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115-537: The Wild Angels , released by American International Pictures (AIP), stars Fonda as the fictitious Hells Angels San Pedro, California chapter president "Heavenly Blues" (or "Blues"), Nancy Sinatra as his girlfriend "Mike", Bruce Dern as doomed fellow outlaw "the Loser", and Dern's then real-life wife Diane Ladd as the Loser's on-screen wife, "Gaysh". Small supporting roles are played by Michael J. Pollard and Gayle Hunnicutt and, according to literature promoting

230-465: A 2000 BBC interview, "The club, as a whole, is not racist but we probably have enough racist members that no black guy is going to get in it." At that time the club had no black members. A few nonwhite members have been noted in the United States. In 1967, Hunter S. Thompson remarked upon a "Chinese Mel from [San Francisco] and Charley, a young black person from Oakland". Steven Wayne Yee,

345-724: A Chinese-American member of the Hells Angels' Cleveland charter, was convicted of murder in 1990. The Satan's Angels MC in Vancouver had a black member when it merged with the Hells Angels in 1983. The San Francisco and Anchorage charters threatened to have the Vancouver charter expelled from the club when they learned of the situation; the matter was ultimately resolved when the man changed his nationality to " Hawaiian ". An unsanctioned Hells Angels charter in Windsor , England

460-416: A Hells Angel member from San Bernardino ("Berdoo"), implying that the "Frisco" Hells Angels were very much aware of their forebears. The "Frisco" Hells Angels were reorganized in 1955 with 13 charter members, Frank Sadilek serving as president, and the smaller, original logo. The Oakland charter, at the time headed by Barger, used a larger version of the "Death's Head" patch nicknamed the "Barger Larger", which

575-467: A bottom rocker with the state, province or territory name along with the rectangular "MC" patch. To become a full member, a "prospect" must be unanimously confirmed by the rest of the full club members. Before votes are cast, a "prospect" usually travels to every charter in the sponsoring charter's geographic jurisdiction (state, province, or territory) and introduces himself to every "full-patch" member. This allows each voting member to become familiar with

690-684: A diamond-shaped "81" patch on their vests, which indicates their adherence to the Hells Angels. The Red Devils Motorcycle Club , a biker group with chapters in nearly 20 countries, is the official and most prominent support club of the Hells Angels. The Hells Angels have more than two dozen support clubs in Canada. In Norway, the Hells Angels have built up a network of support clubs over which they exert control and hold responsibility for administering three-piece back patches. The Hells Angels have also formed support groups, such as AK81 in Denmark and

805-478: A double feature with Female Jungle (1955), a film noir . Other films released under the ARC banner include a British documentary Operation Malaya (1955) and Corman's Gunslinger (1956). Arkoff and Nicholson had always wanted to name their company "American International Pictures", but the name was unavailable. When the name became available, they changed over. There were three main production arms at AIP in

920-468: A film to support Day the World Ended , The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues (1955), but lacked the money to make both films. They split the costs with Dan and Jack Milner, film editors who wanted to get into production. The resulting double bill was very successful at the box office. Gordon also produced The Oklahoma Woman (1955), a Western by Corman, made through Sunset Productions. It was put on

1035-524: A friend of the gang, but without proper medical care, Loser dies. The Angels forge a death certificate for Loser and arrange for a church funeral in Sequoia Grove, Loser's rural hometown. The Angels arrive at the church and carry in Loser's casket which is draped with a Nazi flag. The funeral preacher arrives at the church and starts the funeral sermon, a eulogy consisting entirely of funeral oratory cliches which angers Blues and he interrupts

1150-511: A gang of "sickle riders" who are obviously drawn to represent the swastika-wearing Hell's Angels, one of several disreputable gangs on the West Coast. And despite an implausible ending and some rather amateurish acting by Peter Fonda and Nancy Sinatra in the leading roles, it gives a pretty good picture of what these militant motorcycle-cult gangs are." Film critic Leonard Maltin called The Wild Angels "OK after about 24 beers ." It opened

1265-584: A girl will watch; therefore: to catch your greatest audience you zero in on the 19-year-old male. AIP began as the American Releasing Corporation, a new distribution company formed in 1954 by James H. Nicholson and Samuel Z. Arkoff. They were interested in distributing a car chase movie produced by Roger Corman for his Palo Alto Productions, The Fast and the Furious (1955). Corman had received offers from other companies for

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1380-473: A killing and tried. A list of acknowledged charters can be found on the HAMC's official website. Hells Angels chapters often oversee smaller motorcycle clubs within their locality, known as support clubs or "puppet" clubs. These clubs serve as a potential source of recruitment and earnings for the Hells Angels, and, according to law enforcement, carry out crimes on the Hells Angels' behalf in order to shield

1495-500: A label for acquired films for digital and theatrical releases, with MGM overseeing across streaming platforms and United Artists Releasing handling theatrical distribution in North America until 2023 when Amazon MGM Studios took over. Nicholson and Arkoff served as executive producers while Roger Corman and Alex Gordon were the principal film producers and, sometimes, directors. Writer Charles B. Griffith wrote many of

1610-589: A letter written to The Guinness Book of World Records by a member on the Hells Angels' behalf, it is instead stated that the club's name was taken from the "Hell's Angels" squadron of the 303rd Bombardment Group , which was active in the European theater of World War II. It is at least clear that the name was inspired by the tradition from World Wars I and II whereby the Americans gave their squadrons fierce, death-defying titles; an example of this lies in one of

