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From what I understand this movie was one of the first films about biker gangs and due to its well-deserved reception resulted in a number of similar movies since then. Essentially, "Johnny Strabler" (played by Marlon Brando) is the leader of a motorcycle club known as the Black Rebels which just happens to ride into the small California town of Wrightsville. Upon entering the local café he spies a young waitress by the name of "Kathie Bleeker" (Mary Murphy) and decides to get to know her a little better. Not long afterward another motorcycle gang called the Beetles also arrives and their leader, named "Chino" (Lee Marvin), decides to provoke Johnny into a fight in the middle of the street. One thing leads to another and Chino is eventually arrested which causes both motorcycle clubs to spend the night in Wrightsville. That's when all hell breaks loose. Now rather than reveal any more of this movie and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that although this film is rather dated it still manages to entertain fairly well. I especially liked the performances of both Marlon Brando and Mary Murphy who both played their parts quite well. In any case, I recommend this movie to all of those who might enjoy a film of this nature and rate it as above average.

Although it might look quite tame compared to todays standards at the time of it's release The Wild One was considered ground breaking stuff which upset it's fair share of people (it was banned in Britain for 14 years). However it helped inspire the era of rebellion which lead to such classics as the James Dean epic Rebel Without a Cause. It is also memorable for Brando giving one of his greatest performances as Johnny Strabler, leader of the rebellious biker gang the "Black Rebels". True he didn't receive an academy award nomination for his role but there's still no doubting the standard of his performance.

At the start of the film we are introduced to Johnny and his gang as they interrupt a race taking place. This leads to a confrontation with the local sheriff which results in them leaving elsewhere to cause trouble. However just as they leave one of the members of the gang steals a trophy that would be presented to the runner up of the race (the first prize trophy was too big to steal)and gives it to Johnny. This represents the respect the gang has for Johnny. Soon after the gang arrives in the small town of Wrightsville, it is here that the film divides into two stories. The first one focuses on the relationship that develops between Johnny and a local girl called Kathie. At first it appears that the two couldn't be anymore different, he's a rebellious free spirit and she's lead quite a sheltered life going by rules and discipline. But it is through Kathie that we get to know the real Johnny as it is revealed that behind all the macho bravado he is quite a lost insecure soul unable to emotionally communicate with anyone, which explains why he behaves as he does. It is a credit to Brando's performance as to how he is able to draw sympathy from the viewer for his character. As Kathie has lead a sheltered life she has always been looking in from the outside, she has a father who is the sheriff of the town but isn't respected by the other residents and is considered something of a joke.It seems he is just there to make up the numbers and shows no signs of law enforcement skills when called to deal with a problem. Kathie sees him as a fraud, just as she sees Johnny. The second story focuses on the conflict that develops between the residents of the town and Johnny and his gang,during which it is the residents of the town who come off as the bad guys and not the black rebels.

As i previously mentioned while this film might look quite tame compared to todays standards it is still worth a look if you get a chance. If not to see what all the fuss was about at the time, then just for Brando's performance which really is in a league of it's own.

Would this movie still be watched but for Brando's performance? I think not - it would be relegated to the scrap heap of old B movies. But Brando carries the movie by having the right qualities to play Johnny Strabler, the leader of a motorcycle gang that creates havoc in a small California town. Brando plays Johhny with sullen, smoldering rebelliousness with a suggestion of depth and vulnerability underneath. Brando had already shown his abilities in "A Streetcar Named Desire" and was soon to make "On the Waterfront." The performance here is not up to those standards, but it is engaging. At the time he made this movie Brando's star power was such that he could name his roles, so it is interesting to speculate why he chose to make this. Maybe this role appealed to his own rebellious spirit.

The movie is dated for sure, but you may learn some things about the 1950s that you won't find in the history books. Many early 50s anachronisms are in evidence: 78 records on the jukebox, references to television as being new, bebop music and argot, local HUMAN telephone operators. The comment the old bartender makes about the advent of TV is prescient, "Everything is noise and pictures, nobody talks to anyone anymore" - there is more truth to that with each passing decade. The score - generic, loud, obvious, and intrusive - would not be accepted in contemporary movies. Johnny's attempt to be cool by snapping his fingers to music on the jukebox is so phony as to be embarrassing. One interesting thing was to see an early version of the high-five in response to the interjection "pop me." But credit must be given for this being one of the first mainstream movies to treat the rebellion against the claustrophobic conformity and cold war angst of the early 50s. It was unique for its time.

