Chrome and Hot Leather (1971) Online

As biker movies go, Chrome And Hot Leather is unusual. Biker films, tended to highlight the wild lifestyle of the outlaw biker culture, as desirable. But this film doesn't glorify bikers. In fact, the military establishment, and their straight-arrow values, are the focus of heroism in this movie.

It's true that by the time this film was made in 1971, outlaw bikers were no longer romanticized like they had been just a few years earlier, by the youth culture. Still, it's hard to believe that during the Vietnam war era, when antiwar sentiments were strong, Hollywood goes and makes a film with the military as the good guys.

The plot centers around a Green Beret Sgt. named Mitch, who is headed home after his tour of duty in 'Nam. He's engaged to be married to a beautiful young woman, and ready to begin a new life as a civilian. Meanwhile, as his fiancé and her friend are out for a drive, they're harassed by a biker gang. This results in an accident, that kills the two women. Mitch, along with a few of his army comrades, are determined to catch the bikers who are responsible for killing his fiancé.

Actor Tony Young infuses the character of Mitch with a steely, square-jawed resolve, to avenge his fiancé's murder. The great R&B singer Marvin Gaye, appears as Mitch's Green Beret buddy. Marvin does an adequate job in his role, but he's a much better singer than actor. William Smith plays the biker gang leader. William has appeared in more biker films over the years, than probably any other actor. With his burly, threatening appearance, Smith seems like he was born to play badass outlaw bikers.

Mitch and his Army pals work together as a cracker-jack military unit, to accomplish their mission of nabbing the biker gang. The way Mitch and company carry out their quest for justice, reminds me of the fictional TV military group, called the A-Team. I wonder if the creators of the A-Team, were inspired by this movie.

Chrome And Hot Leather isn't the best biker film around, but it's different. For fans of biker movies, this one won't validate the bikers as cool. This movie would be most enjoyable for those that admire the military, and how it's members triumph over the bad guys.

The saddest thing about "Chrome and Hot Leather" (1971) is that it could have been a fairly decent film; at least by American International biker film standards. They seem to have had a large budget; at least enough to cast in quantity if not quality; and to outfit their biker gang (Wizards) with Harley's-something that was often beyond the budget of these things.

They had William Smith, the best movie baddie of the day, for their gang leader T.J. and Michael Haynes for the chain-throwing mama slapping Casey. In fact the whole biker thing is handled pretty well by the standards of the early 1970's.

Then they had an extremely young Cheryl Ladd (she looks about 16 although she was 18) and former Miss Ohio and Miss America Runner-Up Kathy Baumann (note the John Havlicek Basketball Camp t-shirt she is wearing). In high school she dated someone I knew and she also looks about the same in this film as she did then. Unfortunately neither actress gets to show much in the way of acting skills or exploitable assets. .

This is one of those movies the Army and Air Force Exchange Service saw fit to show us GI's at posts and bases around with world back in the early 1970's. To us at the time virtually everything military related was unintentionally hilarious, from Peter Brown's non-GI haircut (if it was a paying role couldn't he at least have cut it enough so you could see a portion of his ears) to the moronic combat training. It got laughs from us for months whenever someone brought up the topic. On the other hand what was supposed to be the film's comic relief, sequences of Peter Brown and Company learning to ride motorcycles is funny only to those amused by things totally lame and stupid.

In retrospect the film never had a chance given its director Lee "The Man With Two Heads" Frost and its star, the aging Tony Young. When you look bad in comparison to a non-actor (Marvin Gaye plays Tony's pal) it is time to find another line of work. Young lined up the financing for this baby and hired Frost on the condition he be given the lead. You won't find a more wooden actor than Young, whose character looks like an extremely dour 55 year-old man and is supposed to be the love interest for the two teen actresses.

Several times they appear headed in the self-parody direction (if that is what they had emphasized the film would be a classic) and Smith lets you know that he is playing this thing for laughs. But this tiny attempt at real humor is dwarfed by the unintentional hilarity and the giggles you will get from the many continuity errors that occur throughout the movie.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

Lee Frost was a capable and half-way decent director and cinematographer, I guess. He has a catalog of work from the 60s and 70s, such titles (and such titles I've yet to see the movies of) that includes Zero in and Scream, Mondo Bizarro, Nazi Love Camp and The Black Gestapo. I don't know if having such a catalog of work and a halfway decent eye as a DoP meant he made good movies. Probably not entirely the case. But Chrome and Hot Leather, aside from its hard-knock-awesome title, has a few things going for it. For one thing its star, the Lieutenant who returns from Vietnam to discover that his girlfriend was run off the road by a hothead member of a biker gang called the Beards (?), has a hard-jaw face and voice that's like a knock-off of Sterling Hayden. It's also got a likable-cum-sleazy cast of biker folk who get drunk, arm wrestle and sometimes have some group sex. Not that you see too much of it, of course, since it's PG-13 (at least today, maybe it was G-rated back then, who knows).

