The Wild One

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?"

Every so often that movie comes along that defies everything, everyone and all expectations. It reaches beyond the realms of mere big screen entertainment and constructs iconography and archetypes that are so enduring that to this day they are relevant and have an effect. Make no mistake about it, The Wild One is THE first movie to represent a youth culture of any description. People cite Rebel Without A Cause as the first youth culture movie BUT this movie came before and in my opinion, is by far the better movie

The story centres on Johnny Strabler (Marlon Brando) and his motorcycle gang who terrorise a small California town alongside another motorcycle gang led by Chino (a young Lee Marvin). After Chino's arrest for out of hand antics, the gangs run wild during the night, doing with the town as they please, from attacking the telephone operator, freeing Chino from prison to attacking a citizens house whom they believe responsible for Chino's arrest and accosting just about every female in the town. While Johnny is not totally blameless for this he is most definitely NOT the instigator that everyone makes him out to be. This does not stop the townspeople adopting a mob mentality and going at Johnny with all guns blazing. However while they are planning this there is a love story unfolding between Johnny and the daughter of a cop, a love story that is never truly consummated. The cops daughter had intrigued Johnny since the beginning since she had appeared untouchable. He saves her from the wrath of the rest of the B.R.M.C. (the name given to Johnny's motorcycle gang) and takes her to a forest where, after some heated Academy Award flavoured dialogue and a kiss and a slap, the cops daughter runs from Johnny, although not FROM Johnny. The running stands for a metaphor related to suburban societal entrapment. Johnny is later caught and battered by the mob until the towns cop unknowingly stalls the mob for Johnny to escape. Johnny grabs his motorcycle and attempts to ride out when something (a tyre iron) is thrown at the wheel of his moving bike and causing is to fly out of control and into an elderly citizen. And when it seems that Johnny is going to go to jail for an extremely LONG time, a couple of towns people including the cops daughter decide to tell a few truths that help Johnny get out of it. Johnny and his boys leave town never to return.

The mere storyline of this movie is simply not enough to translate exactly what it is that this movie stands for and is responsible for. A scene that is, and forever shall be ingrained into the Hollywood psyche is when Johnny is standing by a jukebox and one of his gang members is dancing with a girl and she asks, `B.R.M.C., what does that stand for?'. Johnny's gang member replies `The Black Rebels Motorcycle Club' and she replies `Hey Johnny, what are you rebelling against?' and he replies, in what could very possibly be the most career defining sentence that has ever been uttered on-screen, `Whaddya got?'. Now in this day and age that comes across as incredibly trite and corny but in those days, in that social environment that existed in Western Culture, that movie was called incendiary and ran into censorship troubles (cue The Hayes Code) and in England was banned outright until sometime in the mid 70s. While watching this movie one must remain totally and utterly aware of the context of this movie.

Another the scene that was the cause of many a raised eyebrow and was exactly what makes every kid on earth that's ever been condescended to by teacher and parents and the like, totally empathise is the scene where the cops daughter and the cop have saved Johnny's life and Johnny is being read the riot act by the Sheriff and he just sits there, looking at the floor (c'mon guys, u know you've been in that position before) totally listening but appearing as if he isn't. As Johnny is strutting out of the room the cop stop him by asking if he has anything to say to these people who have basically saved his life (at least from jail). The cop even prompts him so far as to say `You could at least say 'Thank You'. Johnny doesn't move, doesn't turn to look at them, doesn't speak. This silence is broken by the cops daughter who says `It's OK, he doesn't know how'. This on it's own cements John Strabler and the most archetypal rebel. The key here is in relating to the character. Everybody, from your typical f***ed-up suburban teenager, to your urban delinquents to a three year old can understand the complexities and the moral stand that is taken by someone when they decide that they will not do things like apologise or thank people.

Youth rebellion was a complete and utter non entity in the 50s, no one could fathom kids doing things like this. Kids up until the 50s merely did what there parents did. This movie was the first to challenge all this, to challenge class oppression and gender roles even, as there are women (shock, horror) as members of Chino's motorcycle gang. This could be the most exceptional piece of filmmaking that EVER happened. I guarantee you that in no matter what town you live in that if you walk down the street you will see some degree of influence from this movie on the people you encounter. Without this movie the following things would not be the same in society:

1) There would be no Rockabilly music of the same fashionable kind 2) There would have to be ANOTHER image of the rebel, possibly the James Dean created image of the rebel because this one would not be 3) There would be no movies the way they are today in terms of youth rebellion (this movie challenged censorship sensibilities) 4) The punk rock movement would be utterly different (Jesus Christ, Sid Vicious has Marlon Brando's jacket, not to mention The Ramones) 5) A lot of modern music, The B.R.M.C. for instance would not be the band they are

The point being made here is that the effect of this movie is beyond mere moviedom. It defined a times, it defined an actor (Marlon Brando), is was fresh and vibrant, it was a kick in the ass for those censors, those self appointed guardians of morality who dare to tell us what to watch and how to watch it and when to watch it. Since this movie a million movies in its vein have emerged, all defining their era. For the 60s there was Easy Rider and Head, for the 70s there was Stayin Alive, and Saturday Night Fever, For the 80s there was Falling Down and for the 90s there was a torrent of them, Pulp Fiction, Trainspotting, Human Traffic BUT, The Wild One was the first, the unadulterated masterpiece that is now an indelible mark on Hollywood, no American, no Western Culture that will for ever stand testament to the fact that, WE ARE SO F***ING COOL!!! (kids that is JJ)

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.

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.