The Glory Stompers (USA, 1967) 85 min color DIR: Anthony M. Lanza. SCR: James Gordon White, John Lawrence. PROD: John Lawrence. MUSIC: Mike Curb. DOP: Mario Tosi. CAST: Dennis Hopper, Jody McCrea, Chris Noel, Jock Mahoney, Lindsay Crosby, Casey Kasem, Robert Tessier, Gary Wood. (American International Pictures)
The Glory Stompers bike gang is just having a good time, digging out to some rock n roll on a transistor, when they are intercepted by another bike gang, The Black Souls, led by the no-good Chino (Dennis Hopper, natch). The Souls try to horn in on The Stompers’ chicks, especially Chris (Chris Noel), the squeeze of good biker Daryl (Jody McCrea). After The Stompers turf them, The Souls later seek retribution when Daryl and Chris are chilling at a riverside. After a tussle, Daryl is left for dead. The Souls kidnap Chris, initially one assumes, for lustful purposes, but it is soon learned they plan to take her south of the border to sell her into white slavery! As Daryl is wiping the blood from himself, he is befriended by the legendary Stompers honcho, Smiley (Jock Mahoney), and together they pursue the Souls to rescue Chris and exact revenge.
If biker films can be called 20th Century westerns, as the cyclists are outlaws in a modern frontier, then The Glory Stompers is parallel to the “Retired Gunfighter” theme: young inexperienced man joins forces with veteran, who once again puts his guns on to help fight the bad guys. This film is also part of the “people in peril” formula, using the familiar subplot of the captive victim wearing down the weakest link, the member of the kidnappers who still has some morals.
A distinctive case where the medium is the message, The Glory Stompers is one of the grimiest biker flicks I’ve seen, yet its deficit of production values or technical finesse actually enhances the material. The grainy, underexposed film is almost entirely framed with leering, sweaty close-ups in shaky foreground lighting, and uncertain canted angles, which however succeed in capturing the dementia and depravity.
And yet, one is surprised by the sincerity of this wild morality play. Glassy-eyed Dennis Hopper, who looks like he hasn’t bathed in a month, could have just chewed the scenery, but his low-key acting makes Chino perversely charismatic. Chino actually has a code of decency, albeit a twisted one. He adheres to family values (of course, The Black Souls are a surrogate family); he is also very protective of his younger brother in the group. His decision to sell Chris into white slavery is a surprisingly clinical one, like that of a surgeon nodding, saying, “Yes, amputation is what we must do.” Once The Stompers eject the Souls from their party, Hopper acts like a misunderstood child: “I just wanted to dance with you, baby.”
Stealing the show though, is Jock Mahoney, who is positively “right on” as Smiley. The 48-year-old actor is so cool in his long, steel hair, earring, sleeveless costume, sunglasses, high cheekbones and moustache. It isn’t a stretch to think he’s channeling his good friend Lee Van Cleef, who at the time was making several Spaghetti westerns with similar “older gunfighter-young protege” dynamics. Mahoney was no doubt hired for the old B-movie trick of some “above the line” marquee value, regardless of how big or small the role. As such, the film’s greatest disappointment is that his character is given little to do except ride and expound on his leaving the Stompers because he was fed up with violence, but will once again be immersed in it.
This enjoyable revenge western (I mean, biker film) is one of the few films directed by Anthony M. Lanza, including the drive-in sleaze classic The Incredible Two-Headed Transplant. His previous gigs as an editor on films for Ray Dennis Steckler and Arch Hall Sr. bring the right sensibilities of unusual compositions and cutting that seem fitting for this ragged out material.
This is a very enjoyable romp filled with familiar faces to the genre: Hopper (of course), Jody McCrea, Chris Noel, Lindsay Crosby, Bob Tessier, and even Casey Kasem! Trash it may be, but The Glory Stompers is irresistible junk food. This flick was released to VHS on good old Trylon Video (a subsidiary of Orion Home Video), and was also available on DVD by MGM, only as an MOD release. (It is a pity that MGM didn’t include this title in their awesome Midnite Movies collection.)
Updated from a review published way back in ESR #2, 2001.