We do not get much motivation for the reasons the gang members behave the way they do. There are mighty few specifics about the guys in the gang - where they come from, how they support themselves, or what they do besides terrorize small towns. We get only a hint of Johnny's past when, during a beating by the locals he says, "My old man used to hit harder than that." But, maybe all we need to know comes from Johnny's extolling the feeling he gets when getting on his cycle to "just go."

There are many memorable scenes, like the one where Johnny is asked if he doesn't want to thank some people who have done him a good deed and he comes to an inarticulate stop only to have his woman friend say, "That's okay, he doesn't know how."

Lee Marvin has a good go playing Chino, the head of a rival gang that had split off from Johnny's. Chino is the more stereotypical bad ass. He may not have the complex personality of Johnny, but Marvin seems to be having such a grand time in playing him that it is hard not to share in the fun.

There is some interesting photography such as the opening scene where the cyclists roar right over the camera placed in the center of the road. And there is some good night-time black and white work as well.

In an era of drive-by shootings, heavy drug trafficking, and internet pornography the events in this movie can seem pretty tame, but one should not underestimate the number of themes addressed - ones that are still relevant: standing up to intimidation, vigilantism, the desire for freedom, misinterpretation of behavior (with unfortunate consequences), the proper use of force, sex, crowd behavior, generational conflicts and confusions, the ills of stereotyping, and greed.

Also, one lesson to be learned is that steatopygous actors should not wear tight jeans.

A peaceable town is taken over by motorcycle rowdies.

Despite the sometimes frat boy antics of gang members, the movie came across to audiences of the time as something of a 50's nightmare. For example, there's a small town taken over by motorcycle outlaws, a virginal girl (Murphy) surrounded by rowdies, a cop too meek to intervene, and a general breakdown of peace, quiet and conformity. In short, it's a challenge to the every day norms the famously inarticulate Johnny (Brando) is rebelling against. It's that sort of restlessness that takes the gang to the highway, and the excitement they seek. But it's also a nation recovering from the rigors of a big Depression and the disruptions of WWII. So the two are bound to clash. The movie may seem tame by today's graphic standards, but for the 1950's it was a barbarian assault against the decade's defining conventions. No wonder, the film was condemned in so many places.

Truth be told, Brando doesn't act so much as he poses. Nonetheless, it's an iconic pose in cap and sunglasses that shot him to the forefront of the decade's celebrated rebels. For example, catch how delicately he positions the sunglasses or how he slouches silently by while others cavort. Still, the movie really comes alive when Lee Marvin (Chino) and his gang hit town. He's the loudmouth opposite of Johnny, looking to knock him off his regal pose, which he tries in a well-staged fistfight. Then there's Mary Murphy's good girl, a perfect casting choice. When she flees down a darkened street just ahead of the motorcycle rowdies, I could feel frozen shudders all over the theater of that day. It was like small town America about to be ravaged. Of course, the tables are turned when some of the town's bolder elements form into vigilantes and chase Johnny down the same street. I guess violence, as they say, really is a two-way street.

Anyway, the movie's still a milestone worth catching up with. My only gripe is with the cheapness of the production. The town and the sets are bare bones, especially in the movie's latter half. Maybe that was intentional in order to highlight the story. But if so, it came at the expense of a realistic undercurrent, especially the atrocious exterior set for Johnny and Kathie's little get-away, appearing more like a stage play than a film. All in all, it's a signature movie for the young Brando, cementing his rebel image for a generation.

Here we have THE original biker cinema classic that predated "Easy Rider" by a good decade and a half. Marlon Brando, all swaggering cool, delivers an iconic performance as Johnny, leader of the B.R.M.C. (Black Rebels Motorcycle Club). Johnny and friends come to a small town to raise some Hell; he becomes quite taken with local girl Kathie Bleeker (Mary Murphy), and she with him.

Although Johnny is no innocent, and does have a role to play in the events that get out of hand, it becomes clear that he's also not the Devil that hostile and intolerant citizens make him out to be.

