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Electra Glide in Blue (1973)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
4 October 1973 (France)
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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...
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| full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Desert
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Motorcycle Cop
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Cop
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Motorcycle
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Hermit
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Awards:
Nominated for Golden Globe.
Another 1 nomination
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User Comments:
Electrifying Ending
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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 |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
114 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Todd-AO) |
4-Track Stereo
Certification:
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.
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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.
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Quotes:
John Wintergreen:
I need you to give me some information.
Pig Man: I'll give you some information. You're standing in pigshit.
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Pig Man: I'll give you some information. You're standing in pigshit.
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Movie Connections:
References Valley of the Dolls (1967)
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Soundtrack:
Tell Me
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FAQ
Who are the...more
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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.