Looking back on early Jack Nicholson movie filmed in, around Clayton

When historic movie-making venues come to mind, Concord, Clayton, Antioch and Pacheco are not generally at the top of the list — maybe that needs to change. Jack Nicholson’s first film with top billing turns out to have been shot entirely in the area in 1960.

Called “The Wild Ride,” the black-and-white drive-in movie features a skinny 23-year-old Nicholson as “top stud” Johnny Varron, the leader of a group of wannabe beatniks who spend their time drinking beer, smoking, trying not to die in head-on collisions with oncoming traffic (playing “chicken”) and chasing girls (or not). It’s all set against a fairly consistent soundtrack of pretty groovy, fast paced bongo music, man.

Central Contra Costa County’s star turn here was due primarily to the efforts of the late Harvey Berman, who then worked in the Diablo Valley College (DVC) performing arts department. Berman would later serve as the Walnut Creek-based Center Repertory Company’s artistic director for five years, among other achievements in a long and distinguished area career.

A contemporary of B movie king Roger Corman at UCLA in the early 1950s, Corman tapped Berman to direct and produce “The Wild Ride” in his then-new hometown of Concord, where Berman had initially taken a job as the drama teacher at Mount Diablo High School. In addition to using local high school kids, some more experienced actors from Los Angeles, including Nicholson, were brought in for key roles.

Varron’s (Nicholson’s) gang wreak havoc at the Antioch marina, the long-ago-closed Contra Costa Speedway in Pacheco, somewhere near Dana Estates (now Concord’s Dana Hills neighborhood) and at an undisclosed beach along the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

The film opens with Varron, driving an immaculate Ford Fairlane convertible, and soon being chased by a Concord motorcycle officer on a rural road. Varron’s car jumps in front of the officer as the officer tries to pass and causes the policeman to crash into a tree. As he leaves the scene Nicholson’s character mutters “chicken” to himself. The officer later dies.

Tracked down by the Concord police, Varron is hauled downtown. Ever the defiant one, he says they won’t be able to pin the crash on him. Foreshadowing his most famous line in “A Few Good Men” (“You can’t handle the truth!”) Nicholson’s Varron tells his interrogator “I don’t break the law, I make my own.” To add insult to injury, as he’s leaving Varron tells the Concord cop he’s “a very far-out stud.”

Aside from tangling with the local constabulary, Varron tangles with his best friend, Dave, over Dave’s budding love interest in Nancy, a straight-laced buzz-killer played by Nicholson’s real-life girlfriend at the time, Georgiana Carter. He also finds time to show off his sprint car racing skills at the Contra Costa Speedway dirt track known during its 1950s heyday as “California’s fastest quarter-mile speedway.”

After winning a bet made with a race track bookie, Varron takes the gang to the most recognizable Contra Costa County location in the movie, the former Chubby Humble’s Pioneer Inn restaurant and watering hole in Clayton. There the gang down more malt beverages and carouse before Varron kidnaps Nancy leading to a fitting end for Nicholson’s character and the movie.

Built in 1860, the former Chubby’s inn has served over the years as a Pony Express stop, perhaps a brothel and as a fine-dining destination for stars such as Gary Cooper and John Wayne, who used to pop in for a steak after a day of quail hunting nearby. Patrons could pick from various cuts on display at the entrance.

Today, the building’s role is a little more respectable — it houses the offices of Clayton Community Church. Pastor Shawn Robinson, who started the church more than 25 years ago with 12 friends, now uses what used be the restaurant’s meat locker as his office.

Fully aware of the site’s past glory, Robinson says he has attempted to resurrect the stone barbecue pit behind the restaurant where Varron and his crew mingle in the film but that every time he does someone steals the new barbecue grills. Despite the fact that “The Wild Ride” is not something he would ever show at the church — aside from moral considerations, Robinson (like most people) doesn’t exactly think of the film as a cinematic tour de force — the pastor has embraced the building’s place in film history.

“We want our church to be for the whole community. So in that sense, we’re fine with it,” says Robinson.

Not all church members are aware of, or seem to care about, the building’s early role in Nicholson’s storied film career, though. Edie Moore Olson didn’t know about the connection but has a message for Nicholson.

“It makes me wonder if he knows how lucky he is to have been a part of our lore, our story?” she said. “Maybe we can have him come and cut a ribbon or something,” she added with a laugh.

“The Wild Ride” is available for free on YouTube (youtu.be/KqsxkFt9De8), and a TV movie remake of the film called “Velocity” was made in 1999 that features Jason Sudeikis of current “Ted Lasso” fame and newer footage that makes the original film a long flashback sequence.

Paul Kilduff is a San Francisco-based writer who also draws cartoons. He can be reached at [email protected].

