The Losers (1970) User Reviews (19)

William Smith is the Man

[ramsfan · 6/10 · 10 January 2010]

William Smith is my all time favorite B-Movie actor- a truly talented individual whose list of lifelong accomplishments is extraordinary. He single handedly made movies like "The Losers" watchable and even enjoyable if you don't take them too seriously. The film centers around the U.S. Army hiring a motorcycle gang to rescue a presidential adviser being held captive in Cambodia. Smith plays gang leader Link Thomas, whose Army Sergeant brother sets up the mission. Most of the movie is spent focusing on events leading up to the mission with the gang partying, smoking, getting in fights and souping up their choppers as the rescue nears.

The acting is average, although a respectable cast (Adam Roarke, Paul Koslo & Bernie Hamilton) was assembled. There is too much time spent on love interests which tends to bog down the film, but the latter half especially is very entertaining as the mission takes place. This is 70's schlock through and through, but is a treat for William Smith fans, as he gets top billing and the lions' share of screen time.

No one will confuse this with anything Oscar worthy, but so what? A good way to numb your mind for an hour and a half.

William Smith, Badass

[qormi · 4/10 · 14 October 2011]

Okay, first of all, get loaded before watching this film. A 40 oz. of King Cobra or St. Ides is a good start. Being inebriated greatly enhances your enjoyment of this flick. It was obviously filmed in the Philippines with Filipino folk playing Vietnamese and Cambodians. William Smith's hair gets progressively lighter until during the final sequence, he is blond. The other four guys who portray Hells Angel types are pretty pathetic. Limpy looks like a skinny, sleazy 70's porn star. Then there's the guy with a shocking green rag across his forehead with a swastika on it. I don't think macho biker types would wear chartreuse, but he never takes it off. Then there's the flabby guy with the huge love handles who fights all the time with his shirt off. Then there's the guy with no muscle tone and killer blue eyes who is the farthest thing from a biker type. We get to see a few topless Filipino women and that's nice. The final assault on the enemy camp with choppers modified with shields and machine guns is classic. I think they knocked down and blew up the same tower three times. Anyway, William Smith is the only legit biker type and he carries the film. Fun movie, but make certain you have plenty of malt liquor on hand to help maintain your viewing pleasure.

The Losers!

[BandSAboutMovies · 6/10 · 9 December 2020]

Also known as 'Nam Angels, this Jack Starrett-directed film (he also made Run, Angel, Run!; Race with the Devil and Hollywood Man, among others) has a great high concept: a biker gang called The Devil's Advocates are sent to Cambodia to rescue an American diplomat because they're the only ones who can get the job done.

They're led by Vietnam vet - and the brother of the Army Major who has recruited them - Link Thomas, who is played by the always dependable William Smith. They're under the orders of Captain Johnson (Bernie Hamilton, who was Captain Harold Dobey on Starsky and Hutch) and include fellow vets Duke (Adam Roarke from Dirty Mary Crazy Larry and Frogs) and Dirty Denny, as well as Limpy (Paul Koslo, Vanishing Point) and Speed (Eugene Cornelius, who was Space in Run, Angel, Run!).

They head to Vietnam, but come on, we all know it's the Philippines, because the mechanic who works on their bikes, Diem-Nuc, is played by Vic Diaz. It doesn't matter, because by the time you start trying to figure out locations*, our heroes are doing wheelies and blowing things up with rocket launchers and machine guns while they do wheelies.

This movie does have some basis in reality. Sonny Barger, who was the Maximum Leader of the Hells Angels, sent LBJ a telegram offering the skills of his club in the Vietnam War. That inspired Alan Caillou, who originally wrote that The Losers would live. Starrett and Smith rewrote the script to the ending we know now.

If you watch Pulp Fiction, you can see a scene from this movie, being watched by Butch's girlfriend the day after his fight. When he asks what she was watching, she says, "A motorcycle movie, I'm not sure the name."

*They're reused from Too Late the Hero.

OK biker/war flick.

[Samoan Bob · 11 March 2003]

In order to rescue a Presidential Advisor (in a Francis Ford Coppola costume) from a group of Chinese Communists in Cambodia, the government enlists a subdivision of Hell's Angels led by William Smith to break in there and get him out. The back of the box said this film has more action than 'The Dirty Dozen' and 'The Wild Bunch' combined. To call that a vast overstatement would be a vast understatement. In reality, the film is a bunch of bikers having sex, getting drunk, getting wasted, getting into lame fistfights, falling in love, waxing poetic and building stupid-looking motorcycles sandwiched between two decent action scenes with 2nd rate Enzo G. Castellari slow-motion (which would make it 4th rate Peckinpah). All in all, it's actually not bad, but the climax should have been better considering the time we have to wait in order to get to it. Have ear plugs ready when the title song comes up. It's a soft medley probably sung and written by some drugged out hippie chick that doesn't fit with the movie at all.