"The Wild One" does firmly date itself in some ways. The dialogue is very much of the time, and the antics of these biker clubs are not as scuzzy as some people might like to see. This is not a biker film for those people who enjoy the exploitative low budget pictures that came out in the wake of "Easy Rider". After a while, it becomes clear that there's not that much of a story here, as a lot of mayhem and destruction takes up the running time. But then, this is just as much of a character study as it is a motorcycle movie.

Our main character is something of an enigma. While ostensibly a rebel in outright defiance of every accepted societal norm, he's also a guy who's really not that sure of himself, a guy still in search of an identity. Scenes late in the film with Johnny and Kathie are the real standouts.

The excellent cast also includes Robert Keith as Kathie's dad, a surprisingly laid back lawman who doesn't seem to be that cut out for his job, and who is willing to give our gang some amount of leeway. Lee Marvin steals his scenes as rival gang leader Chino. It's also fun to see people like Timothy Carey, Alvy Moore, Jerry Paris, and Bruno VeSota in small, uncredited roles.

Nicely shot (by Hal Mohr) and scored (by Leith Stevens), "The Wild One" does merit a viewing for film buffs.

Seven out of 10.

MARLON BRANDO rides into town leading a pack of wild motorcycle riders who proceed to terrorize a hick town before LEE MARVIN shows up and gets into a drunken fight with Brando (as Johnny). Meantime, Johnny flirts dangerously with a cop's daughter (MARY MURPHY) who runs a cafe. Her father is played by ROBERT KEITH, a lawman who's reticent about using his authority with a bunch of motorcycle thugs.

Tension builds when Keith manages to haul Lee Marvin off to jail. Brando's buddies manage to get a hold of one of the town bullies and put him in the jail cell with the drunken Marvin who has passed out. They then go on a wild rampage but not before some of the town's men decide to form a vigilante squad and go after Brando. Brando has a brief romantic fling with the girl who realizes loving him is a lost cause.

***** POSSIBLE SPOILER AHEAD ***** The plot moves swiftly to a conclusion once the girl is able to convince the authorities that he wasn't responsible for the death of an elderly bystander hit by a motorcycle.

Stanley Kramer production has a nice, tense background score by Leith Stevens.

Summing up: Early Brando is impressive to watch, but much of the dialog is very dated and anchored firmly in the 1950s by the slang and be-bop expressions and overall concept of the film.

Famous for the moment when a girl taunts him with: "What are you rebelling against?"

Brando's terse reply: "What have you got?"

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.

Narrator Johnny Strabler (Marlon Brando) recounts leading his gang The Black Rebels Motorcycle Club to watch a race and causing a ruckus. They are sent off by the local sheriff. One of his men had stolen the 2nd place trophy for him. They arrive at Wrightsville, California. The local sheriff Harry Bleeker (Robert Keith) is reluctant to confront them and some of locals are angered. Johnny flirts with waitress Kathie (Mary Murphy) who happens to be the sheriff's daughter. When he finds out, he starts to leave the town but then his rival Chino (Lee Marvin) leads his gang The Beetles into town. Chino steals Johnny's trophy setting off a fight. The situation spirals more and more out of control with local bully Charlie Thomas (Hugh Sanders) getting involved.

Modern audiences can fall into the trap of seeing this as a cheesy B-movie with silly lingo and melodramatic mannerism. It still has that cautionary tale aspect to the movie which is holdover from earlier B-movie. Mary Murphy is going overboard with her acting. However this was 1953. It's an era of the new disenfranchised. It's two years before 'Rebel Without a Cause'. Looking at it with modern eyes is a mistake. Simply put, this is the iconic biker movie of its era.

My son-in-law recently saw "Easy Rider" for the first time and became totally confused. "What's that all about?" he asked me. What could I say? I replied, "You just had to have lived through those times to understand and appreciate the movie." The same can be said of "The Wild One." Before "Blackboard Jungle," before "Rebel Without A Cause," before "Look Back in Anger," there was "The Wild One." "What are you rebelling against?" "Whatcha got?" That certainly sounds like James Dean in "Rebel Without a Cause" but, no, it's Johnny (Brando) in "The Wild One." I saw this movie for the first time when I was 13 and was mesmerized by it. Apparently it was distributed again after "Blackboard Jungle" and "Rebel Without a Cause" came out because I saw it the same year I saw the other two. As far as fascination of the three, this one effected me most. Almost as good as Brando is Lee Marvin. I've read conflicting accounts of how The Beatles came up with their name. One, they so admired Buddy Holly and the Crickets that they adopted Beatles as a replacement for Crickets. The other story is that John Lennon so admired "The Wild One" that he took the name of the rival bikers and gave it a new spelling. Whatever the case, Lee Marvin is a good foil for Brando.