But the few things going for it, which also, I should add, includes an absolutely hilarious climactic battle where the Lieutenant and his army buddies take a whole lot of ammo and bombs and bullets to the bikers just to, you know, scare them and get them loaded with gas that the ex-Vientam guys need gasmasks for (!), are not enough to make it something you should rush out to see. Even if you're into trashy biker movies from the 60s and 70s, such as I am in that true-blue guilty pleasure kind of way, it's something to see further down the pike, preferably on the double-bill I viewed it with, the Mini-Skirt Mob. It's got a plot that's got enough meat on it to keep things a little interesting, even as the acting is sewer-tastic and the final showdown between the Lieutenant and the (accidental?) killer of his girlfriend is underwhelming to say the least. But, yet, Lee Frost puts in little moments, like one particular line by a biker in a bar about harassing someone, and seeing how the soldiers hilariously train on their newly purchased Kawasakis. You'd think they were getting ready for a reenactment of the video-game Excitebike as opposed to seeking vengeance on a bunch of dopes.

A biker gang led by William Smith has one bad cog(Michael Haynes), who runs two girls off the road. Both are killed, one being the girlfriend of a Seargent(Tony Young) in the Green Berets. The Sgt. and few of his buddies, including singer Marvin Gaye,set out to do what the local authorities are having trouble doing...hunt down the biker gang. Buying motorcycles and "borrowing" some Army weapons and a truck, the small group of Green Berets seek out the gang, The Wizards, to deal revenge and justice. Also in the cast: Peter Brown, Katherine Baughmann, Herb Jeffries, Bobby Pickett, Cheryl Ladd and Dan Haggerty.

NOTE: Pickett is the same Bobby "Boris" Pickett whose original "Monster Mash" hit the Billboard's Top 100 on three different occasions. Motown artist Gaye does not sing in this his one and only film appearance.

Come on now...a biker flick is supposed to be violent and sleazy. This one is so antiseptic it would have made it by TV censors in the 70's--even if the original American-International ads tried hard to suggest otherwise. It does contain one great line: As the biker gang leader prepares to rough up one of our heroes, he is distracted by a fellow gang member playing a noisy pinball machine, leading to remark, "Gabriel, can't you see that we're menacing someone?" Ludicrous music, seemingly from another film, accompanies one of the climactic fight scenes. Sadly, this film could give the Hell's Angels a good name.

I appreciate the cheesy and inept exploitation flick as much as the next person--in fact, probably a good bit more--but even by by basement standards, "Chrome and Hot Leather" is a piece of crap. The whole story of Green Berets vs. Bikers is lame and unconvincing on all sides, the bikes are nothing special, nor is the riding done on them. But one thing does set this film apart and that would be the presence of the legendary Marvin Gaye as one of the aforementioned military types. And it makes one a bit sorry that he didn't do more acting (his only other dramatic role seems to have been alongside Lee Majors in a similarly forgettable film): Gaye's on-screen presence is as relaxed and charming as his musical style and he was certainly easy on the eyes. Still, what drove him to make supporting appearances in drive-in fodder escapes me--probably the same thing that drove him to train with the Chicago Bears. But, if it's biker trash you want, I suggest the classic "The Wild Angels" or the magnificently sleazy "She-Devils on Wheels." And, if you want to appreciate Marvin Gaye's talent, you might be better off tracking down one of his "Shindig!" or "T.A.M.I. Show" appearances.

I saw this movie today on cable. I enjoyed the beginning of the movie and up to the part where the three Green Berets rescue their friend from the bikers. After that, it became pretty obvious that the movie was quickly going down hill. All the army equipment scenes were pretty cheesy. I never saw LAAW rockets used in the manner the Berets used them here. Why, if someone is shooting off rockets and mortar rounds, would the biker gang not leave the valley the minute the rocket blasts started. My favorite biker movie is MAD MAX. Now that was a mean biker gang.

