The Wild Ride *** (1960, Jack Nicholson, Georgianna Carter, Robert Bean) – Classic Movie Review 7851

Producer-director Harvey Berman’s 1960 The Wild Ride stars Jack Nicholson as rebellious Beat Generation punk Johnny Varron, an amateur dirt track driver, party boy and trouble maker.

[Spoiler alert] Johnny is on the road to ruin. He kidnaps his buddy’s girlfriend, kills cops and comes to a tragic end.

The Wild Ride has a small reputation as a cult classic, though it would be forgotten without young Nicholson starring. Certainly, it is a little icon of its era.

Also in the cast are Georgianna Carter as Nancy, Robert Bean as Dave, Carol Bigby as Joyce, John Bologni as Barny, Gary Espinosa as Cliff, Judith Tresize as Ann, Wesley Marie Tackitt, Sydene Wallace, Donna Dabney, Garry Korpi, Leonard Williams, John Holden Raymond O’Day and Carl Vicknair as First Police Officer.

Northern California high school drama teacher Harvey Berman went to UCLA drama school with friends of the film’s executive producer Roger Corman. Berman shot the film in the summer of 1959 with  his high school drama class students as cast and crew, plus some Hollywood professionals, including Jack Nicholson.

Corman later wrote: ‘This is one of the little pictures I remember with pleasure; it turned out very well.’

The film runs 59 minutes (88 minutes in the producer’s cut) and is in the public domain.

The Wild Ride was re-edited to run 88 minutes and titled Velocity, with new footage making the original film a long flashback sequence. The new scenes feature Jack Nicholson impersonator Joe Richards playing an older version of Nicholson’s character, plus performances by Jorge Garcia, Jason Sudeikis and Dick Miller.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7851

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