Hey, Mil Blair stumbled into the Bikernet Headquarters the other day and brought some historic shit. Mil owned Jammer Cycle and was a partner in Easyriders (Paisano Publications) for 20 some years. He helped build the ER Streamliner and designed parts for custom bikes for over… shit, he’s still doing it, since 1969.
He happens to own the above set of fatbob tanks from the movie “Wild Angels” made in 1966. Talk about a Digital Discovery. These tanks were painted by Wildman Von Dutch. Plus, Mil has all the remaining parts to this machine and might rebuild it in the near future. We’ll cover it on Bikernet, when he gets around to it.
Right now he’s finishing the touches on a bitchin custom Fuel Injection system, that we will launch shortly. He also designed this hidden Softail frame and new Side mounted taillight, turnsignal and unit. Watch for more information on Bikernet or in the Cantina. To contact Mil try: HarleyMil@aol.com. Here’s some info about the movie:
The Hells Angels ride in this cool, downbeat biker film from B-movie godfather Roger Corman. A pre-EASY RIDER Peter Fonda stars as Heavenly Blues, the Angels' black-leather-clad leader. When his friend Loser (Bruce Dern) gets shot by the cops, he and the Angels bust him out of the hospital, but he dies and they end up trashing his funeral in a drunken orgy.
Corman turns it all into a sort-of Western, capturing a nicely elegiac tone as he portrays–without judgment–the lifestyle of these modern outlaws. He even predicts the death of countercultural hedonism before many people were even aware it existed. American social leaders were outraged when the film was chosen as the only U.S. entry for the 1966 Venice Film Festival, where it was considered an important cinematic statement. It’s certainly more than mere exploitation, and benefits from striking outdoor photography and camerawork.
A record-breaking box- office success, THE WILD ANGELS launched a whole genre: the 1960s biker film.
–from Yahoo Movie archives
The Wild Angels (1966)
'Blues' is the leader of a gang of Hell's Angels. His friend, 'The Loser', has lost his 'cycle but when he takes one from the police he is shot. 'Blues' and the gang spring 'The Loser' from hospital but he dies. The funeral degenerates into a party, then a fight. But 'Blues' has lost heart and when the police come, he stays alone to face them.
Summary written by {P.M.Laws@education.leeds.ac.uk}
Loser, a member of the Hell's Angels, has his bike stolen by a group of Mexicans. He calls in his fellow member Blues as well as several of the other members to help him get his bike back and beat up the guys who stole it. When they get to where Loser's bike is, a huge melee breaks out and several of the guys who stole the bike are beaten to a pulp. However, the police soon arrive and the gang splits. Loser, finding himself without a bike, steals the bike of one of the officers and is chased down and shot. Loser is then taken to the hospital, so he can recover before being prosecuted.
The gang then comes and takes him out of the hospital, but in the process they break the bottle of blood that is keeping him alive and one of them attempts to rape a nurse that catches them in the act. But with all the trouble they go through, Loser still winds up dying.
Summary written by Brian Washington {Sargebri@earthlink.net}
–from Earth’s Biggest Movie Database
Cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Fonda …. Heavenly Blues
Nancy Sinatra …. Mike
Bruce Dern …. Loser
Diane Ladd …. Gaysh
Buck Taylor …. Dear John
Norman Alden …. Medic
Michael J. Pollard …. Pigmy
Lou Procopio …. Joint
Joan Shawlee …. Momma Monahan
Marc Cavell …. Frankenstein
Coby Denton …. Bull Puckey
Frank Maxwell …. Preacher
Gayle Hunnicutt …. Suzie
Gina Grant
Art Baker …. Thomas
Also Known As:
All the Fallen Angels (USA) (working title) MPAA: Rated R for drug-related material.
Runtime: Germany:86 min / USA:93 min
Country: USA
Language: English
Color: Color (Pathécolor)
Sound Mix: Mono
Certification: Finland:(Banned) (1973) / Finland:K-18 / Norway:18 (1971) / Sweden:15 / USA:R
Trivia: The Hells Angels brought a $5-million defamation lawsuit against Roger Corman for what they perceived as a negative portrayal of their image. (more)
Quotes: Heavenly Blues: We wanna be free! We wanna be free to do what we wanna do. We wanna be free to ride. We wanna be free to ride our machines without being hassled by The Man! … And we wanna get loaded. And we wanna have a good time. And that's what we are gonna do. We are gonna have a good time… We are gonna have a party.