Sad but true, this double feature of CHROME AND HOT LEATHER plus GOD FORGIVES, I DON'T was a crowded night of goggle eyed teen adventure (I secretly went without mum and dad knowing) and saw it in 1971 at Sydney's home of the crap double feature The Capitol Theatre. Lots of customers there that Saturday night, plenty of couples (I wonder what the girlfriends thought) and me and my pals scoffing lollies and staring at the screen. One memorable scene in CHROME was a bikie being stopped by a cop on a rural road. The cop comes over and we all expect him to harass the bikie. Instead the cop shows what a nice guy he was by telling the bikie how much he liked his bike, admiring those hot chrome exhaust pipes..... I do not know if a sex scene followed and was edited out, but today that would play like a pick up to raucous laughter. GOD FORGIVES I DON'T was a terrible Italian or Spanish western with Terence Hill. However we all went home satisfied. Cost 70c I remember. The 70s were such fun.

Green Beret Mitch (a sturdy portrayal by Tony Young) goes after a gang of bikers led by the redoubtable T.J. (the almighty Big Bill Smith in peak fearsome and imposing form) who are responsible for the murder of his fiancé Kathy (a pre-Charlie's Angels" Cheryl Ladd in her film debut).

Tightly directed by ace exploitation maestro Lee Frost (who also did the sharp cinematography), with an absorbing story that unfolds at a constant pace, a reasonably gritty tone, a credibly mangy bunch of Harley hounds, and a couple of exciting action set pieces that are staged with skill and flair, this B-flick makes for an entertaining watch. Moreover, it's cool to see several Vietnam veterans take on an outlaw biker gang. The rock-solid cast rates as another substantial asset: Marvin Gaye contributes an engaging low-key turn as the laid-back Jim, Larry Bishop does his usual commendable work as easygoing pinball addict Gabe, Kathrine Baumann cuts a foxy figure as sexy motorcycle mama Susan, Bobby Pickett provides amusing comic relief as amiable goofball Sweet William, and underrated character actor Robert Ridgely has a neat small role as helpful weapons expert Sgt. Mack. Right-on groovy soundtrack, too. A worthy entry in the chopper genre.

I must say, here was a bikie flick that really disappointed me. It's the most disappointing bikie flick I've seen in my life, when I first saw it at the tender age of fifteen. The title is fantastic and the cover was so appealing, but appearances can be deceiving. How can such a great titled movie represent such a dull film? Just watch Chrome And Hot Leather. Now some people may think I'm quite hard on this. Let me give you the rundown here. It has a good story/revenge premise of an ex green beret and his mob avenging a vicious gang of bikers, who've killed his fiancée. No surprise the lead bikie here is played by William Smith from The Losers, another bikie film, who came close to this on disappointed me, in it's first view, some shades of familiarity between the two as well. The Losers had a couple of men in berets too. Why you may ask this film doesn't work. In the violence and action department, it's remarkably restrained, and there's a lot of nothing happening moments, where the end is really when the movie perks. It's just flat, with nothing happening-ness. If judging the cover too, the movie looked more recent like eighties. We did have that rush of revenge running through our veins to see this beret to kick arse, only there wasn't enough kicking arse. Too much waiting around. We needed many more emotionally charged, and anger driven moments, that required more plot points, or even turning points. Trivia note. The lead beret, and other actor Peter Brown both starred in Rape Squad as very bad guys/rapists. And again, my true thoughts here: someone should rape this movie, before it's hired out again.

So Bad! I thought it was Grad School Project! Over all it was very amateurish.. Even someone with some talent ie. Peter Brown could not help this turkey. It was like a group got together and said "lets make a Movie!" They missed!

In the beginning there was "The Wild One", and it was good. The great Hollywood attraction to 2 wheel action extended to Steve McQueen jumping the fence on a Triumph in "The Great Escape", The murderous, Moto Guzzi-riding traffic cops in "Magnum Force", and, who can EVER listen to "Born To Be Wild" without thinking of Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper heading east on their Harley choppers. "Chrome and Hot Leather" is to these great movies what "Plan 9 From Outerspace" is to "Psycho".

Synopsis: Bad guys on choppers vs. ex-GI good guys on dirt bikes. What this film lacks in story line it makes up for with weak acting. Good lord -- what a stinker!

I first saw this as a double feature Saturday Matinee with an equally horrible film called "The Hard Ride," which starred Robert Fuller of "Emergency!" fame. At least "The Hard Ride" was partially redeemed by the presence of an incredible Harley chopper called "Baby" which was second in beauty ONLY to Peter Fonda's "Captain America".

