The Cycle Savages

Last updated
The Cycle Savages
Cycle Savages Poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBill Brame
Written byBill Brame
Produced by Maurice Smith
Casey Kasem
Starring Bruce Dern
Melody Patterson
Chris Robinson
CinematographyFrank Ruttencutter
Edited byHerman Freedman
Music by Jerry Styner
Distributed by American International Pictures
Release dates
Running time
82 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Cycle Savages is a 1969 American outlaw biker exploitation film written and directed by Bill Brame, and stars Bruce Dern and Melody Patterson. The film follows a biker and his crew who go after an artist who sketched his nude girlfriend. It premiered in Charlotte, North Carolina on August 22, 1969. [1] Casey Kasem served as one of the film's producers. [2]

Contents

Plot

Romko is an artist, and he's sketching biker gang leader Keeg. Keeg is running a white slavery operation in Las Vegas and doesn't want to be incriminated, so he attacks Romko, and slashes his hands to protect the gang's anonymity. One of the gangs followers, Lea, takes Romko back to her apartment and calls for Docky to help mend his hands. Docky provides the distraction while Keeg and his gang ransack Romko's apartment, and steal all the remaining sketches. Lea offers to pose nude for Romko, which leads to a romantic sexual interlude the next day. In the meantime the gang has kidnaped a local high school girl, Janie, intent in turning her to prostitution. Keeg and the entire gang rape Janie, then pump her full of a large dose of LSD. Keeg then forces another girl, Sandy, to engage in a gangbang with the gang. When the police arrive at Romko's apartment to question him about the attack that Keeg made on him, but Romko refuses to incriminate Keeg. This ends with Romko and Lea being arrested, but they are released the next day. The bikers then grab Romko, drag him to an abandoned cellar, and torture him by crushing his hands in a vice. When Lea finds them she pulls a gun, but is afraid to shoot. Then another girl grabs the gun and shoots Keeg. The rest of the gang are arrested and charged for the rape of Janie.

Cast

Production

Gary Littlejohn recalled, "They asked me to go in there, and Bruce Dern was supposed to take my hand and squash it in a vice. I only took the job because I wanted to work with Bruce. I was working on something else at the time. I did a little riding in it and got some bikes and riders for it, that was about it." [3]

Bruce Dern recalled he was paid $1,750 a week for three weeks while Scott Brady, who filmed for one day, was paid $30,000. Dern wrote:

I played a real bad biker, and Chris Robinson played an artist and the love/romantic star of the movie. Melody Patterson was the good-looking girl star, and you just knew the filmmakers were going to have a scene where I was going to have my way with her after I took care of the artist. I had to blind him and cut his hands all up so he could never paint again. Typical Bruce Dem storyline in the sixties. I start out really horribly nasty, then turn into not really that bad a guy. [4]

Dern later wrote that while "I never worked on a movie I didn’t want to do. I did a couple of grim movies. The Incredible Two-Headed Transplant , that was a grim movie. The Cycle Savages was a grim movie. No money, no budget, no role, no script." [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casey Kasem</span> American disc jockey and actor (1932–2014)

Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem was an American disc jockey, actor and radio presenter, who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably American Top 40. He was the first actor to voice Shaggy Rogers in the Scooby-Doo franchise and Dick Grayson/Robin in Super Friends (1973–1985).

<i>Grease 2</i> 1982 film by Patricia Birch

Grease 2 is a 1982 American musical romantic comedy film, and a standalone sequel to the 1978 film Grease, adapted from the 1971 musical of the same name by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Originally titled More Grease, the film was produced by Allan Carr and Robert Stigwood, and directed and choreographed by Patricia Birch, who choreographed the original stage production and prior film. The plot returns to Rydell High School two years after the original film's graduation, with a largely new cast, led by Maxwell Caulfield and Michelle Pfeiffer in her first starring role.

<i>A Pup Named Scooby-Doo</i> American animated mystery comedy television series

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo is an American animated mystery comedy series produced by Hanna-Barbera. It is the eighth incarnation of the studio's Scooby-Doo franchise and depicts younger versions of the title character and his companions as they solve mysteries, similar to the original television series. The series was developed by Tom Ruegger and premiered on September 10, 1988, airing for three seasons on ABC and during the syndicated block The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera until August 17, 1991.

<i>The Wild Angels</i> 1966 film by Roger Corman

The Wild Angels is a 1966 American independent outlaw biker film produced and directed by Roger Corman. Made on location in Southern California, The Wild Angels was the first film to associate actor Peter Fonda with Harley-Davidson motorcycles and 1960s counterculture. It inspired the biker film genre that continued into the early 1970s.

<i>Hells Angels on Wheels</i> 1967 American biker film directed by Richard Rush

Hells Angels on Wheels is a 1967 American biker film directed by Richard Rush, and starring Adam Roarke, Jack Nicholson, and Sabrina Scharf. The film tells the story of a gas-station attendant with a bad attitude who finds life more exciting after he is allowed to hang out with a chapter of the Hells Angels outlaw motorcycle club.

