Stone (1974)

"All law is based on violence." - Undertaker

An undercover cop works with bikers to stop a killer.
Starring: Ken Shorter, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Sandy Harbutt, Deryck Barnes

Link to IMDB

Stone

The Grave Digger biker gang are cruising down the highway as they roam around looking for fun and getting high. They roll their motorcycles into a park to harass a political gathering, and there they inadvertently witness a mysterious gunman assassinate a politician! Over the next coming days, members of the Grave Diggers start getting killed off by the assassin as he tries to eliminate any possible witnesses.

Officer Stone enters the picture; he's a gritty policeman with a plan to help the bikers stop the murderer before they all get wiped out. As expected, the gang rather stomp his face than get help from a cop, but when Stone proves he's not afraid to protect them in a fight they reluctantly let him join the gang as an undercover agent. Stone agrees to ignore their petty crimes and lawlessness, because all he wants to do is catch the assassin.



After Stone is inducted into the wild biker lifestyle, and shows that he's a damn good rider, the guys realize that he's actually pretty cool for a cop. He even begins to bond with leaders Undertaker and Toad, as they slowly come to trust him despite their differences.
When he's not racing motorcycles or trying to avoid fights, Stone continues his investigation into the origins of the assassin. As he gets closer to solving the case, he realizes that living on both sides of the law is harder than he imagined and he's going to have to make a decision on where to place his loyalty.

"When you're on a big bike, you've got all the power." - Toad

Toad and Undertaker

Despite the fact that there's very little narrative to follow and it's unevenly structured and paced, the movie has enough style to prevent it from being boring. The many scenes of fist-fighting, biker vulgarity and humour make these characters an interesting bunch to watch. It becomes an exploration of how honor, freedom and violence are intertwined in their outlaw society.
It's rough, raw grindhouse to the core, but there's also some experimental filmmaking here as the movie employs a rather trippy vibe in some sections. Even the music, which is a mix if wild jams and cacophonous acid rock, creates a freewheeling sensation of being right in the midst of the chaos.

Grave Diggers

Any fan of the biker movies from the 60's and 70's needs to watch this one, even if it does fall short of being a masterpiece.

Be sure not to miss:
- I like how Stone convinces the gang to bathe in the ocean for the first time ever.
- And it looks like one of the bikers is a Never Nude.
- Where Dr. Death sleeps.

Internet review:
"A rip-roaring all-consuming and highly distinct 70s genre flick." - mrpigeon

Should I watch it?
A must see for fans of the genre.

Where can I find it?
Here on YouTube. (It's not actually 150mins long, the movie repeats.)

Stone gets...