My favorite part of the movie is the opening. The open highway is a symbol for the movie. The highway is a means of passage for new ideas, new challenges, new life styles. The highway can bring evil as well as good. It is symbolic of freedom and a carefree way of life. It's not surprising that trucks began replacing freight trains as the major means of transport for goods and services following World War II. The highway also began replacing the rails as the major means of escape for the socially and spiritually oppressed among us. The viewer sees the blacktop for what seems to be several minutes. Suddenly, something appears on the horizon. Before the viewer knows it, rebels in the form of bikers are headed directly toward the camera. Then it seems they actually run through the camera and come out of the screen into the audience. What a piece of cinematography. Hungarian-born Laszlo Benedek mainly concentrated on television after this film. Being such a gifted director, one wishes he had done more films.

There is actually not much of a story in this movie. Supposedly based on a true account of a biker gang taking possession of a small California town, it's mainly a comment on changing times and mores in post-war America. But from the first roar of bikes journeying down the pavement, the viewer is hooked and stays spellbound to the very end. One thing puzzles me about the film's history: How does a movie get banned in Finland?

I watched this film last night and was very disappointed. The direction was flat and the acting was average. The reason why I thought that the acting was so sub-par was that it seemed terribly obvious that the actors were acting, particularly the biker gang (I couldn't imagine a less intimidating gang of bikers). Marlon Brando wasn't bad, but he wasn't great either. I can see why this film has a minor cult following but for me it was cheesy and had cardboard cut-out characters. Its not a terrible film and its not boring (I'll grant the fact that it does have some entertainment value), its just not that good either. I'd say its ever so slightly above average. 6 out of 10.

Clocking in at just under 1 hour and 20 minutes The Wild One makes its mark and then leaves before overstaying the welcome. Not that the B.R.M.C. motor cycle gang were ever welcomed into this small town of Wrightsville (or should that read Rightsville?) in the first place, this film is a fictionalised account of a 1947 Biker Riot in Hollister, California, but anyone viewing this for the first time expecting an out and out violent carnage movie need apply elsewhere.

This film is more about the youth of the time feeling ostracised by the world, a film oozing with youth frustration that is on the verge of exploding with catastrophic consequences. The story unfolds tidily enough; biker gang hits a town looking for kicks and chicks, things get heated as the locals refuse to stand by and let the town descend into a lawless jungle. Enter another biker gang led by a man who has a history of bad feeling with the leader of the other gang and whoosh, a firecracker of tension ignites to entertain the viewers.

As a whole film it doesn't quite impact as it should, though certainly back in the early 50s this film struck a chord with youth of the time, and in viewing Marlon Brando as B.R.M.C. leader Johnny it's not hard to figure out why it was revered then because he seems to be the archetypal anti-hero. He is confused, moody, and at odds with his motives, it's a great performance from Brando because he layers what seemed on the surface to be a one dimensional character. The rest of the cast are merely making up the numbers; the ever reliable Lee Marvin pops in as the rival gang leader, but he is more panto villain than biker menace, whilst Mary Murphy puts a bit of soul into the main Female lead of Kathie. Other than that it stands as a decent film when judging as a 50s piece of "rebel yell" artistry, but ultimately it's Brando laying down a marker that is the abiding memory.

7/10 for the film. 9/10 for Brando.

Enter Marlon Brando. He has that great presence. I'm sure the kids of the time must have glommed on to his rebellious presence with that big Triumph, spitting in the face of authority. His character is rather simplistic. He is so self centered and sorry for himself that it's hard to care much. At his age, he really hasn't had much time to develop so much angst. He and his buddies are out to hurt people because they feel entitled. The townspeople may not be perfect, but they have no role in his life and this pack shows up. Early 1950's people probably would have reacted the same way. If they are there on some diplomatic mission to change the prejudice against them, I suppose you could support them. But they are pack and the frighten people. What did they think was going to happen? Anyway, it got Brando into the movies and his charismatic being is all over the place. I would guess, knowing what attitude he carried around, that this wouldn't have been his most prized moment.

