In Praise of Transcontinental International Pictures Part II

By 1971 Transcontinental International Pictures was done with the biker genre.  Once extremely profitable, these films were starting to lose steam at the box office due to oversaturation.  It was during this oversaturation downslide that TIP was approached by Maury Hunsaker, the editor of HELL’S NE'ER-DO-WELLS.  Hunsaker had made two promises to his mother on her deathbed, one, that he would take care of her cat, and two, that he would direct an outlaw biker film.  Milo the cat tragically passed away after just three weeks in Hunsaker’s care, but he did fulfill his second promise.  Hunsaker also felt that the biker film had been run into the ground, but he also felt that a fresh approach could breathe new life into the genre.  Hunsaker and his producing partner Kerwin McCardle – another veteran of biker films- felt that they could squeeze a little more “Vroom Vroom” out of the genre.  But where to go?  Women bikers?  Been done.  Gay bikers?  Been done.  Bikers in Nam?  Done.  Werewolves on wheels . . . Done.  Hunsaker and McCardle did manage to invent a unique twist at the tail end of the genre, TIP liked the idea and THE HOSPITABLE 8 was born.  

The HOSPITABLE 8 look like your garden variety outlaw biker trash, but instead of riding into a town, boozing it up, causing chaos, terrifying the townsfolk and getting into trouble with the law, they go out of their way to be an aid to the citizens and the community at large.  The HOSPITABLE 8 not only features a cat rescue from a tree, but also a donkey rescue from a tree as well.  They help old ladies carry groceries and cross busy streets safely, save a child trapped in a mine and even help deliver the sheriff’s wife’s baby.  They lend a hand to stranded motorists and lend muscle to a barn raising.  No violence, no nudity, no alcohol, no drugs, no anti-authoritarian stance . . . It is original, but not much fun.  The Hospitable 8's actions are more in line with Mr. Rogers.  Eight Mr. Rogers.  They intercede and break up a brawl between two other biker outfits and encourage them to let bygones be bygones, join hands and sing folk songs.  As the mayor of the town says to the sheriff, as the Hospitable 8 ride out of town after helping quell a building fire, “They truly are angels on wheels.”

For biker movie aficionados expecting to see heads kicked in this would have been the ultimate bummer.

The sappy theme song says it all:

Word on the streets is that they’re coming to your home,

eight riders dressed in leather on horses made of chrome.

You don’t have to run, you don’t have to hide,

 these roving servants have huge hearts inside.

They’ll break their backs to help out a stranger,

To change a tire or protect them from Danger. . .

There are five more verses, but we will spare you.

Starring biker and western movie veterans Ray Faulkner, Henry Reed and Frank Davis, who had all specialized in being bad guys, whether on a horse or a motorcycle.

Ray Faulkner, who plays Gallant, the leader, appeared in the long running WWII based television series THE TIGER PATROL (1964-1969) and one of the nastier biker films, THE FALLEN ANGELS (1967).

Educated was played by Henry Reed who had previously appeared as a hunted biker in TO KILL AN ANGEL (1968) and as a dune buggy riding country boy who runs afoul of bikers in SCREAM, ANGEL SCREAM! (1969) aka THE SCREAMING ANGELS.  He made a name for himself in the television western series TALES FROM BOOT HILL (1960-1966).

Frank Davis who plays the tree climbing savior, Munificent, appeared in DIRTY DOLLS ON WHEELS (1967) and the television western series THE MAN FROM ABILENE (1960-1966), as saddle tramp Dingo McBride.

Producer Kerwin McCardle had produced 1968’s ANGEL WITH A DIRTY BADGE.  In which an ex-biker turns his back on his gang to become a sheriff of a small, isolated desert town.  His former gang brethren take revenge by taking over the entire town.

The one cast member that stands out is the film’s lone black character, Black Mamba, who is apparently playing himself. This would be his only acting role.   Henry Reed remembered him as friendly and quick with a joke.  In his last interview with FILM THIS! Magazine in 1994, Producer McCardle remembered Black Mamba as “a club toting cyclops and the heir to the throne of England.”  McCardle’s memory was faltering at the time of his last interview.

The movie was a financial bomb.  Audiences and critics were not hospitable to say the least.  At the time of its initial release numerous outlaw biker gangs picketed theaters showing the film.  Hell’s Angels president Sonny Barger called the movie a “Goody Goody disgrace and an unfunny joke.” 

In an attempt to build more box office Klark Kincaid of TIP concocted a new advertising campaign.

This new campaign featured a warning bell alert to prepare viewers for upcoming “EXTREME acts of kindness!”  The alarm was added to the existing prints of the film.  This gave the film an angle and added some more mileage to its play dates, but the vast majority of its screen time was as a second or third feature, then it fell into a quick obscurity.  

TIP also added a tacked-on preamble:

The Hospitable 8 is not your average biker film.  The producers have added a warning bell to alert the audience to be ready to witness extreme acts of kindness and generosity . . . prepare yourselves for the ride of your lives.  A ride full of good cheer and poignant, sincere moments of human emotion.  And remember . . . If you shed a tear . . . You will not be alone.

A rare contemporary, but not complimentary review stated:  

The movie also has a ringing bell on the soundtrack that is heard every time the Hospitable 8 are about to start their next good deed.  After a few rings, this viewer wished that their next act of kindness would be to the find that damn bell ringer and wring his neck.

Hunsaker passed away in 1979 due to a bad Sizzlean addiction.  He and McCardle had remained friends and McCardle was at Hunsaker’s deathbed when he passed away.  McCardle made two promises to his best friend, one, that he would take care of his dog, and two, that he would produce a movie that the two had written together.  Let's just say that the movie did get made.