The Wild One (1953)

Except for the fact that Marlon Brando (as Johnny Strabler) wore a black leather jacket and led a motorcycle gang, known as the Black Rebels that took over a small modern-day California town, there's not much to this piece. On the other hand, it does show clearly that there was and is too much hate and defiance toward the law-enforcers, and thus the establishment. Yet in this 1953 Stanley Kramer production from Columbia Pictures, there was little action to speak of: Lee Marvin, who played Chino, the leader of the motorcycle gang the Beetles in this movie, had an altercation with Brando, toward the end one night there was a shop window crashed and Brando was blamed and beaten mercilessly for it, but other than that there was, again, little action to speak of. The motorcycle gang rode into the town and rode around in circles in the small street. Mary Murphy was a good actress in this as a young lady who was concerned about the man who cared about nothing or no one. The calm and expressionless Robert Keith played the town sheriff who, in the movie, was also Mary's father; she referred to him as the town joke and she herself admitted that she was stuck with him. J.C. Flippen played the part of Sheriff Stew Singer, a firm and hard sheriff, a part which he performed well. It was really not among any par excellence movies for Brando, anymore than it was for,again, Kramer, though the story did have a good, sound message to it.

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.

Yeah, The Wild One (1953) is schlock, but it's premium schlock and clearly much too technically competent for the many negative reviews I have seen for it. I tuned into Turner Classic Movies expecting pure camp with only Brando to lend precious little substance, only to be surprised at how moved I was at the conclusion eighty minutes later. Not that I am suggesting this is an unjustly regarded masterwork; like I said, it is schlock and often too cheesy to take seriously. Yet, in spite of the relatively tame action on screen and the cheesy frat boy antics of the bikers, there's still something going on underneath the surface, a palpable sense of frustration and alienation.The Wild One hits on the tyranny of conformity in 1950s America and the way the younger generation fears a life that is painfully ordinary and staid. This is best illustrated in Kathie, who makes it clear that the idea of settling down and then dying in the same boring town is terrifying for her; there's a rebellious, non-conformist streak in her, most obvious when she offers herself to Johnny on the outskirts of the town, and yet this scene also shows she's only willing to go that far if he continues with his rouse of forcing himself on her. She won't break away from the conformity of the town unless a man takes her away from it all. She craves the free life Johnny seems to possess.And yet, even Johnny is a lost soul, who has no clue what he really wants at all. We're given little of his past, aside from the implication that he had an abusive childhood. While in no way the best performance of Brando's career, it is a fine one, one which elevates the film. He utilizes facial expression and body language to communicate all the isolation and adolescent confusion that the schlock dialogue cannot fully deliver. In the end, Johnny is still an enigma, though judging from his final moment with Kathie, he does seem to be more at peace with himself. You really do have to wonder where he'll be going after this, if he's still just going to wander forever. And what of Kathie? Will she ever free herself from that sad little county?These questions lend such a poignancy to the ending, almost making you forget how cheesy everything else was before. But I like the lack of absolute resolution. It gives those star cross'd lovers an afterlife that few B-movie characters enjoy.

"Mostly I remember the girl, I cant explain it, a sad chick like that..." is how it starts and you already know that the next 80 minutes will be a privilege. The movie is symbolic with subtle subtlety and still every viewer will get it. Yes! its about a rebellious youth and how the devil in others brings out the devil in him, its romantic, its stylish and still so profound. Who wont love a film with a beautiful girl saying "You are still fighting aren't you ? Why do you hate everybody ? " (the same message American History X will deliver half a century later).If nothing, you'll love it for the evergreen story about a tender girl changing a tough guy.