Good if not great as biker cinema goes, "Hells Angels on Wheels" had the legendary Angel Sonny Barger as its technical adviser, making it supposedly more true to life than other depictions of the notorious motorcycle gang, although the word "supposedly" will need to be stressed. The movie has a few elements that manage to make it a must see, but these don't have much to do with the story, which is thin and has an episodic nature. Jack Nicholson, the obvious breakout star, is prominently featured as a gas station attendant who captures the attention of a bunch of Angels and earns their respect. He's voted in as a member, but he finds that their wild way of life is a little too much for him. They like to promote themselves as fun loving rebels, but they possess decidedly more edge than that, and are not above murder. Nicholsons' character, who gets nick named "Poet", also does not like the way that they pass their women around, especially as he falls for Shill (Sabrina Scharf), who is ordinarily the main squeeze of this packs' leader, the charismatic Buddy (Adam Roarke). Despite Nicholsons' presence and performance, Roarke really is the one to watch here, doing an engaging job of creating a memorable character. A couple of familiar faces fill out the supporting and bit parts: John Garwood, Jack Starrett, Gary Littlejohn, and Bruno VeSota, with directors Bob Kelljan and John "Bud" Cardos also appearing. This is exciting at times, with the expected number of fight scenes, as well as some filler / montage sequences, and music that is very much of the time. The movie isn't helped, however, by an abrupt and unsatisfying ending. If one is interested, they can check out other biker pictures from producer Joe Solomon such as "Angels from Hell", "Run, Angel, Run!", "The Losers", and "Werewolves on Wheels". Director Richard Rush would also direct Nicholson in "Psych-Out", and of course would go on to great fame as director of the cult favourite "The Stunt Man" (in which he again worked with Roarke). One can also note the stylish and colourful cinematography by Laszlo Kovacs, who's billed as Leslie Kovacs. Overall, not bad, and a cult film worth a look. Seven out of 10.

I collect "cheap" Biker movies, not inexpensive, but tacky. This one is cheap/tacky, but may have the worst ending of ANY movie ever made. I'm surprised no one mentions that. About the ending...how and why does Buddy's bike explode? Why does the front tire explode in flames? Well, I know. When Buddy bites down, they wanted the bike to blow up so he would die. They did not have the money to do it more than once, much less authentically. I got knocked down by a pick up truck while on my '72 XLH, but it didn't blow up. (I guess I wasn't supposed to die) The tire blows up because it is hard to get a bike to fall over (while being ghost ridden) right on the mark. They had one chance to make it land on the explosive charge and failed. That's why I love these "Biker Movies". The cheapness. Horrible acting. Worse plots. But LOVE the bikes! '60's style choppers are the greatest. Old school. As the Biker said in the (cheap) Biker scene in the movie DUTCH TREAT, "We geek chickens on Saturday night...Know what I mean?" That's what Bikers do. Rape, pillage and geek chickens. By the way, in Dutch Treat, I am the "Biker" seated to the "Chicken Geeker's" left. Got paid to drink beer. Took 12 hours to do that 2 minute scene. No drinking on the set, tho. I smuggled cans of Coors Light in my sock and poured them in my empty bottle, so I am the only one actually drinking beer in that "Biker" scene. When you see someone drinking booze in a movie, the bottles and cans are empty. Anyway, that was my 15 minutes of fame. Had a ball. Long live cheap Biker movies!

Despite the downbeat ending, this movie gives off a clear feeling that the cast really enjoyed making it. There is a sense of fun and playfulness about the bikers' way of life, in stark contrast with the grim, depressing storyline of Corman's The Wild Angels.The conventional views of straight society are expressed by different characters bewildered by the bikers' aimless lifestyle. The go go dancer argues with gang leader Buddy about jobs and marriage, which he casually shrugs off with the remark that he's tried that already. Jack Nicholson's leading character Poet is continually ridiculed by biker girl Shill as being a square with a middle class set of values, when he tries to have a serious relationship with her. The movie honestly portrays both the attractions and the negative aspects of the freewheeling biker way of life without judging. Ultimately, Poet becomes disillusioned with the Hell's Angels and clashes with Buddy, as it becomes clear that Buddy expects unquestioning obedience from his followers, and imposes his own rules on them, not unlike the Establishment he's supposedly rebelling against.This movie is a fascinating time capsule of a time and place most of us never knew in real life. Adam Roarke as Buddy and Jack Nicholson as Poet turn in two excellent performances in a meandering, casually thrown together movie that seems almost a documentary of the Hell's Angels lifestyle in the Sixties.Worth seeing, even if you don't care for biker movies in general. More than one viewer has commented on the movie's strange, indefinable quality, as if the whole thing were a dream. See it and decide for yourself.

The majority of "Hell's Angels On Wheels" was shot in and around Bakersfield, California doubling for Nevada. The trashed motel is the Bakersfield Inn, which had suffered a major fire in the year before. The scenes of the gang cruising along the highway, taking part in a hill climb, running the old man off the road, and lounging around in a wooded park were all shot in the Hart Park/Lake Ming area just NE of Bakersfield. And the wedding sequence was shot on the grounds of the Kern County Museum's "Pioneer Village." It's interesting to note that a major scene of the gang riding up and down a city street was shot along 19th street in downtown Bakersfield. A couple of years later, Jack Nicholson walked the same two blocks in "Five Easy Pieces."