Mindless Crap

[ReelCheese · 1/10 · 6 November 2006]

A truly mindless, incoherent piece of trash, NAM'S ANGELS or THE LOSERS sucks under any name.

Five embarrassingly stereotypical American biker dudes are hired to rescue a CIA man from a Chinese prison camp during the Vietnam War. Of course the plan doesn't go entirely smoothly as the chumps hire prostitutes, get drunk and generally help the enemy by not only losing the hearts and minds of the Vietnamese, but ripping them out of their chests and stomping on them in laughter. Eventually they get their acts together and ride into the camp on armored bikes equipped with front-end machine guns. Such weaponry might be cool in a less horrid picture.

The premise of THE LOSERS (the actual on-screen title when I saw it) had the potential for some silly b-movie fun, but the film tries to be something it isn't -- legitimate cinema -- and it falls apart before ever forms. There have been worse films, but not by much. Even that violence-obsessed boy who grew up the street from you will be shaking his head.

Damnation!

[ptb-8 · 2/10 · 6 April 2004]

Sad to admit, I know, but I paid good money to see this drivel in first release in1970.......released as a double feature with GOD FORGIVES I DON'T or some other drivel, THE LOSERS as it was known in Sydney Australia saw the arclight in the glorious 2500 seat Capitol theatre, now the restored home to Disney extravaganzas like The Lion King. When I was there, this biker vs the Vietcong epic did quite good biz for 2 weeks and let us see, for the first time, a man drinking beer get hit in the guts and vomit on camera...in slow motion! This was a highlight too. The rest of this castrophe was how the US Govt got bikers to chase gooks and blow them up. 90 mins later we all stampeded to the foyer to the popcorn stand and also went to the toilet. Then we all rushed back into the cinema for another dose of claptrap. Awful. Remake? probably.

Dumb--even for a biker film

[planktonrules · 2/10 · 11 April 2013]

Aside from "Werewolves on Wheels", "Nam's Angels" (aka "The Losers") is probably the dumbest biker film of its day. Now that's saying a lot, as there were MANY bad biker films and only a few good ones. It's a very strange genre that many folks today simply won't understand...and frankly, I lived during that era and STILL don't understand!

This film begins with a motorcycle gang (headed by William Smith) arriving in Vietnam during the war. They have been recruited to infiltrate territory where the Army isn't allowed--and they'll go using their motorcycles! Think about it--cycles through the jungle! But, before they go on their stupid mission, the guys do what you'd expect--get drunk and make it with local prostitutes. Overall, the film is cheap, makes zero sense and is pretty dull. If you love bad biker films, then this should be right up your alley--otherwise, you could only do better looking elsewhere.

By the way, 'Vietnam' in this film is actually the Philippines--a place where tons of horrible American-produced movies were made in the late 60s and early 70s.

HELLS ANGELS GO TO NAM

[mmthos · 7/10 · 6 August 2021]

Fun genre-splicer where biker gang is enlisted by US army to rescue a VIP American captive behind enemy lines, with all the action and phony red paint stage blood they used to use in the 70's to go with it, Some pretty lousy acting to some pretty lousy dialogue, but not all. Big plus for me was the American's interaction with the Vietnamese locals as they try to go about conducting the business of daily life in a war zone, especially the lovely ladies, many of whom dancing in bra and panties in a "nightclub" (brothel). Cheesy love theme reprised over final massacre is the perfect unhappy ending.

This is is the worst ever made

[doogie886 · 1/10 · 6 August 2006]

I really thought there were a couple of other movies which were truly avoidable and unsaleable and this movie is the one that tops the list. i purchased a DVD of this movie thinking it to be one of the great war movies kinda stuff especially on the Vietnam topic but my adventure lasted only 15 min i bet anyone can last long the movie.the print originally is so dull as if the movie is made in the 20's .the cast is uncomment-able it's a completely useless topic hiring the gangsters or the outlaws to do a job.completely this guys if you ever see this movie you have just won an award because it needs patience in it. this is truly the worst movie ever made..