Marlon Brando and Mary Murphy were somewhat of a Romeo and Juliet caricature . Mr. Brando a biker basically rambling from one town to another to cause 'minor' havoc with his gang- B.R.M.C. and Ms. Murphy the daughter of a prominent law Enforcement official. Excellently acted by all and it would be unfair to judge the cinematography , being it was a basic B/W flick from 5 plus decades ago. Johnny just wanted some practical jokish but harmless fun with his gang, unfortunately the town had other ideas. Looking to string him up for any minor infraction or literally string him up. This was a town of false vigilantism. Anarchy reigns and true love reigns parallel. What will prevail? I wont tell. Its a nice movie that does not necessarily transcend time. Being this bikers gang was about the corniest gang in the history of bikers gangs. A tough dude Johnny , as the head honcho but listening to Jazz does not quite cut it. An entertaining film to be sure, but nothing earth shattering. Vintage Brando though, I will say that. From that standpoint alone, definitely worth a watch.

I'd always been curious about The Wild One as I'd heard it referenced countless times through the years. I'd also seen the now iconic image of Brando in the leather jacket and hat and wondered who that character was, what was he doing and what was he thinking. Well, I finally found out: it seems he wasn't really doing all that much and was just another lost soul searching for something, not sure what, but searching and disregarding as many societal norms along the way as he could. Other than the imagery of it all, and the enigmatic Brando himself, it's a pretty thin storyline. Collectively, it did keep me engaged for the duration and while it didn't live up to my vague and unjustified expectations, it is a must see for the true cinephile.

One of the most iconic movies in Marlon Brando's career, but I have to say that it's not one of his best. His visual portrait of a motorcycle gang leader, all dressed in black leather and with sideburns, was as important culturally and aesthetically as his white t-shirt macho from "A Streetcar Named Desire" and influenced contemporary stars like Elvis and James Dean. But the performance itself hasn't aged so well and has all the worst attributes of the Actors Studio method. When you compare his stiffness and overacting with the freshness of the performance by his co-star Lee Marvin is easy to see the difference. Still, the movie is an iconic film of the 50s deserving to be seen, but it would also have benefited from a much more powerful direction.

Although The Wild One has its place in cinema history as a film of rebellion in the conformist Fifties, I think it's one of the most frightening movies in history. Imagine two gangs of thugs invading a small town who basically can do whatever they want. I'm willing to bet it can and does happen today.

Marlon Brando is the sexy and charismatic leader of one group and only the fact that he's attracted to Mary Murphy, daughter of the town's ineffectual sheriff Robert Keith is the reason these cyclists don't run totally amuck.

Until The Godfather, I think most people when thinking of Marlon Brando thought of The Wild One. It's the ultimate rebel role for him. The role and the film spawned hundreds of imitators and satirists, from Gene Kelly in Les Girls to a hilarious Married With Children episode with Al Bundy doing his Brando thing.

However in every scene he's in, Lee Marvin totally steals the film as the rival gang leader. It's an outrageous over the top performance that I love every time I see it.

Although Brando did better films and won two Oscars for more acclaimed roles, for rebel youth of age The Wild One is THE Brando film.

"Hey Johnny, what are you rebelling against ? -Whadaaya got ?"

This simple exchange sums up the spirit, or lack of , that inhabits the tumultuous heart of Johnny Stabler, the leader of the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club bikers riding like formerly the horsemen of the Apocalypse their Triumphs, or their triumph over a square alienating norm whose only trophy is defiance and suspicion. People see them as hoodlums, they define themselves as rebels … but Johnny gives the perfect answer to the inevitable question. What have you got?

Indeed, there's nothing that doesn't invite to rebellion, it's not just being against the norm or the system but not even making a norm out of one's rebellion, the idea is simply to go, to escape from the conditioning and alienating effect of civilization. These guys aren't the baby boomers, they lived the War, they remember its effect on the elder, they inherited an America to rebuild, but the spirit was all lost in the greatest generation's souls. They're part of the rebirth of America and its conquering spirit, but only in the name of motorbikes, bottle of beers and rock'n'roll.

