The Rebel Rousers (1970) in the PNW

Details: Written by: Mortado; Category: The 1970s in Northwest Cinemas

This is a collection of media from the initial runs of "The Rebel Rousers" (1970) in the Pacific Northwest. This one only seemed to run in Seattle. "The Witchmaker" (1969) was the better second feature.

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The Rebel Rousers (1970)
Watching "The Rebel Rousers" is like finding an old tattoo on someone you barely remember and realizing the ink never meant anything in the first place. The film was directed by Martin B. Cohen in his only outing behind the camera, and it wears that inexperience like a badge of honor and shame at once. What saves it from being a total waste are the faces in the frame: Cameron Mitchell, Bruce Dern, Diane Ladd, Jack Nicholson, and Harry Dean Stanton show up and chew scenery with the kind of commitment that makes the production values look even cheaper by comparison.

The plot is simple and mean-spirited in equal measure. A man tries to put his life back together while a local motorcycle gang brings chaos to town. The script leans hard on macho posturing and the idea that violence is a form of social currency. The film was shot in 1967 but did not reach theaters until 1970 after the success of Easy Rider, which is why it feels both dated and opportunistic.

Some moments flirt with something interesting. László Kovács lensing gives the movie a look that hints at a better film trying to break out from under a pile of bad choices. Nicholson, in particular, is a small bright coal of menace and charisma that suggests why he would later become a star. But those sparks are smothered by clumsy pacing, a score that insists on telling you how to feel, and a moral seriousness that never quite decides whether it is condemning or celebrating the ugliness on screen. The running time is a brisk 78 minutes, which helps because the movie has nothing to say that needs more air.

If you go in expecting a polished classic, you will leave annoyed. If you go in expecting a trashy midnight movie, you might find a few guilty pleasures in the performances and the occasional raw shot of Americana gone sour. Either way, the film feels like a product of its moment and of a production that never had the budget or the nerve to make anything more than a noisy, mean little fable about male entitlement and small-town cowardice. It is worth seeing only as a curiosity piece for the cast and as an example of how charisma can almost rescue a bad movie.

There are no spoilers here because the film is less about plot twists and more about tone and temperament. If you want to study early performances and the way a film can be carried by actors even when everything else is failing, then "The Rebel Rousers" will give you that lesson in a blunt and occasionally ugly way.

Director: Martin B. Cohen
Writers: Martin B. Cohen, Michael Kars, Abe Polsky
Stars: Cameron Mitchell, Bruce Dern, Jack Nicholson
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May 19, 1970 ad (Seattle)