1725-500: A membership of over 6,000, and 592 charters in 66 countries, the HAMC is the largest "outlaw" motorcycle club in the world. Many Hells Angels members are involved in organized crime , such as drug trafficking, and engage in violent conflict with members of other outlaw motorcycle clubs and organized crime groups. Involvement in organized crime and violence has historically extended to the organization's most senior leadership. Many police and international intelligence agencies, including

1840-633: A monopoly on street-level drug sales in Quebec. Many drug dealers and crime families resisted and established groups such as the "Alliance to fight the Angels", led by the Rock Machine . The war resulted in the bombings of many establishments and murders on both sides. More than 160 people died, over 300 were injured, and over 100 bikers were incarcerated. Members of the Spanish charter were involved in

1955-611: A movie still from The Wild Angels depicting Bruce Dern and him sharing one motorcycle, Fonda conceived the film Easy Rider . Edited samples of dialogue from the film, from the scene where Fonda's character Blues explains his attitude toward life to the preacher at Loser's funeral ( "We wanna be free. We wanna be free to do what we wanna do. And we wanna get loaded." ), were used at the start of Mudhoney 's 1989 track "In 'n' Out of Grace" (from Superfuzz Bigmuff ) , Primal Scream 's 1990 single " Loaded " (from Screamadelica ) and Eris Drew's 2021 track "Ride Free". Audio of Fonda's speech

2070-748: A new genre of beach party films featuring Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon . The original idea and the first script were Rusoff's. The highly successful and often imitated series ended in 1966 with the seventh film, The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini . Many actors from the beach films also appeared in AIP's spy-spoofs, such as Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1965) and car racing films like Fireball 500 (1966) and Thunder Alley . During this time, AIP also produced or distributed most of Corman's horror films, such as X: The Man with

2185-456: A preeminent position as " first among equals " because it has the largest membership of any charter the United States and because of Barger's esteem among club members internationally. The Oakland charter is responsible for making major decisions within the club and granting new charters. Any motorcycle club seeking to join to the Hells Angels must apply to the Oakland charter for membership, and

2300-558: A profit, Arkoff quizzed film exhibitors who told him of the value of the teenage market as adults were watching television. AIP stopped making Westerns with Arkoff explaining: "To compete with television westerns you have to have color, big stars and $ 2,000,000". AIP was the first company to use focus groups , polling American teenagers about what they would like to see and using their responses to determine titles, stars, and story content. AIP would question their exhibitors (who often provided 20% of AIP's financing ) what they thought of

2415-468: A proposed transportation plan that included restrictions on motorcycle use and sales to get California to meet the new Clean Air Act standards. The Hells Angels' official website attributes the official "death's head" insignia design to Frank Sadilek, past president of the San Francisco charter. The colors and shape of the early-style jacket emblem (before 1953) were copied from the insignias of

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2530-417: A prospective member is first deemed a "hang-around", indicating that he is invited to some club events or to meet club members at known gathering places. If the "hang-around" is interested, he may be asked to become an "associate", a status that usually lasts a year or two. At the end of that stage, he is reclassified as "prospect", participating in some club activities, but not having voting privileges while he

2645-552: A red merrowed border. The term "one-percenter" is said to be a response to the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) comment on the Hollister incident to the effect that 99% of motorcyclists were law-abiding citizens and 1% were outlaws. The AMA has no record of such a statement and calls this story apocryphal. Most members wear a rectangular patch (again, white background with red letters and

2760-483: A red merrowed border) identifying their respective charter locations. Another similarly designed patch reads "Hells Angels". When applicable, members of the club wear a patch denoting their position or rank within the organization. The patch is rectangular and, like those described above, displays a white background with red letters and a red merrowed border. Some examples of the titles used are President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Sergeant at Arms . This patch

2875-399: A signature look. The early rubber monster suits and miniatures of Paul Blaisdell were used in AIP's science fiction films . The company also hired Les Baxter and Ronald Stein to compose many of its film scores. In the 1950s, the company had a number of actors under contract, including John Ashley , Fay Spain and Steve Terrell . When many of ARC/AIP's first releases failed to earn

2990-495: A successful low-budget movie years later, during a 1980s talk show appearance. His ideas for a movie included: Later, the AIP publicity department devised a strategy called "the Peter Pan Syndrome": a) a younger child will watch anything an older child will watch; b) an older child will not watch anything a younger child will watch; c) a girl will watch anything a boy will watch; d) a boy will not watch anything

3105-479: A trademark infringement lawsuit for the first time on October 26, 1989, when the Hells Angels lodged a federal lawsuit in Los Angeles against Concorde-New Horizons , which produced the film Nam Angels , and against Media Home Entertainment , which distributed the film on video, over infringements on the club's registered trademarks. The suit was settled out of court. According to The Globe and Mail ,

3220-436: A victim of its own success when other companies started copying its double feature strategy. Costs were rising and were not compensated by increased box office grosses. AIP shut down most of their production arms and focused on distributing films from Italy, while they decided what to do next. In October 1959 AIP announced it had secured finance from Colonial Bank (who had financed three of their films to date) for ten films over

3335-499: A violent criminal gang and a scourge on society. The club became prominent within, and established its notoriety as part of, the 1960s counterculture movement in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury District, playing a part at many of the movement's seminal events. Members were directly connected to many of the counterculture's primary leaders, such as Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters , Allen Ginsberg , Jerry Garcia and

