The Wild One (1953)

Director:

Laslo Benedek

Writers:

John Paxton (writer)
Frank Rooney (novel)

Release Date:

February 1954 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Marlon Brando! Driven Too Far By His Own Hot Blood!

Plot:

Two rival motorcycle gangs terrorize a small town after one of their leaders is thrown in jail.

Plot Keywords:

Gang | Motorcycle | Trophy | Sheriff | Rival

Cast

Marlon Brando	...	Johnny Strabler / Narrator
Mary Murphy	...	Kathie Bleeker
Robert Keith	...	Sheriff Harry Bleeker
Lee Marvin	...	Chino
Jay C. Flippen	...	Sheriff Stew Singer
Peggy Maley	...	Mildred
Hugh Sanders	...	Charlie Thomas
Ray Teal	...	Uncle Frank Bleeker
John Brown	...	Bill Hamegan
Will Wright	...	Art Kleiner
Robert Osterloh	...	Ben
Robert Bice	...	Wilson
Yvonne Doughty	...	Britches
William Vedder	...	Jimmy

Also Known As:

Hot Blood (USA) (working title)
The Cyclists Raid (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

79 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:(Banned) (1954) | Finland:K-16 (1966) | Norway:16 (1956) | Norway:(Banned) (1954 - 1956) | Australia:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:PG (video rating) (1988) | UK:R (original rating) (1955) | UK:X (re-rating) (1967) (cut) | USA:Approved (PCA #16106)

Filming Locations:

Columbia/Warner Bros. Ranch - 411 N. Hollywood Way, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Stanley Kramer Productions

Trivia:

This was the first film in which the manufacturer's logo on motorcycles was not blanked out. Johnson Motors, who imported Triumphs into the USA, protested at their product being linked with Brando and his Black Rebels, but the association served them well.

Goofs:

Continuity: The mark on Johnny's face (below left eye and received in earlier fight with Chino) is missing in the motorcycle ride to park with Kathie, but shows up later in following scenes.

Quotes:

Johnny: You think you're too good for me. Nobody's too good for me! Anybody thinks they're too good for me, I make sure I knock 'em over sometime. Right now, I could slap you around to show you how good you are and tomorrow, I'm someplace else and I don't even know you or nothing.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Neon Palace (1971)

Forgettable

This is not a film I liked very much. It may be a classic and Marlon Brando's performance, or rather his role itself, an icon, but those don't make the dazzle, enthrallment, or entertainment of a movie automatic. The story is threadbare, an after-school special's plot, and absolutely nothing more. The characters are stick figures and the story is by the most engraved, faded, and weather-beaten numbers. I enjoy Brando, and for that matter, I enjoy Lee Marvin, because they both bring charisma to the screen, with both of them, especially Brando, no doubt have. Other than that, it's simple languishing in time for an hour and ten minutes. The best way to describe this film is "Eh, it was OK." I'm surprised that I'm commenting on it because I completely forgot I watched it after it was over.

The best moment in the film, one I actually rewound to watch again, was when two bikers are sitting at a bar talking to the disconcerted bartender, and eventually, they lead coherent sentences into scat singing. I loved that.