One movie that's may'be lost it's way

[PeterMitchell-506-564364 · 6/10 · 14 February 2013]

When I first saw this movie, I turned off after a while, really finding it a bore. 14 years later, I gave it another day in court. I watched it to the end. This is an unremarkable movie, about a group of expendable bikies, you feel sorry for, as they are so pathetic. They're sent in to Asia to rescue a thankless CIA guy, who shouts abuse at them, after most of these poor sods are already dead. where leader, Smith is really the last man standing. This really chafed only for a moment, cause this movie really lacks any kind of interest. We do explosions and gun fire but again I just found it pointless. One bikie, having some R and R with some nude hotties, not following procedure, explains himself to one of the guys in charge of this operation, which I found funny. He brags on how he used to own this cat house, and had to pick up some money that was owing to him. At the mentioning of his bike being flogged, by a kid ,he's out of there in a flash. The scenes in this cat house were the only ones I liked in this forgettable movie, part of the Roadshow Vibrant Video collection.

An excellent and exciting bikers go to 'Nam 70's trash exploitation classic

[Woodyanders · 9/10 · 10 January 2007]

Rough and tumble hog-riding Hell's Angels hellions Link (the almighty William Smith), Duke (the equally awesome Adam Roarke), Dirty Denny (former real-life Green Beret Houston Savage), Speed (Gene Cournelius) and Limpy (a fine Paul Koslo) are recruited by the CIA to rescue an arrogant presidential adviser (expertly played to the hateful hilt by director Jack Starrett) from the vile clutches of the Red Chinese in Cambodia.

Directed with his customary rip-snorting brio by the extremely underrated and always dependable Starrett (whose other credits include the Jim Brown blaxploitation vehicle "Slaughter," the hugely enjoyable "Cleopatra Jones," and the Satan worship car chase knockout "Race With the Devil"), this bang-up gutsy and thrilling little pip works like gangbusters. The pace storms along at a steady, speedy clip. The performances from the top-rate cast are all uniformly excellent (it's a real treat to see biker pic perennials Smith and Rourke on screen together, plus longtime favorite Filipino fat guy thesp Vic Diaz has a funny supporting part as a friendly mechanic). The incredibly explosive action sequences are staged with considerable incendiary aplomb (the big climactic raid on an enemy prison camp is a definite highlight). Moreover, the bikers themselves aren't glamorized or sanitized in the least. These dingy dirtball dudes are pure bad news. They are a scruffy bunch of mangy nonconformist malcontents who are as likely to brawl with each other as well as anyone else who crosses their bitter antagonistic path.

Better still, this remarkably bold picture fiercely ridicules America's involvement in the Vietnam war, clearly stating that we hurt these people more than helped them (the subplot about the Vietnamese prostitute with a mulatto baby is especially poignant and provocative). The fact that this defiant movie was made while the Vietnam war was still going on makes it that much more pertinent and resonant. And the crushingly downbeat bummer ending is likewise very powerful with both its unflinchingly cynical anti-government stance and unsparingly grim statement about the wasteful futility of war. In addition, this film was also influential in that it established the basic let's-bring-the-boys-back-home premise which was later reused in such 80's action features as "Uncommon Valor," "Missing in Action," and "Rambo: First Blood, Part II." The Dark Sky DVD offers a beautiful widescreen presentation along with the following tasty extras: two radio spots, the theatrical trailer, a still and poster gallery, and, perhaps the single most savory bonus, a highly amiable, entertaining and informative commentary by stars Paul Koslo and William Smith.

Difficult to Recommend to Anybody

[Uriah43 · 3/10 · 14 August 2017]

This movie essentially begins with five bikers from an outlaw motorcycle gang called "The Devil's Advocates" arriving in South Vietnam on a special mission to ride into Cambodia to rescue a CIA agent named "Chet Davis" (Jack Starrett) who is being held as a prisoner by Chinese communists in a heavily fortified camp behind enemy lines. Naturally, since their Harley choppers aren't suitable for the rugged terrain, they are issued Yamaha dirt bikes which they modify by adding armor and weaponry. But as tough as they might think they are, they have no idea what awaits them across the border. Now rather than reveal any more, I will just say that I didn't have high expectations for this film, and in that regard, I wasn't too disappointed as both the plot and the action scenes were just plain ridiculous. As a matter of fact, about the only thing this film had going for it was the addition of two pretty actresses by the names of Anakorita (as "Kim Sue") and Lillian Margarejo ("Suriya") but even then, their roles were much too limited to make a difference. All things considered then, I find it very difficult to recommend this movie to anybody, and I have rated it accordingly. Below average.

If you want to see "real"stunts and "real"special effects!!Watch this movie!! If you want a CGI cartoon watch Avatar!!