3450-542: A whole lot of nonsense, just, “Well, we’ve got people there, we’re going to be protecting her all the time.” It was all just talk, but Frank accepted it, and Nancy was great. – Roger Corman on Frank Sinatra , 2017 Roger Corman became interested in making a film about the Hells Angels after seeing a photo of a biker funeral in the January 1966 issue of Life magazine . Corman approached AIP, Charles B. Griffith

3565-415: Is also the club's traditional motto . Other Hells Angels slogans include "When we do right, nobody remembers. When we do wrong, nobody forgets"; "Three can keep a secret if two are dead"; and "When in doubt, knock 'em out", which was coined by New York City charter member Vincent "Big Vinny" Girolamo. The Hells Angels incorporated in 1966, trademarking the club's name and four symbols. The club filed

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3680-501: Is an American film production company owned by Amazon MGM Studios . In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution company known for producing and releasing films from 1955 until 1980, a year after its acquisition by Filmways in 1979. It was formed on April 2, 1954, as American Releasing Corporation ( ARC ) by former Realart Pictures Inc. sales manager James H. Nicholson and entertainment lawyer Samuel Z. Arkoff and their first release

3795-469: Is evaluated for suitability as a full member. The last phase, and highest membership status, is full membership or " full-patch ". The term "full-patch" refers to the complete four-piece insignia, including the "Death Head" logo, two rockers (top rocker: "Hells Angels"; bottom rocker: state or territory claimed) and the rectangular "MC" patch below the wing of the Death's Head. Prospects are allowed to wear only

3910-558: Is kissed by another biker until Blues confronts them and slaps her. Blues then tells his gang that it is time to bury Loser. The Angels move through the town in a funeral procession to the Sequoia Grove Cemetery, where the townspeople show up outside the gate and provoke a brawl between the Angels and the townspeople. Police sirens are heard approaching in the background. Everyone scatters, the Angels mounting their bikes, and Mike begs him to leave but he tells her to get on

4025-508: Is the "Dequiallo" patch. "Dequiallo" is a reference to El Degüello , a bugle call played by the regimental band of Antonio López de Santa Anna 's army at the Battle of the Alamo . This patch allegedly "signifies that the wearer has fought law enforcement on arrest." There is no common convention as to where the patches are placed on members' jackets/vests. "Angels Forever, Forever Angels"

4140-419: Is used by the club to finance motorcycle runs and funerals, and to fund the travel of club officers to state and national meetings. Hells Angels may become exempt from paying dues after a certain period of time as a member of the club. The club is not officially a racially segregated organization. In the U.S., at least one charter allegedly requires that a candidate be a white male, and Sonny Barger said in

4255-401: Is usually worn above the charter location patch. Some members also wear an "AFFA" patch, which stands for "Angels Forever; Forever Angels", referring to their lifelong membership in the club (i.e., "once a member, always a member"). An additional patch worn by select club members consists of two Nazi-style SS lightning bolts below the words "Filthy Few". Some law enforcement officials claim that

4370-494: Is you who miss it. We don't". Some of the HAMC's early history is not clear, and accounts differ. The club's first official charter was reportedly drawn up in Fontana in 1950. Various autonomous Hells Angels charters were formed throughout California in the decade following the club's foundation, by nomadic members who moved from one city to another. The San Francisco ("Frisco") charter was reportedly founded by former members of

4485-519: The 85th Fighter Squadron and the 552nd Medium Bomber Squadron . The Hells Angels have a system of patches similar to military medals. The specific meaning of each patch is not publicly known, but the patches identify each biker's specific or significant actions or beliefs. The official colors of the Hells Angels are red lettering displayed on a white background—hence the club's nickname "The Red and White". The patches are worn on leather or denim jackets and vests. Red and white are also used to display

4600-525: The Anchor Bay DVD of Mario Bava 's Black Sabbath , Mark Damon claims that he first suggested the idea to Corman. Damon also says that Corman let him direct The Pit and the Pendulum uncredited. Corman's commentary for Pit mentions nothing of this and all existing production stills of the film show Corman directing. During the early 1960s, AIP produced a series of horror films inspired by

4715-850: The Bandidos , and contend that members carry out widespread violent crime and organized crime , including drug dealing, trafficking in stolen goods, extortion , and prostitution operations. In Australia, the Hells Angels are included among the "big six", with the Bandidos, the Comanchero , the Finks , the Mongols , and the Rebels . All Hells Angels charters are autonomous and operate on their own. As such, some charters refrain from any illegal activity, while others operate as crime syndicates. Members of

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4830-549: The Billy Jack character. Hells Angels The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club ( HAMC ) is an international outlaw motorcycle club whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporation . Common nicknames for the club are the "H.A.", "Red & White", and "81". With

4945-584: The Grateful Dead , Timothy Leary , The Beatles , The Rolling Stones , Mick Farren , and Tom Wolfe . " Gonzo " journalist Hunter S. Thompson 's book about the club launched his career. From 1968 to 1969 the Hells Angels of San Francisco headquarters was at 715 Ashbury (across from the Grateful Dead house at 710 Ashbury). In 1973, members from several branches of the organization protested at an Environmental Protection Agency hearing about

5060-627: The Market Street Commandos in 1954. A North Sacramento charter was established in 1956, followed by another charter in Sacramento the following year, which was formed by two brothers, James "Mother" Miles and Pat Miles, who were former members of the Hell Bent for Glory biker club. The Sacramento charter later disbanded and relocated to Richmond as a Nomads chapter in 1965. According to Ralph "Sonny" Barger , founder of