<i>The Rebel Rousers</i> 1970 film

The Rebel Rousers is a 1970 American independent outlaw biker film starring Cameron Mitchell, Jack Nicholson, Diane Ladd, Bruce Dern, and Harry Dean Stanton. Filmed in 1967, it did not receive a release until 1970 following the success of Easy Rider. It is one of several motorcycle gang films of the period to feature Nicholson, Dern and Stanton. The film was co-written, produced and directed by Martin B. Cohen in his only directorial effort.

Virginia Hawkins was an American actress, who remains best known for her role in the 1980s television series Dynasty as maid Jeanette Robbins.

<i>The Driver</i> 1978 film by Walter Hill

The Driver is a 1978 American crime thriller film written and directed by Walter Hill, and starring Ryan O'Neal, Bruce Dern and Isabelle Adjani. The film featured only unnamed characters, and follows a getaway driver for robberies whose exceptional talent has prevented him being caught. A detective promises pardons to a gang if they help catch him in a set-up robbery.

<i>The Born Losers</i> 1967 film by Tom Laughlin

The Born Losers is a 1967 American outlaw biker film. The film introduced Tom Laughlin as the half-Indigenous American Green Beret Vietnam veteran Billy Jack. Since 1954, Laughlin had been trying to produce his Billy Jack script about discrimination toward Indigenous Americans. In the 1960s, he decided to introduce the character of Billy Jack in a quickly written script designed to capitalize on the then-popular trend in motorcycle gang movies. The story was based on a real incident from 1964 where members of the Hells Angels were arrested for raping two teenage girls in Monterey, California. The movie was followed by Billy Jack (1971), which saw AIP pull out of production midway through before others stepped in.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melody Patterson</span> American actress (1949–2015)

Melody Patricia Patterson was an American actress known for her role as Wrangler Jane in the 1960s television series F Troop and for her role as Ellie in the horror film Blood and Lace (1971).

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.

<i>I Bought a Vampire Motorcycle</i> 1990 film by Mont Campbell

I Bought a Vampire Motorcycle is a 1990 British comedy horror film about a motorcycle possessed by an evil spirit, which rides by itself and kills people, particularly members of a particular motorcycle gang. It stars Neil Morrissey as the bike's owner, Michael Elphick as a police inspector and Anthony Daniels as a priest who attempts to exorcise the bike's evil spirit.

<i>Angels Hard as They Come</i> 1971 American film

Angels Hard as They Come is a 1971 biker film directed by Joe Viola and starring Scott Glenn, Charles Dierkop, Gilda Texter, James Iglehart, and Gary Busey. It was co-written and produced by Jonathan Demme.

<i>Darktown Strutters</i> 1975 film by William Witney

Darktown Strutters is a 1975 blaxploitation musical comedy film from New World Pictures. Despite having mixed reviews at the time of its release, it has gained cult status over the years with praise from film director Quentin Tarantino. Tarantino called it "a ridiculous satire".

Maray Ayres is a Californian actress who has acted in television and film since the mid-1960s. In 2014, she acted in and helped produce the award winning short film Traces of Memory directed by Jody Jaress. She is widely considered one of her generation's most enduring character actresses. She is best known for her performances in various independent films, such as the family drama Poe, the tense relationship drama Lost Lives and her spirited performance in the desert-set thriller Traces of Memory.

Randee Lynn Jensen, born April 28, 1949 is an actress from San Bernardino, California. During the 1960s she acted in films such as The Pit and the Pendulum and The Gay Deceivers. From the late 1960s to the early 1970s, she had a number of parts in exploitation and biker films. She had appeared in over ten films in the biker genre alone. These include The Glory Stompers, The Cycle Savages and The Girls from Thunder Strip. She has also worked in film production, casting and other behind the scenes roles. Prior to her main work in film she had done stage work.

The Girls from Thunder Strip is a 1970 American biker exploitation film directed by David L. Hewitt, who co-produced it with Michael Mehas. It also featured American Top 40 DJ Casey Kasem.

<i>Rogue City</i> 2020 French film

Rogue City is a 2020 French crime film directed and written by Olivier Marchal and starring Lannick Gautry, Stanislas Merhar, David Belle and Kaaris. It was released on Netflix on 30 October 2020. Set in Marseille, it is about an anti-gang police unit that is investigating a mass shooting at a nightclub, amidst tension from an internal affairs investigation for their unorthodox methods, friction with the rival narcotics unit, rumors of corruption, and threats from gang leaders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Normand Hamel</span> Canadian gangster (1956–2000)

Normand Hamel, better known as "Biff", was a Canadian outlaw biker and gangster. A senior member of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club in Montreal, Hamel was the right-hand man of Hells Angels leader Maurice "Mom" Boucher and became one of Quebec's top drug traffickers before he was shot dead in 2000. A member of the rival Rock Machine gang, Tony Duguay, was convicted of Hamel's murder in 2006 but was acquitted of the killing in 2016 after a witness in the case admitted that he lied while on the witness stand.

References

  1. "The Cycle Savages (1969) - Overview". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
  2. Lisanti, Tom (2003). Drive-in Dream Girls: A Galaxy of B-movie Starlets of the Sixties. McFarland. p. 146.
  3. Albright, Brian (2008). Wild beyond belief! : interviews with exploitation filmmakers of the 1960s and 1970s. McFarland. p. 163.
  4. Dern, Bruce (2014). Bruce Dern : a memoir. p. 75, 286.
  5. Dern p 286