Run, Angel, Run!

1969 "Raw and Violent!"
5.3| 1h35m| en
Details

Angel (William Smith), an outlaw biker, sells out his gang by exposing their wild conquests to Like magazine for $10,000. With his photo on the cover, Angel skips town and tries to start over with help from sheep rancher Dan Felton (Dan Kemp). An ex-motorcycle enthusiast, Dan becomes a mentor to Angel, giving him hope for a peaceful future. But Angel must put hope aside when members of his former gang viciously attack Dan's teenage daughter.

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Trailers & Clips

Also starring Valerie Starrett

Reviews

Scanialara You won't be disappointed!
Redwarmin This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place
Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.
Matho The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.
qormi William Smith is a very capable actor, but it seems he never had an agent. He always got stuck in a lot of B movies like this one. This film was barely good enough for me to keep from falling asleep. The direction was bad, the script terrible, etc. It had a lot of potential and in the hands of a capable producer/director, it could have been a good film. The casting was good, except for the posse of bikers who were on Angel's trail. They seemed like a bunch of lightweights who were the only ones who showed up for the casting call. Everything was bargain basement here; all the scenes lacked intensity. the frequent use of the split screen was distracting and you could see why this technique has since been abandoned.The ending was inadequate and abrupt; a fitting tribute to a wasted effort.
skullislandsurferdotcom The opening credit sequence (making up for backstory) shows the cover of a fictional LIFE-esquire "LIKE MAGAZINE" adorned with the face of William Smith's character, Angel: he's been interviewed and told-all about his biker gang.So the film starts with his former-fellow marauders chasing he and his girl down the highway and onto a moving train (the best filmed sequence, using split-screen nicely).After finding solace at a rural farm, Mr. and Mrs. Smith learn to be "normal", which doesn't go without tons of arguments and forgiveness. This is the down-time of biker films, and has a "message" about the biker lifestyle selling out, perhaps because of the year-before blockbuster EASY RIDER: which this film borrows from in its flash-cut editing.Smith's acting is good but he seems to be doing a Stanley Kowalski imitation. And Jack Starrett, who's classic leathery voice is used for an aged gas station attendant, has directed much better.
Dave from Ottawa This was the first film directed by 70s action and blaxploitation movie legend Jack Starrett (Slaughter, Cleopatra Jones, Race With the Devil) and despite a minuscule budget and a 13 day shooting schedule, it manages to hold up fairly well today, thanks in large part to its sharp cinematography and innovative editing. Starrett made clever use of split screen compositions to energize the action, and the often rapid-fire editing keeps things moving along briskly. Run Angel Run was also the first starring role for Big Bill Smith, and the one that made him a 70s action movie icon. As Angel, fugitive biker, Smith's chiseled features, macho mustache and bulging biceps get a lot of screen time. In fact, at times I found myself wondering why Smith was running from his gang - he looks like he could punch out every biker in California single-handed, then bench press their hogs. Anyway, the essentials of the movie - lone biker on the run, menacing bike gang giving chase, fast action on the road and lots of fights - made Run Angel Run a surprise hit and one of the few true classics of the short-lived biker genre, alongside Easy Rider, Angels Die Hard, and The Born Losers. Finally out on DVD from Media Blasters, the folks responsible for the Tokyo Shock DVD label, Run Angel Run features introductory commentary by Joe Bob Briggs and a title song by Tammy Wynette.
MisterWhiplash William Smith was a very good casting choice for the lead, Angel is his name of course, for Run Angel Run. He's got a sympathetic side to his personality that somehow makes him work for Angel, who is sort of a rat talking to a magazine and getting a cover photo followed by the obligatory "I'm done with this, going legit" lifeline. He gets angry, sometimes in tantrum-mode, but he's also likable and attractive as a main leading man, as opposed to just another character actor (whom everyone else in the cast fills up either nicely or terribly).But William Smith isn't the only reason to see the movie, and the guy who introduced the DVD I watched (I forget his name) would agree. There's a lot of guilty-pleasure stuff to the movie, to be sure, like the sheep-herding subplot, or the maniacally-shot bike-riding scenes early on and then later when they finally get to the action scenes. But, thankfully, Jack Starrett, the director, tries to tell a story here, and have some entertainment and drama run through what is mostly a paint-by-numbers thriller.It's not just a lot of nonsense and, also thankfully, the nonsense (i.e. bar fights, dancing, even the corny love scenes and a, gag, walk on the beach) isn't too distasteful or amateurish. It is dated as hell, and it's mostly for those who love a trashy biker flick. But for those looking to take a chance, Run Angel Run is one of the more pleasant (yes, pleasant) entries in the biker-movie sub-genre, where the trick was the look past the cheapness of the film-making for a good time, like eating a sweet Charleston Chew.