5175-707: The Oakland charter in 1957, other early charters of the club were founded in Gardena , and elsewhere, with the members usually unaware that there were other clubs. One of the lesser-known clubs was in North Chino /South Pomona in the late 1960s. Barger has been credited with helping to unify these various disparate charters under common club bylaws. Other sources claim that the San Francisco Hells Angels were organized in 1953 by Rocky Graves,

5290-766: The Pissed Off Bastards motorcycle club over a feud with a rival gang. According to an alternative theory, the Hells Angels were founded on November 15, 1951, in San Bernardino , by Dick White, a member of the Redlands Road Runners. According to its website, the club's name was suggested by Arvid Olsen, an associate of the founders who had served in the "Hell's Angels" squadron of the Flying Tigers in China during World War II. In

5405-614: The Red & White Crew  [ sv ] in Sweden, which consist of young males who do not own motorcycles. Over the years, the Hells Angels have amalgamated a number of smaller outlaw motorcycle clubs in a process known as a "patch-over". Various U.S. law enforcement agencies classify the Hells Angels as one of the "big four" motorcycle gangs , along with the Pagans , the Outlaws , and

5520-713: The United States Department of Justice , the Criminal Intelligence Service Canada , the Australian Federal Police , and Europol , consider the club an organized crime syndicate. The Hells Angels originated on March 17, 1948, in Fontana, California , when several small motorcycle clubs agreed to merge. Otto Friedli, a World War II veteran, is credited with starting the club after breaking from

5635-653: The Venice Film Festival in 1966, to tepid response. In a 2009 interview, Corman told Mick Garris that the US State Department tried to prevent the film from being shown in Venice on the grounds that it "did not show America the way it is", but the film was shown there anyway. The film holds a 63% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 19 reviews. While promoting another of his 1960s counterculture movies, The Trip (1967), and autographing

5750-407: The "Filthy Few" patch is awarded only to those who have committed or are prepared to commit murder on the club's behalf. Hells Angels have denied this interpretation, however, comparing it instead to a merit badge awarded to those who are "the first to arrive at a party and the last to leave". According to reports from law enforcement and prosecutors, another patch similar to the "Filthy Few" patch

5865-417: The "prospect" and ask any questions of concern before voting. Some form of formal induction follows, wherein the "prospect" affirms his loyalty to the club and its members. The final logo patch (top "Hells Angels" rocker) is then awarded at the initiation ceremony. The step of attaining full membership can be called "being patched". Even after a member is patched in, the patches remain the property of HAMC, not

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5980-524: The 1990s and later tried uniting street gangs in Quebec after Boucher was imprisoned. In another interview with Barger in 2000, he said, "if you're a motorcycle rider and you're white, you want to join the Hells Angels. If you're black, you want to join the Dragons . That's how it is whether anyone likes it or not. We don't have no blacks and they don't have no whites." When asked whether that could change, Barger replied, "Anything can change. I can't predict

6095-437: The Angels ride out to Mecca, California in the desert to look for the motorcycle. One of the Angels finds a brake pedal, which he says is a piece of Loser's motorcycle, in a garage that is the hang-out of a Mexican group. The two groups brawl, with the Angels apparently winning. The police arrive and the Angels escape but Loser gets separated from the others and is left behind. He steals a police motorcycle but eventually one of

6210-614: The Blood Beast , She Gods of Shark Reef and The Brain Eaters (all released in 1958). The other key producer for AIP was Alex Gordon who mostly made films though his Golden State Productions outfit, usually written by Lou Rusoff . He made Girls in Prison (1956), with director Edward L. Cahn who would become one of AIP's most prolific directors. AIP released it on a double bill with Hot Rod Girl (1956). Cahn also directed

6325-688: The Chosen Few a Hells Angels patch, an offer that was declined. The Hells Angels became the first notarized and organized outlaw motorcycle club, and the biker clubs formed subsequently have reportedly imitated the Angels' insignias, rules, doctrines and rituals. Hells Angels charters are governed by an officer corps, consisting of a president, vice president, secretary/treasurer, sergeant-at-arms and road captain. Charters are composed of between ten and twelve members on average. Each charter has autonomy regarding member discipline and minor policy changes. In contrast to other prominent motorcycle clubs in

6440-480: The HAMC without permission. The suit was eventually voluntarily dismissed after the Angels received assurances from Disney that the references would not appear in the film. On October 7, 2009, Fritz Clapp, attorney at law for the HAMC, contacted online games community FOCO, demanding the removal of all membership marks and club trademarks from the Los Santos Roleplay Forum, a messageboard for

6555-434: The Hells Angels and that when they come into Chosen Few territory they all get together and party. A Hells Angel member interviewed for the magazine insisted there was no racial prejudice in any of their clubs. He said, "we don't have any Negro members", but maintained that no blacks have sought membership. At one point in the 1970s, the Hells Angels sought to consolidate the various motorcycle clubs and offered every member of

6670-596: The Hells Angels considered seeking an injunction to block the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation from broadcasting the miniseries The Last Chapter , because of how closely the biker gang at the center of the series resembled the Hells Angels. In March 2007 the Hells Angels filed suit against the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group alleging that its film Wild Hogs used both the name and distinctive logo of

