Riding High (1981 film)

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Riding High is a 1981 British drama film directed by Ross Cramer and starring Eddie Kidd, Irene Handl, and Murray Salem. The story follows a bored young motorcycle messenger who begins training for a major biking competition.

The movie was based on a script by sexploitation filmmaker Derek Ford, who had been impressed by Kidd after seeing him on television. Ford had originally worked on a project called Bikers for Kidd with a planned budget of about £500,000. Producer Michael Klinger later joined the project and decided to raise more money, and Ford was gradually eased out. The finished film cost about £3 million.

Ford has said two endings were filmed—one in which Kidd’s character dies and one in which he survives—because there was uncertainty about whether Kidd would survive the final stunt, a jump over a broken bridge. That stunt was among the last scenes shot. Tony Klinger has said the production ran out of money, and Michael Klinger had to borrow money from a criminal to pay the cast and crew.

Riding High did not do well at the box office. Critics were negative; at least one called it more an excuse to showcase Kidd’s motorbike stunts, while Ford himself called it a lousy picture.