[danherrera3 · 8/10 · 10 March 2011]

Man,I hate to read how some people hate the good classics.When there's all this commercialized,politically correct & sensitive "stuff" that some Hollywood loving"whoose"would call good entertainment.A little note for the people that are un-aware about "Hollywood movies"and how they claim to make the best movies in the world.They spend more on advertisements for the movie than they would on the budget for the production of the film.They are always afraid to take chances on new ideas and very talented writers and directors that think for themselves and don't worry about the box office "mumbo-jumbo"or the "bratty"youth demographic.The Losers is a real great movie,that is the real thing when it comes to "real" stunts and "real" action."Real" being the key word when talking about this movie.I as a viewer appreciate stuntmen going to risk their careers and lives for the sake of art,entertainment or just a pay check.GOOD PEOPLE!!The only thing I hate about this movie is that"love song"..Man,that's a weird song to put in that movie!!The movie holds up for many reasons.One,there was a horrible remake of The Losers last year.Two,The Expendables is practically the same movie!Except,for the 5 million dollor cast!Which should've only been worth $200,000 for the whole "over-rated"cast and probably the whole computerized crew.Three,The Losers is better movie than all that I've seen from this era.How can you hate a movie that has real fights in the movie and behind the scenes?

The CIA sends a motorcycle gang into Cambodia to rescue a presidential adviser.

[haagis · 27 February 2001]

When the president's chief adviser is captured by enemy forces in Cambodia, the CIA, in it's infinite wisdom, recruits members of the Hell's Angels in order to pull him out. Can we say 'expendable'? Aside from being criminally grotesque and sinfully stupid, these hog-jockeys spend most of their time trying to get organized and end up kicking the snot out of each other. And on top of that, they won't complete their mission without a bitchin' combat-ready chopper between their legs. That oughta come in handy in the jungle. Be sure not to miss the scene where a spindly member of the gang offers his fat biker buddy an ammends brewski, then hammers him in the gut with everything he's got, leading into a slow-motion exploding spit-up which I'm sure you'll want to savor every single frame of.

DVD Review "The Losers" By Dan Century

[marcuspan-00524 · 17 November 2023]

DVD Review "The Losers" By Dan Century

Red China supported North Vietnam with arms and logistical support during the Vietnam War, but the Chinese and American armies never met on the battle field - if they did it would have led to World War III, or at least China lobbing a few nukes into Los Angeles. Instead of sending troops, America would send spies, soldiers of fortune and other paramilitary types to infiltrate the Chinese camps and foil their sneaky plans. In "The Losers", an American biker gang - the Devils Advocates - is hired by the military to invade a Chinese camp in Cambodia, rescue a captured American agent, and send a mess of Chinese and Vietcong to hell in the process. Like the DVD box says: "The army handed them guns and a license to kill!"

Of the Devils Advocates, Link, Dirty Denny, and Duke had previously served in Vietnam as soldiers. Link is the alpha male of the gang - clearly in control and fearless. Dirty Denny is the sleaziest biker of all - he ran a brothel in Cambodia before being sent back to the states. Duke fell in love with a Cambodian girl during his tour of duty, and he uses this mission to reunite with her. Along for the ride are Speed and Limpy. Speed wears a ZZ Top style beard and a green head rag with a Swastika on it, and Limpy is sort of a hippy biker who walks with a limp and quickly falls in love with a Cambodian prostitute (and who could blame him - she's a lovely prostitute).

The bikers are given Yamahas - "broad bikes" - because you can't drive a heavy chopper through the Cambodia mud; as well as plenty of machines guns, explosives and even a Gatling gun style grenade launcher. A black army captain - Capt. Jackson - is assigned to baby-sit the biker gang, and to complicate matters, the Captain previously fathered a child with Limpy's prostitute girlfriend.

There are many memorable scenes in "The Losers". During a fight scene Captain Jackson pulls a banana tree out of the ground and beats several men unconscious with it.

Another great scene is a when the bikers, along with a chubby local mechanic, team up to weld armor and machine guns to their bikes as well as build a massive grenade launching "trike" out of car and bike parts. This scene prefigures TV shows like "Monster Garage", "Biker Build-Off" as well as "MacGuyver" and the "A-Team" - in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if "The Losers" wasn't an inspiration for the "A-Team". The bikers vs. Chinese army battle and finale are great scenes as well (I don't want to spoil the ending).

