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 | Rival | Rebel | Sheriff

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:

A popular still from the film shows an off-set Marlon Brando astride a Matchless twin cylinder motorcycle, it's 'M' logo gas tank badge being secured upside-down to resemble a 'W'. This was stunt rider 'Wally Allbright''s motorcycle.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Obvious stunt double for Johnny when he and Chino are fighting - his hair changes from short and blond to longer and black.

Quotes:

Johnny: Nobody tells me what to do. You keep needlin' me, if I want to, I'm gonna take this joint apart and you're not gonna know what hit you.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Goin' Down the Road (1970)

Marlon Brando is awesome!

The movies I've saw with Marlon Brando have always sparked emotion in me. His movies like Down on the Water Front and now The Wild One. A viewer might watch this movie and think it has no plot. However I believe the plot of this movie is is the character Johnny Strabler (Marlon Brando. It's not about the motorcycle or the destruction they cause or the vigilante citizens. Its really about getting into the psyche of Johnny Strabler. I love movies that really dig deep into character development and this movie does.

After I finished watching this movie I felt I knew Johnny. I don't think he really had ever been loved, so he never learned to express love. In the movie he expressed love the only way he knew, that was through physical interation. He had a heart harden by a lot of pain and lies. I thought I saw a tear in his eye a few times. He truly just didn't know how to express emotion. But the gesture he showed at the end was the closet he'd ever get to saying, I love you.

A very romantic movie...