"The Wild One" directed by Laslo Benedek is the first of a trilogy that can be defined as the "Rebellious Youth of the 50's" followed by "Blackboard Jungle" and the the iconic "Rebel Without a Cause" (a title that could have fitted this one). James Dean's movie dealt with rebellion from an Oedipal point of view, showing the roots of the youth's unease, the absence of a true model to respect. "Blackboard Jungle" was more about the failure of education. But "The Wild One" shows the results without getting through their background, all we see is these kids in their 20's looking for vast landscapes for driving, bars where partying, and towns for terrorizing.

And the first two films have one thing in common, they start with the infamous headliners, you know these big words that don't take the viewer's intelligence for granted. Yes, we know the whole rhapsody; this lost youth is revealing of the failure of a system … and let us pray for it will never happen again. Did we need that? I guess it's like the famous Cagney-Robinson movies in the 30's were people weren't used to see gangster playing the lead roles. Well, the 50's had to deal with rebellious minds, no less dangerous, except for the fact that they didn't cause trouble for money, they had no reason whatsoever to act like they did, they did because … well, why not?

And the casting of Marlon Brando as the seminal rebellious kid is the film's masterstroke not just because of his iconic look, 2 years before James Dean with the leather jacket, the hat, and the Triumph, one of the most defining images of the 50's, there's more to that, there's Marlon Brando, there's this constant enigma engraved in his face. This is something I sensed in most of the characters he played in the 50's, we never exactly know what he thinks, what he feels, and most of the time, his character gets away with his secret. Johnny Stabler is no exception, he doesn't emerge from the group as a leader but as a natural outcast with one hell of an aura.

This is pure Brandonian detachment, and I love it. See how he subtly escapes from the gang as soon as he sees the beautiful Kathie (Mary Murphy), yes, it's obligatory romantic subplot but Brando elevates it to another dimension ever improving HER acting by the miracle of his presence. I suspect the moment she tried to get the capsule of his bottle and he took it away from her, was one of these improvisations he has the secrets. Brando plays everything, he's tough, sensitive, intriguing and fascinating. Ultimately, she despises his gang, but in no way, she can despise him because there is something incredibly attractive in that guy who doesn't enjoy attracting.

This is the rebellious attitude, a nihilistic escape in the world and within oneself, without coming back with no one on one's back. Stabler has no connection with the past, he never looks back, if he takes the girl, she's got to go with him, if he doesn't trust the cop, it's because he did before and it cost him a lot. Always moving forward …. Is his motto, although when one of his gang friends is injured by an old man, observing the cute Kathie, he decides to stay. The townspeople try to accommodate with the gang but it's only a matter of time, and beer that the generation gap shows its limits, forcing the local councilman, Mary's meek father, to interfere. But the man is incapable to use his weapon, abandoning all the control to the angry mob lead by a local bully.

"The Wild One" isn't the subtlest script ever but I admire its straight-forward way to make its point in 80 minutes that feel longer, this is how thrilling it is. There is a bit of wilderness and soft-headedness in all of us, it's all about which button to press. Its primitive, simplistic, but for some reason it works and Brando is mainly the cause, but I wouldn't attribute all the merit to him, there is a stellar performance, from, Lee Marvin as his rival Chino, almost stealing the legend's show and an unrecognizably young Tim Carey as one of the hoodlums.

As simple as the film is, it'll be forever renowned for its iconic image of Brando and his indelible quote, enough to put it in the legendary 50's, a must-see definitely, a cult-classic … or the Easy Rider of the 50's… And Marlon Brando was born to be (the) Wild (one).

Banned for many years in Britain, (even the celebrated critic Dilys Powell felt the ban was justified), this hard-hitting Brando movie about a motorcycle gang terrorizing a Californian town is amateurish yet forceful. Like so many movies about alienated youth and teenagers to have been made in the fifties it has dated badly, (for a start the gangs are so old), but this one has a couple of scenes that still feel dangerous, particularly when the gang round-up on Mary Murphy, and at the heart of it there is Marlon Brando as the leader, Johnny.

