IMDb > Electra Glide in Blue (1973)
Electra Glide in Blue
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Electra Glide in Blue (1973) More at IMDbPro »


IMDb Holiday Movie Guide

Overview

User Rating:
7.1/10   1,577 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 11% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Writers:
Robert Boris (screenplay)
Robert Boris (story) ...
more
Contact:
View company contact information for Electra Glide in Blue on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
4 October 1973 (France) more
Genre:
Tagline:
He's A Good Cop. On A Big Bike. On A Bad Road. more
Plot:
A short Arizona motorcycle cop gets his wish and is promoted to Homicide following the mysterious murder of a hermit... more | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 nomination more
User Comments:
Electrifying Ending more (49 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Robert Blake ... John Wintergreen
Billy Green Bush ... Zipper (as Billy 'Green' Bush)

Mitch Ryan ... Harve Poole (as Mitchell Ryan)
Jeannine Riley ... Jolene
Elisha Cook Jr. ... Willie (as Elisha Cook)
Royal Dano ... Coroner
Hawk Wolinski ... VW Bus Driver (as David J. Wolinski)
Peter Cetera ... Bob Zemko
Terry Kath ... Killer
Lee Loughnane ... Pig Man
Walter Parazaider ... Loose Lips
Joe Samsil ... Sgt. Ryker
Jason Clark ... L.A. Detective
Michael Butler ... Truck Driver
Susan Forristal ... Ice Cream Girl
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Additional Details

Runtime:
114 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Filming Locations:
Company:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Bassist and lead vocalist for the group "Chicago", Peter Cetera, plays a character named "Bob Zemko". A real actor who plays a bit part is also in the cast. His actual name was Bob Zemko. He died a year after making this, his only film. more
Goofs:
Continuity: In the final driving scenes, the van and the bike, supposedly driving along a long straight road, drive by the same distant butte at least three times. more
Quotes:
John Wintergreen: I need you to give me some information.
Pig Man: I'll give you some information. You're standing in pigshit.
more
Movie Connections:
References Valley of the Dolls (1967) more
Soundtrack:
Tell Me more

FAQ

Who are the...
more
2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful.
Electrifying Ending, 27 March 2009
8/10
Author: Lechuguilla from Dallas, Texas

With those evocative images and that emotionally charged music, the final fifteen minutes are electrifying. It's all about America, and a terrible ten years of assassinations, Viet Nam, and countless other cultural strife. The film's ending is saying ... enough is enough. Let the healing begin. And as American culture bled in the late 1960s and early 1970s, so too did the emotional lives of individuals, like the hodgepodge of aggrieved characters that come and go in this story.

Seeing some of these people and listening to their individual stories of pain and suffering is John Wintergreen (Robert Blake), a by-the-book Arizona motorcycle cop, short on stature but tall on dreams. Sometimes with his partner Zipper (Billy Green Bush), "Big John" encounters these tormented souls, on the road mostly. That's his job. The film's story is an ode to the courage and nobility of ordinary Americans pained by reality with only their dreams to comfort them.

The film's disjointed plot begins with a killing. And this incident keeps the plot moving. But "Electra Glide In Blue" is mostly a character study, not a crime film. Color cinematography is quite good. Interior shots have lots of close-ups, even extreme close-ups. There's a lot of diffuse lighting. Exteriors are shot like a modern-day Western. Indeed, the look and feel of the film is similar in some ways to the old John Ford Westerns, like "The Searchers".

The plot is the main weakness of the film. Some parts are overplayed, like the chase scenes. There's a lack of continuity both in storyline and in visual elements. It's as if many scenes were shot impromptu, on the rush. And some of the acting is way over the top. However, Robert Blake does a fine job as America's everyday cop with his sense of principles.

This film reminds me in some ways of "Zabriskie Point" (1970), a counter culture film which has a powerful ending that helps to make up for earlier plot problems.

Based on a real-life event, "Electra Glide In Blue" gets off to a slow start. Even midway through, one wonders whether this film is going anywhere or has any point to it. It is, and it does. You just have to wait for that powerful ending and its cinematic message of a tormented America, from the point of view of one lonely cop, just doing his job.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Electra Glide in Blue (1973)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Who killed Frank? *SPOILERS* midfieldgeneral
Was Frank's death really a suicide after all? tommymax
Electra Glide in Blue vs. Billy Jack CahillSellers
Movies like this one? writelasse
Motorcycle stunts. Jabberwoc
The band that performs in 'Electra-Glide in Blue': lazur-2
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