The Wild Angels (1966) on Netflix
Heavenly Blues leads the Angels, a motorcycle gang from San Pedro, California. When Loser, his best friend, has his bike stolen, the gang rides into the desert to find it.
- Netflix2.9/5
- IMDb5.6/103,906 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes59%
Trailer
Plot summary
The Angels are a motorcycle gang out of San Pedro, California, led by Heavenly Blues, and Loser is his best friend in the club. They spend their time on booze, drugs, loud bikes and fights until Loser's motorcycle disappears. The gang heads out to Mecca, in the desert, hunting for it. In a garage used by a Mexican group, Loser spots a brake pedal he says came off his bike, and the two groups brawl. Police arrive, the Angels ride off, and Loser, cut off from the others, takes a police motorcycle. An officer shoots him, and he is taken to a hospital.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Wild Angels (1966)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Peter Fonda conceived the film Easy Rider while promoting The Trip and autographing a movie still from The Wild Angels that showed him and Bruce Dern sharing a motorcycle.
- George Chakiris and Peter Fonda were originally cast in the lead roles, but Chakiris could not ride a motorcycle, so Fonda replaced him and Bruce Dern took Fonda's original part.
- Roger Corman said the US State Department tried to stop The Wild Angels being shown at the 1966 Venice Film Festival, arguing it did not show America the way it is; it was screened anyway.
- Corman gave the script to Peter Bogdanovich, who was pulled off another project and paid $300; Bogdanovich estimated he rewrote 80% of the screenplay and later directed second unit.
- To research the film, Corman threw a series of parties for the Hells Angels with Charles B. Griffith, buying them marijuana and beer while taking notes on their stories.
- Dialogue from Heavenly Blues's funeral speech in the film was sampled at the start of Mudhoney's 1989 track "In 'n' Out of Grace", Primal Scream's 1990 single "Loaded" and Eris Drew's 2021 track "Ride Free".
- The Wild Angels earned $7 million in theatrical rentals in the United States and Canada, the highest-grossing low-budget film at the time.
- Bruce Dern and Diane Ladd, who played the Loser and Gaysh, conceived their daughter, actress Laura Dern, while shooting The Wild Angels.