Brando is big and lumbering and beautiful in his leather jacket; there is a homoerotic Tom of Finland look to him and he is the most charismatic thing on the screen. It is said young American males identified with Brando at the time which says a lot about young American males, though the film is too insular, too like a horror film with the leather clad bikers as monsters, to make much of an impression. (It doesn't crank up the generational/alienation gap the way Nicholas Ray's "Rebel without a Cause" does). And yet it stays in the memory. You can see how teenagers might relate to it.

One of the more famous early films depicting youthful rebellion, The Wild One is as interesting now for its embrace of past cultural tokens, which provides an odd mixture for modern viewers, as it is for its more timeless, universal themes. It is a mostly successful film that only avoids getting a 10 because of its embrace of some filmic stereotypes of the era.

Marlon Brando stars as Johnny Strabler, the leader of a leather-jacketed motorcycle gang called the Black Rebels Motorcycle Club (the backs of their jackets say "BRMC"), in one of his early, iconic roles. The film begins with the BRMC wreaking havoc with a motorcycle race in a small town. They ride into the middle of the "track" (really just the town's streets), they harass the crowd, and eventually they even harass the officials. A cop finally kicks them out, but not before BRMC members they steal a trophy meant for the motorcycle race and give it to Johnny.

Amusingly, it's a second place trophy, but Johnny still ties it up to the front of his bike--which happened to be Brando's real-life Triumph motorcycle. Wanting to avoid trouble with the law, and acting like they're bored anyway, they ride on to a nearby town, Wrightsville, which is even smaller. The citizens of Wrightsville seem a lot more amenable to the BRMC, even though they cause a minor car accident when they first arrive. The sole Wrightsville policeman remains cordial, and the townsfolk mostly seem to be happy to have "tourists" who might boost business a bit. Johnny quickly falls for Kathie (Mary Murphy), who works at Bleekers, the local bar/diner, and so decides to stick around in Wrightsville for a bit. When a splinter group of the BRMC shows up--the Beetles, led by Chino (Lee Marvin)--an old, semi-friendly rivalry flares, leading to rowdiness and resentment from the citizens of Wrightsville. The situation goes from bad to worse.

Brando deserves all of the accolades he's received over the years from this role. He could have easily carried the film on his own. He's charismatic, cool, and complex, and he only becomes more complex and darker as the film goes on. Eventually he says more through silence than most actors do through long monologues.

A lot of this is aided by good direction from László Benedek and a good script by John Paxton and Ben Maddow, adapted from a short story by Frank Rooney about a real-life motorcycle club known as the "Booze Fighters". The script, and Benedek's direction, is chock full of subtle symbolism. One of the more obvious symbolic elements is the trophy. It may seem corny at first that Johnny would tie this to the front of his motorcycle, but we learn later that he wants to surmount his present position in life, or his present disposition in life. The trophy represents that hoped-for transcendence.

It's also fitting that it's only a second place trophy. That speaks both to Johnny's psychological roots (we learn about this in more detail later), which perhaps won't allow him to reach the transcendence he craves, and to his need to be a perpetual underdog. This is also tied in with him being a rebel. It's something he both needs and desires--it confirms his self-imposed martyrdom. The rightfully famous exchange of dialogue where a girl asks Johnny what he's rebelling against and he answers, "Whaddya got?" isn't just a glib remark. That's Johnny's character in a nutshell.

More subtle symbolism can pop up in the most seemingly innocuous shots--such as Johnny slamming his beer down on the bar and having it bubble up and brim over. There is both a general emotional symbolism there--Johnny feeling the desire to burst out of his present reality, or transcend his present boundaries, and a sexual symbolism because of the context. He's at the bar where Kathie works. He's pining for her, but she's basically brushing him off. Similarly, take a close look at Kathie's fondling of Johnny's motorcycle when they're in the park. If you made a mental note to watch with this in mind, you could probably catch additional symbolism in most nooks and crannies every time you rewatched The Wild One.

Even though Brando could easily carry the film on his own if he needed to, he doesn't need to. There are plenty of other fine performances, including Marvin, Murphy, Robert Keith as the Wrightsville Sheriff, and some fun bit part appearances by people who later became quite famous, such as Alvy Moore and Jerry Paris.

If The Wild One has a flaw, it is its slight "corny" embrace of rebel stereotypes. There is a twinge of Reefer Madness (1936) or the later Blackboard Jungle (1955) in the film's portrayal of the bikers.

