the bike scenes are fun, and this is a slice of a lifestyle unlike any I've seen before.



"Knightriders,"
1981, 
directed by 
George 
A. Romero, 
starring 
Ed Harris, 
Tom Savini, 
Patricia Tallman

I give it 3 Revs out of 5.

Sonny's of Anarchy

I didn't see this ahead of time, though it was spoiled on a few websites, so I was surprised to see The Chief, Sonny Barger, co-founder of the Oakland, Calif., Hells Angels, on the third-season finale of "Sons of Anarchy" last night.

I wonder. Would I have been more excited if I'd known ahead of time? Or was it more fun to be taken unaware and figure it out for myself? I was kinda proud when I spotted him, thought, "Gee that looks like Sonny ..." and found that I was right.

Makes perfect sense for show runner Kurt Sutter to bring on the godfather of outlaw bikers for a cameo role as one of the "first nine" in his show about an outlaw motorcycle club. It parallels Barger's own life in many ways, and must be a bit of an honor, after all.

Sutter set himself up with the occasional role of Sons member Otto, who has been incarcerated for the run of the show and was attacked by rivals who took out his eye. As part of legal machinations I will not spoil here, it was arranged that Otto would have a meet on the inside with Lenny the Pimp -- played by Barger. Lenny, one of the first nine founders of the Sons was sent to prison for life killing ATF officers.

It wasn't the first time Barger worked on a movie. He played himself in "Hell's Angels '69," and consulted on a number of movies during the 1960s and early '70s. I just finished reading Sonny's memoir, "Hell's Angel," and next week I'll post my review.

Kurt Sutter, writer-director-show runner of
"Sons of Anarchy" onset in costume as Otto, with
Hells Angel Sonny Barger, playing Lenny the Pimp
in the SOA season 3 finale, "NS."