The only reason I even remember "Chrome and Hot Leather" is because on that Saturday in 1971, The Florida Theater in Starke Florida raised it's youth matinee ticket price to .40 cents, and I was determined to enjoy the show in spite of my pubesecent outrage.

There is one memorable scene involving an arm-wrestling match. Two huge, ugly Scorpions were lashed to the very spot where the arm of the loser would fall...Oooooo! Now THAT'S what I call EVIL!

William Smith who during the Seventies and Eighties played a lovely garden variety of villains bordering on the psychotic is top billed here in Chrome And Hot Leather. Smith heads a biker gang which harasses and later kills young bride Cheryl Ladd. They soon have reason to regret that bit of fun because Ladd's intended was Tony Young of the Green Berets who is stateside training other would be Green Berets.

Young enlists his three Green Beret sergeant buddies, Michael Haynes, Peter Brown and Marvin Gaye to track and fine the bikers responsible and bring them to justice.

Bikers are tough, but Green Berets are combat trained and Young borrows a few of their toys to help round them up. It's really no contest once his pals arrive.

Most interesting performance in the film is that of Joey Bishop's son Larry who plays a gay biker who spends his time playing pinball and giving Smith wistful glances. Toss him out of the gang if he gets too explicit.

After giving Young a really serious motive, the film devolves in the end to some dopey type comedy. I'm sure the drive-in crowd loved it back in 1971 as they wouldn't miss much as they concentrated on other things.

One thing I hardly thought I'd think about a biker film is that it was dull, but oddly enough, that's how I felt about "Chrome and Hot Leather". This is because although the plot sure sounds exciting, the film is very tepid--far more so that you'd ever expect.

The film begins with a biker gang, the Wizards, out having fun. One of the gang members goes too far and ends up killing a couple innocent girls. One of the dead girls was the fiancée of a Sergeant and when this military man finds out, he and his friends vow to find those responsible and punish them. So far, all this sounds pretty exciting. However, the next half hour or so of the film is very slow and nothing happens apart from a stupid montage (complete with BAD music) showing the soldiers learning to ride motorcycles as well as them asking folks a lot of questions about the killing. Eventually, something does happen--but by then my attention began to wane because I kept waiting for action and it was so slow in coming and the biker gang sure turned out to be a bunch of wimps! What EVENTUALLY comes is not very satisfying and not enough to merit spending all this time watching the movie. About the only interesting thing is seeing Marvin Gaye (yes, THAT Marvin Gaye) playing one of the soldiers. That, and the line where William Smith (the leader of the baddies) tells Gabriel "...can't you see I am trying to menace someone?!" That was pretty funny. Otherwise, you could do better--even with another biker film.

By the way....some of the soldiers needed haircuts and NEVER would have been allowed to sport such hairdos! And, you'd think with Marvin Gaye in the film that there'd be good music, but instead the producer got some talentless folks to provide crappy music.

1969 Mitch(6th SFG), Tom, Lowel (both in the 82nd) forced all the biker gangs in Fayetteville to go underground. We put over 17 gang members in the hospital over a one month span. For almost a year you could not find a male gang member in a bar.

It was Lowel's girl friend that had been gang raped by a motorcycle gang in Mississippi. Lowel never found the gang, he left home and joined the service. He had been a starting guard for Ole Miss and walked away from college and football. He was one of the biggest guys I had ever seen but was gentle as a kitten until one night in early spring at the Cellar (sight of the Airborne Museum) in 1969 when he had an altercation with a motorcycle gang, this started the war. We decided the next day to see if we could clear Fayetteville of motorcycle gangs and spent the summer working toward that goal.

I would love to know who created this story.

Mitch, Sgt 6th SFG

For the most part, I agree with most of the previous user comments - "Chrome and Hot Leather" is a terrible movie. It's hard to believe that American-International Pictures, who were usually experts at drive in movies, would pick this up for distribution. It's a slow-moving exercise that has very little exploitation material - no nudity or sex, no foul language, and the violence is almost totally confined to the opening and closing. No one in the cast gives a good performance, and the musical score is one of the worst I've heard from a movie for a long time.

Still, the movie is not completely without merit. Praise should be given to the movie by going against the norm of the time and depicting the military protagonists as real heroes. They are loyal and professional, and of sound minds. And they manage to defeat the bikers without killing any of them! It's too bad these likable heroes couldn't have been in a better movie.