But some of what now seems to be a bit of goofiness is part of the attraction, too. Since this is the early 1950s, the bikers listen and dance to jazz, not rock 'n' roll. They also embrace beatnik culture, particularly in their lingo. At one point, two BRMC members start doing a kind of jive-talking' beatnik rap. At another point, Brando plays bongos on a jukebox. It may be goofy, but it's a lot of fun.

I often jokingly say, "It's a love story!" no matter what kind of film I'm watching, as the vast majority of films have some kind of love/romance subplot. The Wild One is no exception. It could be seen as a romance as much as a film in any other genre. As such, it is notable in that while it doesn't exactly have a happy ending for a romance film, it certainly has a poignant ending, as Johnny gives up two symbols of martyrdom and rebellion (the less obvious symbol given up arises in how he travels), perhaps indicating that he's transcended his previous self after all.

Marlon Brando is iconic in the role of the leader of a bike gang, but this was a tough film for me to warm to. The Black Rebels Motorcycle Club are a bunch of people who ride into town, harass women and old people, cause accidents, and commit general mayhem, all while delivering slick, defiant lines in early 1950's slang that the "squares" don't get. The town's sheriff is feckless and weak, and his shrugging and "what can I do?" responses quickly get annoying. A waitress (his daughter, of course) is assaulted but somehow still falls for Brando (argh), and then the townsfolk decide they've had enough and form a vigilante mob. Maybe in all of this there is an ink blot whereby who you sympathize with says something about you or maybe your current station in life, but for me, it was close to being none of the above, and it was tough to see the film tilt its sympathies to the motorcycle gang. The latter is of course helped in no small part by Brando's considerable screen presence.

The performances are generally good, and aside from Brando, Lee Marvin is great as the leader of a rival gang. What a fine actor he was, and with The Big Heat coming out the same year, 1953 was certainly a good one for him. I liked the direction from László Benedek, especially when he put Brando and the young woman (Mary Murphy) in close up, or gets interesting shots of the swarm of motorcycles, which descend on the town like a plague of locusts.

The oft-quoted response of Brando's to the question "Johnny, what are you rebelling against?" (answer: "What have you got?") seems to capture a nihilistic attitude so perfectly that although memorable, was somewhat off-putting to me. However, a much smaller line delivered later, when he's getting beaten up by the people of the town who have had enough of his gang running roughshod over everything, contains the glimmer of something kind of hidden, and probably the best part of the film for me. He says "My old man used to hit harder than that," and in that little moment, it hit me that he was the product of abuse and a difficult childhood. Reflecting on it, the feeling grows. Why is this guy so attached to a silly trophy that one of his gang member's swiped from a racing competition? Why does he allude to having made a deal with a cop once (and was presumably betrayed)? Why can he not simply express gratitude in the scene at the police station, why is it that "he doesn't know how"? He has not seen enough kindness in life, and in acting out sees even less of it, in the spiral to becoming a misunderstood outsider.

I don't know if there is quiiite enough of this aspect to balance out Brando's character, much less how all of the others behave in the film. Maybe the film is the truest test of empathy, or maybe this guy's just a punk who should behave better (albeit an iconically cool punk mind you), or maybe it was ahead of its time in showing the inevitable rebellion to the norms of post-war America. Maybe all of the above.

Brando is his archetypal mean and moody self, as the original rebel on a motorcycle terrorising smalltown America. The enduring iconic images from the film have weathered better than the film itself, however, but it still stands up as a paean to disaffected youth.

When Johnny and the boys ride into town all hell breaks loose, with a culture clash between themselves and the 'squares', resulting in tragedy and some reconciliation. These boys look tame compared to today's standards (they even pay for their own beer!) but they don't fit in and so are immediately ostracised by a grown-up world that doesn't understand their jive-talking, anti-social behaviour. Johnny's reply when asked, "What are you rebelling against?" says it all..."Whatta you got?", with a sneer for good measure.

Time hasn't been kind to the film, and it's hard to see why it was banned in the UK for 18 years (mainly down to the lack of any retribution for the gang), but there is still a tight story and strong characterisation. It's a pity the film descends needlessly into melodrama, losing much of it's credibility in the process.