When historic movie-making venues come to mind, Concord, Clayton, Antioch and Pacheco are not generally at the top of the list — maybe that needs to change. Jack Nicholson’s first film with top billing turns out to have been shot entirely in the area in 1960.

Called “The Wild Ride,” the black-and-white drive-in movie features a skinny 23-year-old Nicholson as “top stud” Johnny Varron, the leader of a group of wannabe beatniks who spend their time drinking beer, smoking, trying not to die in head-on collisions with oncoming traffic (playing “chicken”) and chasing girls (or not). It’s all set against a fairly consistent soundtrack of pretty groovy, fast paced bongo music, man.

Central Contra Costa County’s star turn here was due primarily to the efforts of the late Harvey Berman, who then worked in the Diablo Valley College (DVC) performing arts department. Berman would later serve as the Walnut Creek-based Center Repertory Company’s artistic director for five years, among other achievements in a long and distinguished area career.

A contemporary of B movie king Roger Corman at UCLA in the early 1950s, Corman tapped Berman to direct and produce “The Wild Ride” in his then-new hometown of Concord, where Berman had initially taken a job as the drama teacher at Mount Diablo High School. In addition to using local high school kids, some more experienced actors from Los Angeles, including Nicholson, were brought in for key roles.

Varron’s (Nicholson’s) gang wreak havoc at the Antioch marina, the long-ago-closed Contra Costa Speedway in Pacheco, somewhere near Dana Estates (now Concord’s Dana Hills neighborhood) and at an undisclosed beach along the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

The film opens with Varron, driving an immaculate Ford Fairlane convertible, and soon being chased by a Concord motorcycle officer on a rural road. Varron’s car jumps in front of the officer as the officer tries to pass and causes the policeman to crash into a tree. As he leaves the scene Nicholson’s character mutters “chicken” to himself. The officer later dies.

Tracked down by the Concord police, Varron is hauled downtown. Ever the defiant one, he says they won’t be able to pin the crash on him. Foreshadowing his most famous line in “A Few Good Men” (“You can’t handle the truth!”) Nicholson’s Varron tells his interrogator “I don’t break the law, I make my own.” To add insult to injury, as he’s leaving Varron tells the Concord cop he’s “a very far-out stud.”

Aside from tangling with the local constabulary, Varron tangles with his best friend, Dave, over Dave’s budding love interest in Nancy, a straight-laced buzz-killer played by Nicholson’s real-life girlfriend at the time, Georgiana Carter. He also finds time to show off his sprint car racing skills at the Contra Costa Speedway dirt track known during its 1950s heyday as “California’s fastest quarter-mile speedway.”

After winning a bet made with a race track bookie, Varron takes the gang to the most recognizable Contra Costa County location in the movie, the former Chubby Humble’s Pioneer Inn restaurant and watering hole in Clayton. There the gang down more malt beverages and carouse before Varron kidnaps Nancy leading to a fitting end for Nicholson’s character and the movie.

Built in 1860, the former Chubby’s inn has served over the years as a Pony Express stop, perhaps a brothel and as a fine-dining destination for stars such as Gary Cooper and John Wayne, who used to pop in for a steak after a day of quail hunting nearby. Patrons could pick from various cuts on display at the entrance.

Today, the building’s role is a little more respectable — it houses the offices of Clayton Community Church. Pastor Shawn Robinson, who started the church more than 25 years ago with 12 friends, now uses what used be the restaurant’s meat locker as his office.

Fully aware of the site’s past glory, Robinson says he has attempted to resurrect the stone barbecue pit behind the restaurant where Varron and his crew mingle in the film but that every time he does someone steals the new barbecue grills. Despite the fact that “The Wild Ride” is not something he would ever show at the church — aside from moral considerations, Robinson (like most people) doesn’t exactly think of the film as a cinematic tour de force — the pastor has embraced the building’s place in film history.

“We want our church to be for the whole community. So in that sense, we’re fine with it,” says Robinson.

Not all church members are aware of, or seem to care about, the building’s early role in Nicholson’s storied film career, though. Edie Moore Olson didn’t know about the connection but has a message for Nicholson.

“It makes me wonder if he knows how lucky he is to have been a part of our lore, our story?” she said. “Maybe we can have him come and cut a ribbon or something,” she added with a laugh.

“The Wild Ride” is available for free on YouTube (youtu.be/KqsxkFt9De8), and a TV movie remake of the film called “Velocity” was made in 1999 that features Jason Sudeikis of current “Ted Lasso” fame and newer footage that makes the original film a long flashback sequence.

Paul Kilduff is a San Francisco-based writer who also draws cartoons. He can be reached at [email protected].