"The Losers" is remarkable because it was released in 1970, 3 years before the U. S. pulled out of Vietnam - now that's what I call exploitation ("strike while the iron is hot")! "The Losers" effectively exploits bikers, sex and war to deliver one heck of an action movie, and although the film is clearly marketed as such, it has enough character development, plot twists, solid acting and beautiful cinematography to transcend the exploitation genre. The audio commentary provided by William "Link" Smith and Paul "Limpy" Koslo is a definite bonus - they offer a wealth of insight into the filming of the movie as well as plenty of humor - sort of like listening to your uncles sitting in a bar telling war stories. "The Losers" is rough around the edges, crude, rude and dirty - everything that you would expect from a low budget biker/war exploitation flick. If you're into biker films or Nam films "The Losers" is worth your time. Bonus for film geeks: "The Losers" were featured in "Pulp Fiction", and its original title was "Nam's Angels".

--- Originally published in Legends #159.

Edited & de-offensified by Marcus Pan.

Halfbaked mix of Nam and Bikerflicks

[Jens-28 · 28 September 1999]

I like when directors try to mix genres like "Chopper Chicks In Zombie Town", "Blade Runner", "Rock'n'Roll Wrestling Women Vs. The Aztec Mummy" etc. You don't always get the best results but at least it's interesting. In "The Losers/Nam's Angels" B-movie veteran William Smith leads a bikergang against the Viet Cong. Fun idea but the film spends too time with the bikers' love affairs, bar fights etc. In the end the gang gets their s**t together with their special built warbikes (no Harleys!). It's too late to save the movie but Tarantino must've been impressed since he used some scenes in "Pulp Fiction"! Nice try but see "Satan's Sadists" or "Apocalypse Now" instead.

Complex b-movie....

[CurtHerzstark · 9 May 2012]

While watching History channels "Gangland" a program dedicated to show the origins of various crime syndicates, I got the feeling that most outlaw biker gangs were created in the aftermath of Vetnam.

Bandidos, Mongol Nation, Warlocks, are just few the many notorious biker gangs that was founded by Vietnam vets. In case of Bandidios, their leader was former marine who supposedly used the marine corps as rolemodel when it came to structure, chain of command.

This biker film is apparently inspired by an offer Hells Angels leader Sonny Barger made to President Johnson. Barger offered some of his men to be used as an guerrilla force behind enemy lines in Vietnam.

Johnson turned him down and thus Hollywood took over the idea.

Basically this film is about some very mean, violent, outlaw biker gang who are deployed in Vietnam in rescue mission of an American diplomat.

But as it turns out, is not going to be easy...

To be honest this just your average B-movie biker film, but it does have a few surprises up its sleeve.

The director is clearly inspired by Sam Peckinpahs films, when it comes to the violence(often shot in slowmotion) but the also the main protagonists being antiheroes.

Even one of this films taglines is inspired by the The Wild Bunch (1969):It's The "Dirty Bunch" On Wheels! There are also heavy criticisms against USA and its foreign policy, the way US military handles the Vietnam war. Another subject this film touches upon is the racial tension that exist in the US army.

It is unusual to see that kind of material in a cheaply made b-movie and makes this film a bit more interesting then the rest.

William Smith playing Link Thomas is very convincing here and plays the gangs leader very good.

Vic Diaz, who always been a favorite of mine, plays another one of those sleazy characters that he was so good at.

So if you like bikerflicks but want something a little different from the average then see this even though it is cheaply made b-movie its still more interesting then Twilight(2008).

A pretty tedious affair

[tomgillespie2002 · 11 August 2012]

The biker film was a staple of American exploitation cinema in the late 1960's, culminating in the "generation defining" studio funded classic, Easy Rider (1969). What we have here is somewhat of a genre mash up, placing a bunch of Californian bikers in the midst of an "exotic" war zone. Five gang members, led by Link (William Smith), are employed by the CIA, sent into the heart of darkness in Vietnam, to rescue a captured agent, Chet Davis (played here by director Jack Starrett - who most will recognise as the vicious police officer, Galt, from First Blood (1982)).

The first hour of the film is spent with the gang as they integrate into a small village, basically brawling, f*****g, drinking and fomenting relationships with the all-too-easy ladies. It is a completely ludicrous premise; OK so perhaps this gang of low-life's were more expendable than the troops being sent out daily, but it is hard to believe. That being said, this is exploitation cinema at its most ridiculous.

The action accelerates in the last reel, as the bikers infiltrate a camp, their bikes armed to the teeth, but the action is repetitive, and with little merit: Bikes jump, huts blow up. Besides this though, some of the characters are likable enough, with their dialogue of clichéd, counter-cultural hyperbole, but it doesn't really save a pretty tedious affair - perhaps the trailer was exciting, so maybe you should just see that. Like all exploitation films of the time that were set in exotic climates, this was of course filmed in the Philippines (where filming is cheap!).

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