Customer Reviews

The Mini-Skirt Mob/Chrome and Hot Leather (Midnite Movies Double Feature)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"The Mini-Skirt Mob" is no classic, but it delivers enough action to make it worthwhile. Diane McBain stars as the leader of a female motorcycle gang (hence the title) who is determined to punish the guy who jilted her. With the aid of her companions, including biker film veteran Jeremy Slate and future cult actor Harry Dean Stanton, she proceeds to harass both her ex-boyfriend (Ross Hagen) and his mousy new bride (Sherry Jackson). Along for the ride, and good in a sympathetic role, is ex-child star Patty McCormack, as McBain's little sister. The photography is excellent as is the color, and the movie doesn't take forever to make it's point. McBain is terrific as "Shayne". Very watchable. [phillindholm]

As biker movies go, Chrome And Hot Leather is unusual. Biker films, tended to highlight the wild lifestyle of the outlaw biker culture, as desirable. But this film doesn't glorify bikers. In fact, the military establishment, and their straight-arrow values, are the focus of heroism in this movie.

It's true that by the time this film was made in 1971, outlaw bikers were no longer romanticized like they had been just a few years earlier, by the youth culture. Still, it's hard to believe that during the Vietnam war era, when antiwar sentiments were strong, Hollywood goes and makes a film with the military as the good guys.

The plot centers around a Green Beret Sgt. named Mitch, who is headed home after his tour of duty in 'Nam. He's engaged to be married to a beautiful young woman, and ready to begin a new life as a civilian. Meanwhile, as his fiancé and her friend are out for a drive, they're harassed by a biker gang. This results in an accident, that kills the two women. Mitch, along with a few of his army comrades, are determined to catch the bikers who are responsible for killing his fiancé.

Actor Tony Young infuses the character of Mitch with a steely, square-jawed resolve, to avenge his fiancé's murder. The great R&B singer Marvin Gaye, appears as Mitch's Green Beret buddy. Marvin does an adequate job in his role, but he's a much better singer than actor. William Smith plays the biker gang leader. William has appeared in more biker films over the years, than probably any other actor. With his burly, threatening appearance, Smith seems like he was born to play badass outlaw bikers.

Mitch and his Army pals work together as a cracker-jack military unit, to accomplish their mission of nabbing the biker gang. The way Mitch and company carry out their quest for justice, reminds me of the fictional TV military group, called the A-Team. I wonder if the creators of the A-Team, were inspired by this movie.

Chrome And Hot Leather isn't the best biker film around, but it's different. For fans of biker movies, this one won't validate the bikers as cool. This movie would be most enjoyable for those that admire the military, and how it's members triumph over the bad guys.

These films littered drive in's across the nation during the 60's. Chrome and Hot Leather doesn't take itself too seriously. In one scene, lead heavy the great WIlliam Smith notices one gnag member is missing and calls to him, "Larry...we ar MENACING someone over here". the late Marvin Gaye has a role as one of the green beret bikers who inact revenge. Mini Skirt mob is about girl hoodlums led by Patty McCormick, who cause trouble pay the price and so forth. Just miscreant behavior here, no skin if that is what you are looking for.

I choose to watch Mini-Skirt Mob as my follow up double feature to Faster Pussycat Kill Kill this evening, and I was not disappointed, of course by all rights I should've reversed the order, but there was definitely some continuity, both films had good looking, tough, fast living girls, manipulating men to their own ends. I watch and own a lot of movies from this era, and I can't remember ever seeing one that looked this good, both the films in this set have been so stunningly remastered they look better than many of my blu-rays, I don't know how they did it, but the superb color and fidelity of these films makes them just jump off the screen, and that makes them really easy to watch. Mini-Skirt Mob isn't the best biker chick flick I've ever seen, but it's certainly not the worst either, the action starts fast, the chicks are dishy, and the morality is loose, the movie does lag a bit in the middle, but the last 20mins make for a worthwhile pay off. I haven't watched Chrome and Hot Leather yet, except to check if it was remastered with the same care as Mini-Skirt Mob, and it looks to be just as clean and bright, MGM has done an amazing job with the restoration of these two films, and it is really cool having some old school films looking this good in my collection, I only hope they give this treatment to future releases.

Very COOOOOL Old School ,Action, Biker movie. I loved it.They don't make them like this anymore. Corney but VERYYYYYYYYYYYY COOOOOOOOOOOOl.

Since someone has already reviewed "The Miniskirt Mob" I'll comment about the other biker film in this DVD package, the best things being that both are very good prints, both are in widescreen, and both feature some very beautiful actresses.

The saddest thing about "Chrome and Hot Leather" (1971) is that it could have been a fairly decent film; at least by American International biker film standards. They seem to have had a large budget; at least enough to cast in quantity if not quality; and to outfit their biker gang (Wizards) with Harley's-something that was often beyond the budget of these things.

They had William Smith, the best movie baddie of the day, for their gang leader T.J. and Michael Haynes for the chain-throwing mama slapping Casey. In fact the whole biker thing is handled pretty well by the standards of the early 1970's. As are the stunts and most of the action sequences.

Then they had an extremely young Cheryl Ladd (she looks about 16 although she was 18) and former Miss Ohio and Miss America Runner-Up Kathy Baumann (note the John Havlicek Basketball Camp t-shirt she is wearing). In high school she dated someone I knew and she looks about the same in this film as she did then. Unfortunately neither actress gets to show much in the way of acting skills or exploitable assets. .

This is one of those movies the Army and Air Force Exchange Service saw fit to show us GI's at posts and bases around with world back in the early 1970's. To us at the time virtually everything military related was unintentionally hilarious, from Peter Brown's non-GI haircut (if it was a paying role couldn't he at least have cut it enough so you could see a portion of his ears) to the moronic combat training. It got laughs from us for months whenever someone brought up the topic. On the other hand what was supposed to be the film's comic relief, sequences of Peter Brown and Company learning to ride motorcycles is funny only to those amused by things totally lame and stupid.

In retrospect the film never had a chance given its director Lee "The Man With Two Heads" Frost and its star, the aging Tony Young. When you look bad in comparison to a non-actor (Marvin Gaye plays Tony's pal) it is time to find another line of work. Young lined up the financing for this baby and hired Frost on the condition he be given the lead. You won't find a more wooden actor than Young, whose character looks like an extremely dour 55 year-old man and is supposed to be the love interest for the two teen actresses.

Several times they appear headed in the self-parody direction (if that is what they had emphasized the film would be a classic) and Smith lets you know that he is playing this thing for laughs. But this tiny attempt at real humor is dwarfed by the unintentional hilarity and the giggles you will get from the many continuity errors that occur throughout the movie.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

CHROME AND HOT LEATHER, another biker epic from the 70's starring the man, the legend, the best crazed over the edge psycho in the history of motion pictures: William Smith. Ok, this bugger won't win any awards but it has Big Bill. What else does one need?

I first saw "Chrome And Hot Leather" in 1985.I enjoy the film mainly for the bikes.There are a couple of scenes that really show off the bikes,one in particular when Marvin Gaye rides up to a few guys sitting on a warehouse deck,enjoying a few beers.The bikes in that scene are beautiful.If your like me and into Harleys and nostalgia this film captures a little bit of that from 1971.Unfortunately the "Mini Skirt Mob" does nothing for me.Some beautiful ladies in the film though!

These two cheap double-feature motorcycle flicks from the 1960s are said to be 'lurid'. Unfortunately, they're just not lurid enough.