Greydon Clark Double Feature

Posted on Apr 11, 2010

The Hi-Riders (1978) & The Bad Bunch(1976)
Written & Directed By: Greydon Clark

Review Written By: Justin Bozung
Mondo Film & Video Guide Co-Founder
Greydon Clark Official Website

As a fan of the exploitation genre, I’ve been a sucker from day one. It’s that old saying, that I believe the great P.T. Barnum uttered ” There’s a sucker born every minute!” And that is something I’ll stand guilty of every single time, when it comes to searching through the dust bins of grind house and exploitation cinema. The title is what sells these types of movies. And the new DVD double feature of two OOP Greydon Clark titles is a perfect example of this!

Greydon Clark’s 1976 film, The Bad Bunch, was originally released under the dangerous title, “Nigger Lover.” As it’s been well documented, regional distributors of films back in the glorious days of exploitation would often re-title features to boost sales, and get theater goers into the seats over and over again. Clark’s Bad Bunch was released several times with this effort. However, here, it’s been immortalized onto DVD (Finally) via VCI Entertainment for the first time, in a double feature format ala “The Bad Bunch” (1976) and Clark’s little seem hot rod thrill ride “The Hi-Riders” from 1978. The double feature is slated for release in stores and online on April 27th, 2010.

Clark, originally born and raised in Michigan, is a astounding film auteur, that cut his chops in the late 60′s early 70′s behind the scenes, with schlock-meister, Al Adamson. Clark wrote several films for Adamson, and even took minor roles acting as well. Most notably, his performance in Adamson’s 1969 biker opus, Satan’s Sadists, is the only true thing I can remember about Sadist several years later thinking back. Clark maintained a steady career directing films and television all the way up until the late 90s. In fact, his 1980 Sci Fi film, Without Warning, is a cult classic and eagerly sough after DVD release, if it ever happens!

While 1978′s The Hi-Riders is the featured piece on the two-fer DVD release. It’s really The Bad Bunch that makes this purchase worth while. The Hi-Riders is a trendy ( which Clark is known for doing, almost as much as Roger Corman) hot rod motorcycle outlaw chase film, that was made at the peak of the car boom of the mid to late 70′s. It’s typical ,but wonderful drive in fodder. While watching, it just feels like you should have your arm around your best girl, and your Wang Chung poking up through the bottom of the popcorn bucket. It’s a time capsule piece of the past, that will flood your mind with memories of girls in tight short shorts, “Have A Nice Day” stickers and Foghat on the radio. Hi-Riders features the great Darby Hinton ( Andy Sidaris’s Malibu Express) and it’s got a ton of bad ass rides, and car chases and crashes, and one of the final film performances by the great Broadway actor, Ralph Meeker ( Robert Aldrich’s Kiss Me Deadly, Stanley Kubrick’s Path Of Glory..oh yeah..and he was in FOOD OF THE GODS! The giant killer mutation rat movie) and it’s essential for the car movie hot rod collector in us all!

The Bad Bunch was Clark’s first attempt at producing and directing his very own feature film. Originally produced, for $15,000 dollars, as a coming of age love story under another title, distributors and promoters, dis-liked the film. Clark went back, and wrote an alternate story, re-shot it, and inserted footage from the first attempt, into the new story. The Bad Bunch is the story of a white vietnam vet, who returns home after being injured in combat. While in service, he befriends a African American soldier, and despite racial indifference of the times the two make a friendship and death pact, that if either one is killed, the other will take their belongings to their surviving family members.

Greydon Clark, cast himself here in the lead, (Jim) and he does exactly as he promised. Traveling to the Watts district of Los Angeles to visit the family of his dead African American friend to deliver a letter to his friend’s surviving family. However, apon arrival, the family (with extreme hatred for Whitey) does NOT appreciate his dropping in. Being extremely disrespectful, the neighborhood gang of young thugs, decides to run him out, and they’re gonna make sure he never comes back! Narrowly escaping, a butt whooping, Clark is saved by two extremely racist cops. This only makes things worst, and the young African American gang leader (Makimba) becomes paranoid, outraged, and embittered, that Clark is nothing but a white honky spy for the cops. And they set out to track him down, and kill him…

Including his initial filmed footage, Clark’s character is widened, by his difficultly to adjusting back to civilian life, women, and culture for that matter, proves difficult, as he damages his relationships with his true love (who’s a bit younger, than he), and his new swinging screw buddy, and he takes to the drink quite hard.. It’s dis-placement in the culture that’s already forgotten or doesn’t like his effort or effect as a solider in the Vietnam era. To make things worse, the African American gang finally catches up with Clark at a swinging Los Angeles party where everyone is butt nekk-id in the pool. And within moments, Clark and the Makimba are duking it out in the woods, until suddenly AND unexpectedly the cops show up and take the black “trouble makers” away! The tension builds, and as Clark figures out his place in society, in a flash, it’s his wedding day, and in a bitter twist ending, Makimba, realizing there is no place in society for a young black man, assassinates Clark – Oswald style, as he and new beautiful new bride leave the church… The wrong place at the wrong time…

The Bad Bunch is powerful in it’s message and content. The film, for costing virtually pennies looks like a moderate sized production in results. The performances are effective, and there isn’t one minute you think that this is a low budget produced film of the 70′s exploitation era. The DVD release features an excellent commentary track, from Clark himself, that provides some excellent insight into the production of the film, such as, Clark recounting how the production crew had to “steal shots” as they never maintained any sort permission to film around the Los Angeles area. The transfer of these little seen gems is wonderful, and VCI Entertainment has put forth a fabulous effort in this release. It’s available online and in stores on April 27th, 2010. Go out a pick it up. It’s essential to any Greydon Clark fans DVD collection, and exploitation/grind house fans as well.