moonspinner55 Five teenage boys--four from bad homes and the fifth a rich kid with an absentee mother--are wanted by a police lieutenant on car thief detail for stripping non-working autos left by the side of the road. The kids are fast and efficient at their work, using a poultry truck as a cover for slipping passed the cops, making their capture a headache for the authorities. Amateur juvie outing from low-rent producer Arch Hall and featuring the film debut of his son, Arch Hall, Jr. Not poorly-made exactly, though with spiritless performances and enervated pacing. The camp dialogue and pop songs almost make it tolerable. *1/2 from ****

zardoz-13 "Eyes of the Underworld" director Leigh Jason and scenarist Arch Hall, Sr., have conjured up a polished but low-budget, juvenile delinquent crime thriller about a gang of youths who 'chop' cars. Clocking in at a succinct 66 minutes, "The Choppers" never wears out its welcome. Of course, the "crime doesn't pay" message is obvious, but this juvenile delinquent epic is better than most.The filmmakers filter everything through the perspective of a conscientious journalist who doubles as the narrator. "That day when I walked out of the chief's office in city hall, I didn't feel so good. You see, I'm a reporter. Jim Bradford's my name. I broadcast on radio and television. I cover a lot of stories, but this one scared me a little. Our greatest natural resource was in danger. I wasn't thinking about oil, or water, or anything like that. Well, I was thinking about kids. Yours and mine. Youngsters are the future. I know that school, and church and government officials work hard to preserve this resource, not to mention the resources of mothers and fathers. But this story, it made me think. It was the story of five boys, ages 16 to 18." We watch Bradford (Arch Hall, Sr. of "Wild Guitar") as he exits city hall and climbs into his car. Thereafter, we are introduced to the teenage hooligans. As Jack 'Cruiser' Bryan, Arch Hall, Jr., plays the brains of this outfit. According to Bradford, 'Cruiser' has never met his father and his mother spends her time in Las Vegas, Palm Springs, or New York. To describe 'Cruiser' as unsupervised would amount to a vast understatement. He has everything down to science and maintains a time schedule when 'chopping' vehicles. Torch (Robert Paget of "Tank Battalion"), Snooper (Mickey Hoyle), Ben Shore (Charles Barnes), and Flip Johnson (Rex Holman of "Young Jesse James") are his accomplices.As it turns out, Jack and his cronies are tops when it comes to dismantling cars during broad daylight. They cruise around in a large truck stacked high with poultry cages so they won't attract attention. In fact, the cages conceal two of the choppers and provide concealment for their contraband, too. When they find a likely car to strip, they carry out their operation while an attentive Cruiser keeps in touch with them by means of a walkie-talkie to warn them about any approaching heat. They conceal the stolen parts in the bed of the truck with cages of poultry to block the view on either side. No sooner have these teenage hooligans finished chopping the car than Mr. Snyder's tow truck with the owners arrives. Snyder refers to the hooligans as "the choppers." He elaborates, "That's the gang of thieves operating across the whole county." The crooked auto parts entrepreneur who fences their hauls, Moose McGill (Bruno VeSota of "Attack of the Giant Leeches"),at Big Deal Auto Salvage doesn't like it that Jack and company are so efficient. Eventually, when the two parties clash, the authorities show up and haul them all into custody after a couple of cops die from trying to take the felons in the salvage yard. This is an interesting juvenile delinquent movie from the early 1960s with more polish that you'd expect.

Michael O'Keefe This movie is so bad it is fun to watch. Typical story about teens gone bad. A group of young men, with nothing better to do, steal cars to strip for parts. Attempts to even rock 'n' roll falls laughingly flat. No stars, but participating in this mess are:Arch Hall Jr., Robert Paget, Bruno VeSota and Marianne Gaba.

eminges As bad as this should be, it's kind of fun, and you could actually find yourself watching it a second and third time. Arch Hall Jr. was 16 when this was shot, and even gets a writing credit.What makes it work, kind of, is that the gang of car-stripping JD's are NOT stupid and embarrassing, but halfway interesting and believable. And it's got Bruno VeSota at his scintillating, stogie-smelling, sausage-fingered best. Continuity? Fageddaboudit. But it's got a simple little story to tell and does it well.And it does feature the inimitable "Monkeys In My Hatband," which you'll play again and again with your jaw dropped, wishing that YOUR dad had put YOU in a movie when YOU were sixteen and let you play that absolutely dumbass song you made up on the crappy $39 guitar you got for your thirteenth birthday and drove everybody crazy with."The Choppers" IS available, but you'll have to hunt for it. Definitely worth tracking down if you're huge on beatniks, juvies, and playing chicken.