6785-584: The Hells Angels from scrutiny. The Hells Angels also use support clubs to establish an initial presence in an area before forming a full-fledged charter. Support clubs may be established for the sole purpose of providing assistance to the Hells Angels, or begin as independent clubs before coming under the Hells Angels' control. Such clubs may maintain relations with the Hells Angels for protection or to bolster their reputation. Members of puppet clubs attend Hells Angels events and associate with Hells Angels at gatherings. Puppet club members are also permitted to wear

6900-595: The Hells Angels until 1969 when two London charters were formed. The Beatles ' George Harrison invited some members of the HAMC San Francisco to stay at Apple Records in London in 1968. According to Chris O'Dell, only two members showed up, Frisco Pete and Bill "Sweet William" Fritsch. Two people from London visited California, "prospected", and ultimately joined. Two charters were issued on July 30, 1969; one for "South London"—the reimagined charter renewing

7015-638: The Hells Angels' charters in the Western United States, and those who attend the East Coast Officers Meeting ("ECOM") to govern the charters in the Eastern United States. The dividing point of the east and west regions is Omaha, Nebraska . In states with multiple charters, weekly state meetings are also held in addition to charter meetings. Although the Hells Angels have no official "mother charter ",

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7130-678: The Lost City , Portrait of a Sinner (1959, West Germany), The Professionals (1960, Great Britain), and Escape to Paradise (1960, the Philippines). They also bought Why Must I Die? and The Jailbreakers (1960). In the early 1960s, AIP gained kudos by combining Roger Corman , Vincent Price and the stories of Edgar Allan Poe into a series of horror films, with scripts by Richard Matheson , Charles Beaumont , Ray Russell , R. Wright Campbell and Robert Towne . The original idea, usually credited to Corman and Lou Rusoff,

7245-507: The Odd . In 1962, Arkoff said AIP was in a position similar to Columbia Pictures just before they made Submarine and Dirigible : Before that they were on poverty row. Our better position will enable us to obtain more important writers, perhaps more important producers as well. We're a privately owned company at the moment but perhaps within two or three years we will become a public company. Beginning with 1963's Beach Party , AIP created

7360-671: The Poe cycle. Of eight films, seven feature stories that are actually based on the works of Poe. Seven of the films, with the exception of The Premature Burial , featured Vincent Price as the star. Occasionally, Corman's 1963 film The Terror (produced immediately after The Raven ) is recognized as being part of the Corman-Poe cycle, although the film's story and title are not based on any literary work of Poe. Some Poe films announced by AIP but not made include The Gold Bug , The Thousand and Second Tale of Scheherazade , and The Angel of

7475-462: The River Kwai "only cheap"; Corman pulled Bogdanovich off that project and paid him $ 300 to work on Wild Angels . Bogdanovich later estimated he rewrote 80% of the script. He later directed second unit and did various other odd jobs. Corman claims the entire script was based on stories the Hells Angels recounted to them, "even though I think they embellished some of their stories." To research

7590-527: The San Andreas Multiplayer modification for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas . While members of the community were skeptical at first, Clapp posted a tweet confirming his identity. In October 2010 the Hells Angels filed a lawsuit against Alexander McQueen for "misusing its trademark winged death heads symbol" in several items from its Autumn/Winter 2010 collection. The lawsuit also aimed at Saks Fifth Avenue and Zappos.com , which stock

7705-482: The United States, the Hells Angels organization is not headed by a national or international president; it is instead governed by regional officers, who are each chosen to represent a collective of localized charters at monthly regional meetings. Regional officers are divided into two groups: those who attend the West Coast Officers Meeting ("WesCOM") to conduct the policy, actions, and affairs of

7820-542: The Vagrant"). In 1977, the Hells Angels arrived in Canada with the Popeye Moto Club patching over to form the Hells Angels' Montreal charter. During the 1980s and 1990s, there was a major expansion of the club into the rest of Canada. The Quebec Biker War was a violent turf war that began in 1994 and continued until late 2002 in Quebec. The war began when the Hells Angels in Quebec began to try to establish

7935-485: The Western Outlaw Treasure (1955) starring Johnny Carpenter . ARC got Corman to direct another Western and science fiction double bill Apache Woman (1955) and Day the World Ended (1955). Both scripts were written by Arkoff's brother-in-law Lou Rusoff , who would become the company's leading writer in its early days. Apache Woman was produced by Alex Gordon, an associate of Arkoff's, Day

8050-733: The World (1956) from a script by Rusoff that was rewritten by Charles B. Griffith . His films included Rock All Night (1956); Naked Paradise (1957), in which Arkoff had a small role; The Undead ; Sorority Girl ; The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent (1957); Machine Gun Kelly with Charles Bronson ; and Teenage Caveman (1958), with Robert Vaughn . AIP also distributed films Corman helped finance, such as Night of

8165-426: The X-ray Eyes . In 1966, the studio released The Wild Angels starring Peter Fonda , based loosely on the real-life exploits of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang. This film ushered in AIP's most successful year and kicked off a subgenre of motorcycle gang films that lasted almost 10 years and included Devil's Angels , The Glory Stompers with Dennis Hopper , and The Born Losers —the film that introduced

8280-488: The already existing 1950 South London charter—and the other for "East London", but by 1973 the two charters came together as one, called "London". The London Angels provided security at a number of UK Underground festivals, including Phun City in 1970, organized by Mick Farren . They awarded Farren an "approval patch" in 1970 for use on his first solo album Mona , which also featured Steve Peregrin Took (credited as "Shagrat

