The Rebel Rousers (1970)

User Rating:

2.8/10   

Director:

Martin B. Cohen

Writers:

Martin B. Cohen (writer)
Michael Kars (writer)

Release Date:

April 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

They laid waste to the flesh and blood of America's daughters.

Plot:

In a small, US costal town with many Spanish speakers, a motorcycle gang arrives on holiday. Also in...

Plot Keywords:

Gang | Sexual Assault | Motorcycle Gang | Motorcycle | Girlfriend

Cast

Cameron Mitchell	...	Paul Collier
Bruce Dern	...	J.J. Weston
Diane Ladd	...	Karen
Jack Nicholson	...	Bunny
Harry Dean Stanton	...	Randolph Halverson
Neil Nephew	...	Rebel (as Neil Burstyn)
Lou Procopio	...	Rebel
Earl Finn	...	Rebel
Philip Carey	...	Rebel
Robert Dix	...	Miguel
Sid Lawrence	...	Townspeople
John 'Bud' Cardos	...	Townspeople
Jim Logan	...	Townspeople
Helena Clayton	...	Townspeople
Frankie O'Brien	...	Townspeople

Runtime:

78 min | Germany:77 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 (uncut) (1998) | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1993) | Finland:K-18 (cut) (1979) | Iceland:16 | Norway:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Chloride, Arizona, USA

Company:

Paragon International Pictures

Trivia:

Filmed in 1967 but not released until 1970 after Jack Nicholson gained fame for his role in Easy Rider (1969).

More Than Meets The Eye

A quick once over and The Rebel Rousers seems nothing more than a good guy versus evil biker gang midnight movie. But,look closer and you see a story about the conflict of conforming to the norms of society or rebelling against them. The star of the film is a heavy-set Cameron Mitchell who plays a middle-class businessman in a stormy romance with Diane Ladd. Mitchell meets a former high-school buddy played by an intense Bruce Dern(kind of weird pairing here as Mitchell is 18 years older than Dern in real life)the leader of a gang of misfit bikers. Both men seem both happy and sad to see each other. It's as if each man is jealous of the other's lifestyle. Yet, neither one is happy. A rugged looking Jack Nicholson is Bunny, a psycho member of the Rebels. It's clear even here, that Nicholson is a star in the making. There is not one moment when you feel he is "acting" his part. The main focus of the film is Nicholson's attempt to rape Ladd, with both Mitchell and Dern preventing it. Ladd's character represents the family values of the 1950's and Nicholson's Bunny is symbolic of the devil-may-care 1960's lifestyle that may destroy it. If you like movies with a "meaning' The Rebel Rousers is for you.