Overrated

Charming and brutal

I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

The highlight of director Anthony M. Lanza's biker flick "The Glory Stompers" is lenser Mario Tossi's sensational cinematography. Tossi's use of wide angle lens gives this tame outlaw motorcycle melodrama lots of atmosphere and grit. Best known for the original "Carrie" and "The Stunt Man," Tossi has an eye for detail and depth. The opening images of this low-budget, exploitation epic are absolutely riveting! Quite simply, this is probably the best-looking biker movie that I've ever seen. If you ride, you will love the up-close and personal attention that he gives the bikers and their bikes. Moreover, the landscape imagery is terrific. When the villains cross a desert, it makes "The Glory Stompers" look like "Lawrence of Arabia." The story resembles a latter day western. The action is largely confined to biker rallies, places along the road, and fisticuffs in random places in the desert. "The Glory Stompers" is a road movie, and the bikes and the babes look good. Obviously, since it was a studio release in the late 1960s, the violence couldn't have been more any more graphic than it was. Glory Stompers' chief Darryl (Jody McCrea of "Young Guns of Texas") is beaten up and left for dead by a rival biker gang, The Black Souls, headed by Chico (Dennis Hopper of "Rebel Without A Cause"), who abducts Darryl's blonde babe Chris (Chris Noel of "Soldier in the Rain") so he can take her to Mexico and sell her into white slavery. Predictably, our resilient hero recovers from the beating and sets out in pursuit of Chino and company. Once Chino has taken Chris, he finds his leadership questioned by one of his burly minions, Magoo (Robert Tessier of "The Longest Yard"), who wants the girl for himself. Tessier makes a great second-string heavy, and this was before he shaved off his unruly mop of hair. Mind you, with a full head of hair, Tessier just doesn't look as intimidating. Magoo proves to be more than a handful for the scrawny Chino to handle. Worse than the hostile Magoo is Chino's own jealous girlfriend, Jo Ann (Sandra Bettin of "Angels from Hell"), who is rather dexterous with a knife. Chino discovers to his chagrin just how dexterous she is during the final quarter of this atmospheric biker yarn. As Darryl sets out to rescue Chris, he finds help from an unexpected quarter, an older chapter member of another Glory Stomper group, Smiley (Jock Mahoney of "Tarzan Goes to India"), shows up. Smiley spends more time advising our protagonist than taking licks for him in close-quarters combat. This American International Pictures release is a low-budget, but entertaining saga that doesn't wear out its welcome. Jody McCrea-yes, Joel's son-is too clean-cut to be believed, but his girl is trying to wean him off the biker thing. He is reluctant to give up his bike because he prefers the free-wheeling style of his biker pals. They set their own hours, do their own thing, and have freedom galore. This sounds a lot like Peter Fonda in another AIP release "The Wild Angels." Dennis Hopper makes a solid antagonist, and he appeared in this drive-in feature before he elevated biker flicks to the level of art with "Easy Rider." As motorcycle mayhem goes, "The Glory Stompers" doesn't have a whole lot of stomp, but it is a gorgeous film to gaze at with a good cast.

"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.

The Glory Stompers is what I love about old movie making, especially bikie films. This is one which has probably gone under the radar to a lot of bikie fans, but it's one I urge to see, although of course it's no masterpiece, or not really even good. But it's what I call, "Something worth it's watch". But I am I hard, when it comes to judging bikie films, which doesn't help more, when coming out of the late sixties and seventies. This is a movie, legendary Hopper did before Easy Rider. I was quite impressed by how well this movie came off. After seeing Chrome And Hot Leather (what a waste of viewer's time-don't remind me) and Werewolves On Wheels, I mean really, this bikie film was refreshing. Hopper, plays Chino, the lead of this badarse motorcycle group, you've guessed it, The Glory Stompers, preferably known as The Stompers, who clash with a much friendlier and more chilled out motorcycle gang, The Outlaws. When two lovers of the outlaws are a having a private moment, following this beef, the boyfriend is beaten up, and thought to be dead, while the girlfriend is snatched, and on her way to soon be sold a a sex slave, once the Stompers cross the borders. It doesn't take much to work out the outcome or, the situations that pop up in between, if seeing other bikie movies, with Hopper's lady getting jealous of course, and the snatched outlaw is quite delicious, while playing Hopper's younger brother against Hopper. Featuring a kick arse title song, the film retains a good above average quality about it, and if those other two dire bikie movies don't cut it for ya. May'be give this one a go, you might be surprised. Robert Tessier as a Magoo, a dirty, crass, and repugnant sort, and a member of the Stompers.

Ah, the life of a bikie is a difficult one, especially when you have to choose between gangs like the Glory Stompers and the Black Souls. The Stompers have Pony, young, blond, bronzed and muscly, but those teeth are just a bit too brilliant. The Black Souls have some really ugly members, but also Clean-Cut, who fills out his jeans nicely and wear some fiendishly cool shades. Whose side would you be on?