Robert Blake followed up his successful serial killer portrayal in "In Cold Blood" with this film, known widely as the "anti Easy Rider" because it portrays motorcycle riders from the other side of the law. The ending is also a bit of a take off on Easy Rider but I don't want to give out too many spoilers.
First of all, Blake inhabits his role in a unique way. He's perfect in terms of physical stature (the joke at the beginning with the camera panning past all the tops of the other cops' heads until it reaches Blake... and empty space.... is great) and his emotional bearing. He plays an Arizona Highway Patrol officer who thinks a lot more of himself than he really should. He dreams of being a detective and he follows the letter of the law with a rigidity that even makes other police officers blanch. Very funny in the earlier scenes with another cop and a fellow Veteran, both of whom he tickets mercilessly. He also stands by and allows both of his partners to abuse their authority against "hippies" or counter-culture types, even though you sense that Blake's character truly is interested primarily in justice.
Another aspect of the film that is interesting is that it seems to be a sort of twisted version of a Western. We get shots of John Ford's famous Monument Valley -- but in this case the endless stretches of desert sand are interrupted by black asphalt. Blake and his cohorts are the Law, and they ride steel horses. We even get a typical "bar room gal". One can only assume the film-makers were attempting to make a comment on the nature of American mythology, though it doesn't come across too clearly in the film.
I suppose what makes the film interesting ultimately is the performance of Blake, and a rather interesting supporting cast featuring Elisha Cook Jr. and Peter Cetera (?). Unfortunately every time we see the "hippies" in the film you get a feeling about how dated this one is....they have the same kind of ambiance that the analogous scenes in "Easy Rider" have. The "hippies" all seem a bit too passive to be true. In reality no way would 2 cops walk into a crowd that big, no matter what the philosophies of the "hippies" were supposed to be, and just start beating random people down. It made the hippies seem like children, a rather idealistic and naive point of view to be sure. I was reminded during those scenes of a lot of the dull parts of "Billy Jack".
But, like "Billy Jack" and other films from this period, there is still some enduring value in the film. Not so much in the overt social moralizing, but I think in the character Blake plays and the way he reacts to things around him. The film really does tell the story of a kind of journey on his part. In the beginning he imagines a great future for himself, he thinks he can work on the detective squad, and in his own head he is totally devoted to the application of justice. As the story progresses, Blake is exposed to the "big time" by way of a murder investigation he instigates, and he comes across many forms of corruption that darken his view towards his fellow police and seem to fill him with doubt about the value of what he's doing. You can see this in the fact that in the film's final scenes he's prepared to let the "hippies" escape, saying simply "I owe you one." This shows he has reached a point where he can comprehend an even higher level of justice than the simple application of the law -- but unfortunately the violent people around him do not learn the same lesson.
First of all, Blake inhabits his role in a unique way. He's perfect in terms of physical stature (the joke at the beginning with the camera panning past all the tops of the other cops' heads until it reaches Blake... and empty space.... is great) and his emotional bearing. He plays an Arizona Highway Patrol officer who thinks a lot more of himself than he really should. He dreams of being a detective and he follows the letter of the law with a rigidity that even makes other police officers blanch. Very funny in the earlier scenes with another cop and a fellow Veteran, both of whom he tickets mercilessly. He also stands by and allows both of his partners to abuse their authority against "hippies" or counter-culture types, even though you sense that Blake's character truly is interested primarily in justice.
Another aspect of the film that is interesting is that it seems to be a sort of twisted version of a Western. We get shots of John Ford's famous Monument Valley -- but in this case the endless stretches of desert sand are interrupted by black asphalt. Blake and his cohorts are the Law, and they ride steel horses. We even get a typical "bar room gal". One can only assume the film-makers were attempting to make a comment on the nature of American mythology, though it doesn't come across too clearly in the film.
I suppose what makes the film interesting ultimately is the performance of Blake, and a rather interesting supporting cast featuring Elisha Cook Jr. and Peter Cetera (?). Unfortunately every time we see the "hippies" in the film you get a feeling about how dated this one is....they have the same kind of ambiance that the analogous scenes in "Easy Rider" have. The "hippies" all seem a bit too passive to be true. In reality no way would 2 cops walk into a crowd that big, no matter what the philosophies of the "hippies" were supposed to be, and just start beating random people down. It made the hippies seem like children, a rather idealistic and naive point of view to be sure. I was reminded during those scenes of a lot of the dull parts of "Billy Jack".
But, like "Billy Jack" and other films from this period, there is still some enduring value in the film. Not so much in the overt social moralizing, but I think in the character Blake plays and the way he reacts to things around him. The film really does tell the story of a kind of journey on his part. In the beginning he imagines a great future for himself, he thinks he can work on the detective squad, and in his own head he is totally devoted to the application of justice. As the story progresses, Blake is exposed to the "big time" by way of a murder investigation he instigates, and he comes across many forms of corruption that darken his view towards his fellow police and seem to fill him with doubt about the value of what he's doing. You can see this in the fact that in the film's final scenes he's prepared to let the "hippies" escape, saying simply "I owe you one." This shows he has reached a point where he can comprehend an even higher level of justice than the simple application of the law -- but unfortunately the violent people around him do not learn the same lesson.