Oh man, this film is a riot! Although not as well-known as other films in the Arch Hall Jr. canon, it's on a par with EEGAH and WILD GUITAR in terms of pure delirium. This wild fiasco concerns all these cartoonish-types who convene at a ranch for some espionage... all over a bunny rabbit which carries a plague that could wipe out the planet!
Director James Landis wisely doesn't take the material seriously. With candy colours, over-acting which would do Phil Tucker proud, undercranked chase scenes, and other gonzo touches, this is a wonderfully absurd delight. And because Arch Hall Jr. is in the cast, how can you not have a lot of great bad rock and roll too? The debonair Arch (cough) is not only a spy (in his trademark white dinner jacket), but he also is the frontman of a rock band that is just the living end for teenage girls everywhere. In fact, once the ranch owner's daughter learns that dreamboat Archie's band is going to show up, she flips... literally! And because it's an Arch Hall Jr. picture, his old man, Hall Sr., cannot help but give himself a showy role- a cameo mind you, but a pivotal one (thanks to Arch Hall Sr. the co-screenwriter).
Perhaps under Landis' direction, Arch Hall Jr. maybe made an effort to be an actor after all (which may explain why his final films, all directed by Landis, are obscure; they aren't BAD enough!). While he's no Olivier certainly, this and DEADWOOD 76 at least show the kid is trying, which is more than you can say about his snarly performances in THE CHOPPERS or EEGAH. Landis is truly an unsung B movie hero; he always made something out of nothing. (Check out his interesting little crime picture, STAKEOUT) But anyhow, if you're an Arch Hall fan (and how can you not be?), THE NASTY RABBIT is a must. It is a wonderful hallucination of bad cinema.
Rhino even released it on video... letterboxed! Now is that class or what?
