Run, Angel, Run!

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.

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.

This is a real Biker-Movie Classic. I think it was the first leading part for William Smith and also his first biker-movie. He did a great job. Of course it is a B-Picture, but it has some good and unforgettable scenes. One year later Smith and director Jack Starrett did another classic together: Nam's Angels.

'Run Angel Run'is the first of Bill Smith's biker movies, and is probably the best of them--a simple, surprisingly moving tale. There's a great title song by Tammy Wynette--how can you beat that? And Smith looks smashing as he always did in that period. Joan Didion's essay on biker movies in 'The White Album' collection is worth reading. I agree with her about the excellent photography of the West-and the best may have even been in the subsequent 'Angels Die Hard', which has some good songs behind the scenes of the bikers riding on the highway. 'Run Angel Run'is referred to in Smith's 1976 'The Hollywood Man', where he plays an actor similar to himself in many ways--and exactly insofar as both had made 'Run Angel Run'. The supporting players, including Valerie Starrett as his girlfriend, are also excellent.