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Television/Radio - Magazines/Books - Documentaries |
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1950s |
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Biker Movies Before 1950 |
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| Pre-1950s -
The motorcycle film is as old as the motorcycle itself. A search using ‘motorcycle’ on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) gave these films without much, if any, description. 1909 The Uncontrollable Motorcycle 1912 Alkali Ike's Motorcycle 1912 A Motorcycle Adventure 1914 A Motorcycle Elopement 1915 A Motorcycle Elopement 1937 Motorcycle Squad aka 1941 Double Cross |
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1935 No Limit UK "George Shuttleworth is convinced that he has the talent to win the Isle of Man TT races, despite what his neighbours back home in Wigan may think. During the trials, the brakes go on George's bike, 'The Shuttleworth Snap', which he made himself. As a result, he breaks the TT lap record, becoming an instant motor-cycling star. As the big race approaches, George soon realises that other jealous riders will stop at nothing to make sure he does not take part in the race. An early George Formby film and probably his best" IMDb - allmovie,com | |||||
| 1949 Once a Jolly Swagman UK "Dirk Bogarde appears in this film as a young, working class lad who achieves fame and fortune (and a nasty little moustache) as a speedway bike rider during the 1940's. Of course, his career is interrupted by the war." IMDb - allmovie.com | ||||||
Biker Movies of 1950s |
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| 1952 The Pace That Thrills RKO Pictures USA “Chills and spills in the fast paced world of motorcycle racing” IMDb - The title refers to the euphoric pleasures of motorcycle racing, a sport that is exploited to the breaking point in this film. Reckless racer Bill Williams and his cycle-designer buddy Steve Flagg come to blows over the lovely Carla Balenda (a blonde in this picture, a brunette in other films). This tenuous plot device is used as a framework for an endless flow of film clips shot at real-life racing events—crashes, hairbreadth rescues and all. Since this was made before The Wild One, the correlation between motorcycles and leather-jacketed hoodlums is not touched upon. The Pace That Thrills is recommended primarily for motorcycle buffs; other viewers will be less than thrilled. allmovie.com | ||||||
1952 Teenage Devil Dolls aka One-Way Ticket of Hell One of those voice over drug scare films of the 1950s. Of course it is the motorcycle gang that gets her hooked on drugs - the only part they play in movie. |
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1953 Code Two "Chuck O'Flair (Ralph Meeker) and two buddies, Russ Hartley (Robert Horton) and Harry Whenlon (Jeff Richards), enter the Los Angeles Police Academy as cadets. Cocky and sure of himself, O'Flair almost gets washed out as unfit material. After they graduate, one of them accidently stumbles on a gang of black marketeers and is murdered. O'Flair requests the assignment to track down the killer." IMDb | |||||
1953 The Wild One Marlon Brando, Lee Marvin |
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1954 The Black Rider UK “When young reporter and amateur biker Jerry Marsh investigates a mysterious hooded figure on a motorbike, he discovers crooks hiding out in a ruined castle with atomic sabotage on their minds...” IMDb - allmovie.com "Workaday British support feature from years gone by in which tyro reporter Hanley and the chaps from the local motorcycle club investigate the apparent haunting of a nearby castle. Could it possibly have something to do with the nefarious activities of a bunch of smugglers?" Time Out London Review |
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1957 Motorcycle Gang |
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1958 Dragstrip Riot aka The Reckless Age |
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1958 Les Motards or 1959 as English title The Motorcycle Cops |
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1950s |
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Revised September 24, 2008 © Marmot Web Productions