8395-745: The applicant club must be monitored and approved of by the Oakland Hells Angels before being granted membership. In New York state, the HAMC is incorporated as the Church of Angels, a nonprofit religious organization . The HAMC acknowledges more than 100 charters in over 29 countries. New Zealand had the first charter of the Hells Angels outside the United States; the club founded a charter in Auckland in 1961, and has since taken over gangs in Whanganui . Europe did not become widely home to

8510-469: The bike of another member of the gang and go. Blues, left alone in the graveyard, slowly begins shoveling dirt into the open grave to bury his friend Loser. He was very worried that his daughter was in a film with the Hells Angels . And for some reason he didn’t want to bring it up to me, so he arranged to meet with my second assistant director, Paul Rapp, and said, “Is Nancy going to be all right?” And Paul, we had never even thought about it, but Paul made up

8625-490: The burning roof of the Usher mansion reappears in most of the other films as stock footage ), making the series quite cost-effective. All the films in the series were directed by Roger Corman, and they all starred Price except The Premature Burial , which featured Ray Milland in the lead. It was originally produced for another studio, but AIP acquired the rights to it. As the series progressed, Corman made attempts to change

8740-406: The club excludes child molesters and people who have applied to become police or prison officers . Intravenous drug use is also forbidden among club members. Members in North America are required to ride U.S.-built motorcycles; Harley-Davidson bikes are most common in the club, although other American brands, such as Victory and Indian , are also permitted. After a lengthy, phased process,

8855-400: The club's de facto national headquarters remained in its founding location of San Bernardino, California until club founder Otto Friedli was imprisoned in 1958. The club's unofficial headquarters was then relocated to Oakland, California by Sonny Barger , who succeeded Friedli as the Hells Angels' de facto national president. The Oakland charter has traditionally been able to maintain

8970-669: The company's parent company, PPR, could not be reached for comment. The company settled the case with the Hells Angels after agreeing to remove all of the merchandise featuring the logo from sale on their website, stores and concessions and recalling any goods that had already been sold and destroying them. In fall 2012 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California , Hells Angels sued Toys "R" Us for trademark infringement , unfair competition , and dilution in relation to

9085-429: The disenfranchised youth of the country, who were all popping their zits at that time, to notice me. Motion Picture Exhibitor wrote, "Much of what goes on here is revolting and repulsive, and ordinary filmgoers will probably react along those lines. On the other hand, there may be some teenagers who will clasp this release to their restive bosoms and proclaim this as their "in" or "protest" symbol. For them, it may become

9200-638: The documentary Naked Africa , The Screaming Skull (1957), The Cool and the Crazy , Daddy-O , Dragstrip Riot and Tank Battalion (1958). AIP developed a mutual relationship with Britain's Anglo-Amalgamated who would distribute AIP's product in the UK. In return, AIP would distribute their films in the U.S., such as The Tommy Steele Story (1957) and Cat Girl (1957). AIP also imported The White Huntress (1954, England), Pulgarcito (1958, Mexico) and The Sky Calls (1959, Russia). AIP became

9315-480: The early films, along with Arkoff's brother-in-law, Lou Rusoff, who later produced many of the films he had written. Other writers included Ray Russell , Richard Matheson and Charles Beaumont . Floyd Crosby , A.S.C. famous for his camera work on a number of exotic documentaries and the Oscar winner, High Noon , was chief cinematographer. His innovative use of surreal color and odd lenses and angles gave AIP films

9430-464: The film to see. The reaction could be quite raucous... Word-of-mouth it will certainly engender, but whether good or bad depends upon the outlook and the taste of individuals attending. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote, "This is the brutal little picture about a California motorcycle gang and its violent depredations... It is an embarrassment all right—a vicious account of the boozing, fighting, "pot"-smoking, vandalizing and raping done by

9545-411: The film's run in theaters, Fonda was charged with possession of marijuana, and later recalled: Simultaneously, I was in the front pages of newspapers being arrested for possession. It was a very strange chain of events. Roger put me on the screen as a cult hero. AIP then marketed posters of me worldwide showing me on my cycle taking a toke. And the Los Angeles police put me in the headlines, causing all

9660-442: The film, but ARC offered to advance money to enable Corman to make two other films. Corman agreed, The Fast and the Furious performed well at the box office and the company was launched. Corman's next two films for the company were a Western, Five Guns West (1955), which Corman directed, and a science fiction film, The Beast with a Million Eyes (1955). The title from the latter had come from Nicholson. ARC also distributed

9775-625: The film, members of the Hells Angels from Venice, California . Members of the Coffin Cheaters motorcycle club also appeared. In 1967 AIP followed this film with Devil's Angels , The Glory Stompers with Dennis Hopper , and The Born Losers . Heavenly Blues is the leader of the Angels motorcycle gang from San Pedro, California . Loser (or "the Loser") is his best friend. Loser has his motorcycle stolen, and in between sprees of sex, drugs, rock and roll, booze, loud revving Harley chopper motorcycle engines, bongo drums and fights,

9890-683: The following for Gordon: The She-Creature (released as a double feature with It Conquered the World ); Flesh and the Spur , the last Western made by AIP; Shake, Rattle & Rock! , a rock musical with Mike Connors ; Runaway Daughters (1956); Voodoo Woman ; Dragstrip Girl (1957), with John Ashley ; Motorcycle Gang (1957), again with Ashley; Jet Attack and Submarine Seahawk (1958). Most of these were written by Rusoff and directed by Edward L. Cahn . Gordon left AIP and Rusoff alone produced Hot Rod Gang (1958) and Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow (1959). Another key producer for AIP

