The Wild One (1953)

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

Director:

Laslo Benedek

Writers:

John Paxton (screenplay), Frank Rooney (based on a story by),

Stars:

Marlon Brando, Mary Murphy, Robert Keith

Cast

Complete credited 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	...	Frank Bleeker
John Brown	...	Bill Hannegan
Will Wright	...	Art Kleiner
Robert Osterloh	...	Ben
William Vedder	...	Jimmy
Yvonne Doughty	...	Britches
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Del Tenney

Storyline

Cop-hating Johnny Strabler is recounting the fateful events that led up to the "whole mess" as he calls it, his role in the mess and whether he could have stopped it from happening. The Black Rebels, a motorcycle gang of which Johnny is the leader, cause a ruckus using intimidation wherever they go, with their actions bordering on the unlawful. On the day of the mess, they invade a motorcycle racing event, at which they cause a general disturbance culminating with one of the gang members stealing a second place trophy to give to Johnny. Despite not being the larger winning trophy, it symbolizes to Johnny his leadership within the group. Their next stop is a small town where their disturbance and intimidation tactics continue. Some in town don't mind their arrival as long as they spend money. Harry Bleeker, the local sheriff, doesn't much like them but is so ineffective and weak that he doesn't do anything to stop them, much to the annoyance of some of the other townsfolk, who see the ...

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Plot Keywords:

gang | motorcycle | rebel | sheriff | trophy | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

February 1954 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hot Blood

Filming Locations:

Conejo Valley, Thousand Oaks, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Stanley Kramer Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

79 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film was banned in Britain until 1968.

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Goofs

Wire holding handle-bar/throttle can be seen during side view of Johnny's run-away cycle before it hits and kills Jimmy.

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Quotes

Sheriff Singer: [to Johnny] What's a matter? You been hit on the head so often, you don't know when you're getting a break? At least say thank you.
[Nods to Sheriff Bleeker and Kathie]
Kathie Bleeker: It's alright. He doesn't know how.

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Connections

Referenced in How I Got My Mink (1969)

User Reviews

Strong performances in an original take on a persistent theme

An early Brando vehicle, The Wild One has the air of a local genre for the postwar American youth, determined to strike out and be different from the previous generation - despite little idea of what the alternative is. Of course, there is no real genre at work in this sort of movie but the rise of the youthful celebrity typified by Brando and the obvious climate for generational schism brought by the end of the war specifically midwived films such as this.

Brando is very watchable - I particularly like an early sequence, where, despite his determination to defy any expectation, he gets trapped into following a bargirl (Mary Murphy) around like a puppy. His aimlessness is well calibrated, offset with the defining line of the movie: 'What are you rebelling against?' asks a local. 'What have you got?' ripostes Brando's Johnny.

Also popping up on screen is a necessarily over the top Lee Marvin as an amigo/antagonist counterpart to Johnny and a brilliantly ineffectual yet despondently wise town Sheriff, given by Robert Keith. He alone sees the ever-turning circle of young growing up but is rendered powerless by the very circumstance that gives this study in the unassuming, self-education of youth its ring of temporal genre. With equally committed performances across the rest of the ensemble, the film becomes more than a document though. 6/10