"There's a lot of consenting sex in this movie," HELL RIDE star David Carradine jokes. "When I first read the script I said to Larry, 'Where are you going to release this?'"
Michael Madsen was the first actor other than Bishop to be cast in HELL RIDE. The role of The Gent was designed specifically for Madsen.
"The Gent is supposedly famous for getting really, really nice right before he does something bad," Madsen explains of his character. "And that's how he got named 'The Gent,' because just when you think he's going to be your pal, he's going to put a bullet in your head."
His gentlemanly nature extends into his wardrobe-a black tuxedo. Madsen explains the character choice: "I thought it would be funny if I was wearing a tuxedo. First of all I've never seen anybody riding a motorcycle in a tuxedo before. I thought it would be funny-trying to add a little bit of a touch of humor to the movie in a crazy kind of way."
HELL RIDE marks Dennis Hopper's return to a genre that helped launch an estimable career. Hopper, who plays Eddie "Scratch" Zero, appeared in THE GLORY STOMPERS and co-wrote, directed and starred in EASY RIDER. "He was the perfect guy," Bishop says. "I actually told Dennis that I had met him in 1967 or 1968, and we were both hanging around Barney's Beanery. Dennis Hopper was in Barney's Beanery the night I was 86'd for life from Barney's Beanery. I was like eighteen or nineteen years old at the time, and I was trying to impress a couple of girls, so I was talking very loudly, and with a lot of profanity. I felt Barney's hand on my shoulder, and he said, 'Son, we don't allow language like that in here.' And he said, 'You're 86'd for life,' and I remember seeing Dennis Hopper's face. His was the last face that I actually saw as Barney was escorting me out." It was fitting for this project that Hopper's face would be embedded in Bishop's memory during a characteristic moment of rebellion.
"It was fun for us when we got the call that he wanted to do the movie," Stein says. "He's a great guy, and he's quite the raconteur. You know you've got a great set when Dennis Hopper is the sanest man on set. He was the square of the bunch."
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