10005-409: The formula. Later films added more humor to the stories, especially The Raven , which takes Poe's poem as an inspiration and develops it into an all-out farce starring Price, Boris Karloff and Peter Lorre ; Karloff had starred in a 1935 film with the same title. Corman also adapted H. P. Lovecraft 's short novel The Case of Charles Dexter Ward in an attempt to get away from Poe, but AIP changed

10120-563: The future." Tobie Levingston, who formed the black motorcycle club East Bay Dragons MC, wrote in his book that he and Barger have a long-lasting friendship and that the Hells Angels and Dragons have a mutual friendship and hang out and ride together. In a 1966 Ebony article about motorcycle rebels in the African-American community, the Chosen Few Motorcycle Club said that they see no racial animosity in

10235-475: The jacquard box dress and knuckle duster ring that bear the symbol, which has been used since at least 1948 and is protected by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. A handbag and scarf were also named in the lawsuit. The lawyer representing Hells Angels claimed: "This isn't just about money, it's about membership. If you've got one of these rings on, a member might get really upset that you're an impostor." Saks refused to comment, Zappos had no immediate comment and

10350-643: The late 1950s, AIP kept their company afloat by importing films from Italy. These included Sheba and the Gladiator (1959), Goliath and the Barbarians (1959) and Black Sunday (1960); the latter film proved to be one of the company's early successes. There was also Atomic Agent (1959, France), The Angry Red Planet (1959, Denmark), Tiger of Bengal (1959) and The Indian Tomb (1960) from Fritz Lang in Germany, edited together as Journey to

10465-407: The late 1950s: Roger Corman, Alex Gordon & Lou Rusoff, and Herman Cohen. Arkoff and Nicholson would buy films from other filmmakers as well, and import films from outside America. Corman continued to be an important member of AIP (though he also worked for Allied Artists and his own Filmgroup company during this period). He had a big hit for the company with the science fiction film It Conquered

10580-417: The lead roles. However Chakiris could not ride a motorcycle so he was replaced by Fonda; with Bruce Dern taking Fonda's original role. Nancy Sinatra , who was cast as "Mike", recalled: When I was doing Wild Angels , Peter Fonda was talking about LSD and said, "Come on, Nancy, you should try it, it's great - I just woke up on the shelf of the linen closet." And I said, "What? Are you crazy? No thanks." I

10695-419: The member. On leaving the Hells Angels or being ejected, a member must return his patches to the club. Members must pay dues, and are required to attend mandatory club meetings and motorcycle runs. Charter meetings, known as "church", are typically held at clubhouses or a member's residence. In 1978, members were required to pay $ 20 per month to the local charter, and $ 10 per month to the state charter. The money

10810-533: The movie, Corman sponsored parties for the Hells Angels and attended the parties along with Griffith to take notes, according to Corman: “We went through a whole series of Hells Angels parties. We would buy them marijuana and beer — their essentials. They didn’t take any drugs other than marijuana then, and they didn’t seem to drink whiskey. Beer and marijuana was their trip. And they would tell us these stories of sexual action, fights, raids with other gangs." George Chakiris and Peter Fonda were originally cast in

10925-601: The next 12 months. The remaining 14 to 20 projects planned were paid by Pathe Laboratories. The ten films were Diary of a High School Bride , Drag Race , The Haunted House of Usher , End of the World , World Without Women , Bombs Away , Blood Hill , Take Me To Your Leader , She and Eve and the Dragon . Not all of these would be made. The company moved into rented office space at the former Chaplin Studios . In

11040-399: The number 81 on many patches, as in "Support 81", "Route 81". The 8 and 1 stand for the respective positions in the alphabet of H and A . Friends and supporters of the club use these in deference to club rules, which purport to restrict the wearing of Hells Angels imagery to club members. The diamond-shaped one-percenter patch is also used, displaying "1%" in red on a white background with

11155-460: The officers shoots Loser in the back, putting him in the hospital. Blues leads a small group of Angels to sneak Loser out of the hospital. A nurse hears a noise and comes into the hospital room. One of the Angels assaults her. Blues pulls the Angel away, forcing him to stop. The nurse, having seen Blues, identifies him to the police. The Angels take Loser to a biker bar and safe house run by 'Momma',

11270-463: The organization have continuously asserted that they are only a group of motorcycle enthusiasts who have joined to ride motorcycles together, to organize social events such as group road trips, fundraisers, parties, and motorcycle rallies, and that any crimes are the responsibility of the people who carried them out, not the club as a whole. In May 2019, a court in Utrecht issued a verdict that made

11385-445: The preacher and the Angels decide to have a party in the church, with alcohol, dancing and reckless destruction of the church fixtures. They remove Loser from his coffin, they sit him up as a guest of honor and place a joint in his mouth. They beat and tie up the preacher and put him into the casket. Gaysh, the Loser's girlfriend, is drugged and raped by several members of the gang. Blues has sex with Momma, while Mike, Blues' girlfriend,

11500-538: The procurement of the registrations. The case settled and the lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice. As of December 2013 , the Hells Angels sells its branded merchandise at a retail store in Toronto, Ontario. In 2019, the Hells Angels sued Redbubble in the Federal Court of Australia for infringing on its trademark, launching another suit in 2021 after providing evidence that Redbubble had continued to breach

