The Wild One (1953)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Laslo Benedek

Writers:

John Paxton (writer)
Frank Rooney (novel)
(more)

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Wally Albright	...	Cyclist (uncredited)
Don Anderson	...	Stinger (uncredited)
Timothy Carey	...	Chino's Boy #1 (uncredited)
Keith Clarke	...	Gringo (uncredited)
Jim Connell	...	Boxer (uncredited)
Ted Cooper	...	Racer (uncredited)
George Dockstader	...	Cyclist (uncredited)
John Doucette	...	Sage Valley Race Official (uncredited)
Darren Dublin	...	Dinky (uncredited)
Richard Farnsworth	...	(uncredited)
Sam Gilman	...	(uncredited)
Joe Haworth	...	One of Chino's Boys (uncredited)
Harry Landers	...	GoGo (uncredited)
Eve March	...	Dorothy (telephone operator) (uncredited)
Mort Mills	...	Deputy (uncredited)
Alvy Moore	...	Pigeon (uncredited)
Mary Newton	...	Mrs. Thomas (uncredited)
Pat O'Malley	...	Sawyer (uncredited)
Jerry Paris	...	Dextro (uncredited)
Gene Peterson	...	Crazy (uncredited)
K.L. Smith	...	One of Chino's Boys (uncredited)
Angela Stevens	...	Betty (uncredited)
Gil Stratton	...	Mouse (uncredited)
John Tarangelo	...	Red (uncredited)
Bruno VeSota	...	Simmonds (uncredited)
Blackie Whiteford	...	Bystander at Art's Accident (uncredited)

Directed by
Laslo Benedek

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Ben Maddow		uncredited
John Paxton		writer
Frank Rooney		novel "The Cyclists' Raid"

Produced by
Stanley Kramer	....	producer

Original Music by
Leith Stevens

Cinematography by
Hal Mohr

Film Editing by
Al Clark

Production Design by
Rudolph Sternad

Art Direction by
Walter Holscher

Set Decoration by
Louis Diage

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Paul Donnelly	....	assistant director

Sound Department
George Cooper	....	sound engineer

Stunts
Fred Carson	....	stunt double: Marlon Brando (uncredited)
Larry Duran	....	stunts (uncredited)
Richard Farnsworth	....	stunts (uncredited)
Whitey Hughes	....	stunts (uncredited)
Carey Loftin	....	stunts (uncredited)
David Sharpe	....	fight double: Marlon Brando (uncredited)
Tom Steele	....	fight double: Lee Marvin (uncredited)

Music Department
Morris Stoloff	....	musical director
Arthur Morton	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Shorty Rogers	....	music arranger (uncredited)

Other crew
Jim Cameron	....	technical advisor (uncredited)
Willie Forkner	....	technical advisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Stanley Kramer Productions

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1953) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures (1960) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Columbia TriStar (1999) (Brazil) (DVD)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (1986) (USA) (VHS)

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:

The name of Lee Marvin's motorcycle gang is "The Beatles." Although it has never formally been acknowledged as an inspiration for the name of the 1960s rock band, the scene from the movie where Marvin introduces The Beatles is used at the beginning of The Beatles Anthology.

Goofs:

Continuity: Gil Stratton Jr's motorcycle changes from a Triumph from when he leaves the races to a Matchless when he arrives in Wrightsville.

Quotes:

Sheriff Singer: I don't get you. I don't get your act at all, and I don't think you do either. I don't think you know what you're trying to do or how to go about it. I think you're stupid. Real stupid and real lucky. Last night you scraped by, just barely; but a man's dead on account of something you let get started even though you didn't start it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Alice: The Wild One (#6.10)" (1981)

An influential classic

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.