11615-403: The sale of yo-yos manufactured by Yomega Corporation, a co-defendant, which allegedly bear the "Death Head" logo. In its complaint, Hells Angels asserted that the mark on the yo-yos would likely lead people to mistakenly believe that the toys originate with Hells Angels. Yomega filed counterclaims against Hells Angels for cancellation of the "Death Head" registrations on grounds of alleged fraud in

11730-426: The success of a title, then would have a writer create a script for it. A sequence of tasks in a typical production involved creating a great title, getting an artist such as Albert Kallis who supervised all AIP artwork from 1955 to 1973 to create a dynamic, eye-catching poster, then raising the cash, and finally writing and casting the film. Samuel Z. Arkoff related his tried-and-true "ARKOFF formula" for producing

11845-531: The three P-40 squadrons of Flying Tigers fielded in Burma and China, which was dubbed "Hell's Angels". In 1930, the Howard Hughes film Hell's Angels showcased extraordinary and dangerous feats of aviation, and it is believed that World War II groups that used that name based it on the film. According to the Hells Angels' website, they are aware that there is an apostrophe missing in "Hells", but "... it

11960-518: The title to that of an obscure Poe poem, The Haunted Palace , and marketed it as yet another movie in the series. The last two films in the series, The Masque of the Red Death and The Tomb of Ligeia , were filmed in England with an unusually long schedule for Corman and AIP. Although Corman and Rusoff are generally credited with coming up with the idea for the Poe series, in an interview on

12075-404: The trademark. The 2019 case concluded with the Hells Angels being awarded $ 5,000 in damages. In July 2022, in the second ruling against Redbubble, the company was ordered to pay the club more than $ 78,000. To become a Hells Angels "prospect", candidates must have a valid driver's license, a motorcycle over 750 cc (46 cu in), and "the right combination of personal qualities." It is said

12190-605: Was Herman Cohen , who had a huge hit with I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957) starring Michael Landon . He followed it with I Was a Teenage Frankenstein , Blood of Dracula (both also in 1957 as a double feature), How to Make a Monster (1958), The Headless Ghost and Horrors of the Black Museum (both in 1959). Other key collaborators who worked for AIP in the late 1950s included: AIP would flesh out their distribution schedule by buying films made by outside producers. These included The Astounding She-Monster ,

12305-470: Was also sampled repeatedly in the Edgar Wright film The World's End (2013), as well as repeated by Simon Pegg 's character Gary King at the end of the movie. An excerpt of the audio was also featured in the launch trailer for the video game Need for Speed (2015). Actress Laura Dern was conceived by her parents (Bruce Dern and Diane Ladd) while they were shooting this film. The Wild Angels

12420-524: Was first used in 1959. It later became the club standard. The first charter to open outside California was established in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1961. The Hells Angels are often depicted in semi-mythical romantic fashion like the 19th-century James–Younger Gang : free-spirited, iconic, bound by brotherhood and loyalty. At other times, such as in the 1966 Roger Corman film The Wild Angels , they are depicted as violent and nihilistic, little more than

12535-668: Was granted official status in 1985 shortly after its only black member, John Mikkelsen, had died in police custody. Another notable is Gregory Woolley , a high-ranking member of the Rockers MC in Montreal who was the protégé and bodyguard of Hells Angel boss Maurice Boucher (who spent five years in a notoriously white-supremacist motorcycle gang, the SS). Woolley became an associate of the Hells Angels Montreal charter in

12650-402: Was hired to write a screenplay. Griffith's first draft was a near-silent movie which contrasted the bikers with the story of a police motorcycle cop. Corman did not like it and had Griffith rewrite it. Corman still was not happy and gave it to Peter Bogdanovich to rewrite. Bogdanovich had met Corman socially and agreed to write an adventure script in the vein of Lawrence of Arabia or Bridge on

12765-401: Was produced by Corman. Both were made by Golden State Productions, ARC's production arm. Normally, B movies were made for the second part of a bill and received a flat rate. As television was encroaching on the B movie market, Nicholson and Arkoff felt it would be more profitable to make two low budget films and distribute them together on a double feature . Nicholson came up with a title for

12880-441: Was released to DVD by MGM Home Video on April 1, 2003 as a Region 1 widescreen DVD as a double feature with Hell's Belles , on September 11, 2007 as part of The Roger Corman Collection (movie number seven of a set of eight), and to Blu-ray by Olive Films (under license from MGM) on February 17, 2015. American International Pictures American International Pictures LLC ( AIP or American International Productions )

12995-403: Was the 1953 UK documentary film Operation Malaya . It was dedicated to releasing low-budget films packaged as double features , primarily of interest to the teenagers of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. The company eventually became a part of Orion Pictures , which in turn, became a division of Amazon MGM Studios. On October 7, 2020, four decades after the original closure, MGM revived AIP as

13110-588: Was the square peg in the round hole, I guess. Corman took risks with this subject matter and the Charles B. Griffith –authored screenplay , without being overly graphic, paid dividends commercially: The Wild Angels earned $ 7 million in theatrical rentals in the United States and Canada, the highest-grossing low-budget film at the time. The film had admissions in France of 531,240 people. The movie's success established Fonda as "a counter culture film star". During

13225-615: Was to take Poe's story " The Fall of the House of Usher ", which had both a high name-recognition value and the merit of being in the public domain , and thus royalty -free, and expand it into a feature film. Corman convinced the studio to give him a larger budget than the typical AIP film so he could film the movie in widescreen and color, and use it to create lavish sets as well. The success of House of Usher led AIP to finance further films based on Poe's stories. The sets and special effects were often reused in subsequent movies (for example,

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