The Wild One
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Movie Reviews of The Wild One
Movie Review: The original rebel
Summary: 4 Stars
Marlon Brando in one of his many signature role plays the brooding, rebellious Johnny Strabler, leader of the motorcycle gang The Black Rebels in the cult classic, "The Wild One". The gang under Brando's direction alight en masse in the small California town of Wrightsville to kick back and have some fun. Showing disdain for the local denizens of the town the bikers ratchet up the mayhem when a rival gang also arrives in town led by Lee Marvin playing the drunken troublemaker Chino.
Brando takes an interest in an attractive local girl Kathie played by Mary Murphy who works in the local diner as a waitress and the feeling appears to be mutual. Brando's personality however is conflicted. Deep down he harbors some goodness but abhors authority figures, a result of an abusive childhood courtesy of his father. Brando is further troubled by the fact that Kathie's father is the local cop.
Brando and Marvin are at odds as to whether they leave the town with Brando wanting to depart despite his affinity for the girl. The townspeople led by a few combative citizens mobilize with weapons to rid the town of the bikers. They capture Brando and beat him up. He escapes but as he flees on his bike he is hit by a hurled tire iron. He is thrown off loosing control of his bike and which accidently runs over and kills an elderly man.
Sheriff Singer played by veteran actor Jay C. Flippen in effect puts the town under martial law. His investigation proves that Btrando wasn't at fault and he is exonerated. He however is unable to show his true feelings to Kathie and departs as the same lonely rebel he was at the start of the film.
Movie Review: Genre Film
Summary: 4 Stars
The Wild One is the Stanley Kramer film that influenced not only movies, but an entire generation of brooding teenagers. The film starring a young Marlon Brando, is the chronicle of the violent escapades of the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club in a small, sleepy California community in the 1950's. It is overtly the story of redemption, but it is also a tale of innocence lost perhaps forever. Brando is the iconoclastic Johnny,the leader of the club, replete with leather and attitude. Responding to someone's query regarding what he was rebelling against, he replies "Whadda ya got?" Which pretty much sums up the mantra of the next generation of film goers. Despite Brando's signature style and commanding appearance, I personally got a kick out of Lee Marvin's performance as Chino, leader of a rival gang. Marvin, all legs and wise cracks, reminds me of an early rendition of Kesey's Merry Pranksters. His gang is dressed in costumes that would not look out of place in the Haight Ashbury district of San Francisco a decade later. Marvin is less an introspective outcast longing for acceptance, like Brando, than he is simply an outcast, dedicated to partying and hitting the road.
The Wild One is the best of the teenage angst genre films and Brando is a more assertive and optimistic figure than his copycat, James Dean. It is interesting to note that Brando was the original actor set to play the lead in Rebel Without a Cause,the Dean classic, when the film had a totally different story line. The Wild One is an important addition to film history, and certainly an entertaining one.
Movie Review: The Chosen One
Summary: 4 Stars
This truely is an interesting film. I am not quite sure how to recommend this movie to people, but I do. First, and most important about this film is that it was made in 1953, and is therefore rather dated. Brando himself reflected on this film in his autobiography(Songs My Mother Taught Me) saying he felt it was a good picture when he made it, but he thought it hadn't aged well. In the context of this particular film it means these bike gangs, while at the time considered rebellious and dangerous, do not, by modern conventions of "rebels" and "outlaws," really come off as that threatening. At the time they were(the Hells Angels begins in this period). That understood viewers can really enjoy this picture. To me it almost had a comedic value to it. I really enjoy watching the steriotypes of this time for example the locals being called "squares." Marlon Brando is very engaging as Johnny, the leader of this rebel motorcycle gang that happens into a small town and takes it over for a few days. Even today it is possible to see why, in the early 50's, Brando was inspiring generations of actors with his performances, before he became fat and self-indulgant. For this reason alone it is worth a look.Movie Review: Rebelling against "whatever you've got"
Summary: 4 Stars
A motorcycle gang rides into a quiet little California town and terrorizes a good part of it. Marlon Brando is the leader, and although he depicts the classic young rebel without a cause, there's a softness about him around the edges (maybe it's that smooth baby-skin face of his).
In fact, there's a softness about the whole movie: the gang produces a feeling of loathing but not because they're especially dangerous - just dumb. The daughter of the town sheriff falls for Brando, but this too seems unconvincing (like oil and water trying to mix) - and she and her father help Brando out of a jam at the end. Nineteen-twenties crooner Jay C. Flippen plays the sheriff - too bad he doesn't sing a couple of choruses of "Short and Sweet" to add to the proceedings.
Based on a true story, the movie was a trend setter for subsequent pictures about rebellious youth (some segments of society thought movies like this one were signaling the end of civilization just about), but there seems to be a blanket thrown over everything. It's fuzzy where you expect it to be sharp. There's a great opening shot with the gang riding their bikes straight toward the camera.
Movie Review: Brando meets the cast of "The Blob"
Summary: 4 Stars
What happens when you put Marlon Brando in with the cast of The Blob? You get The Wild One! Instead of black Silly Putty terrorizing a small town you have a biker gang. The towns people are afraid that the gang (Blob) will overtake the town and so they take matters into their own hands when the local sherrif isn't getting the job done. Of course in their zeal they become worse vigilantes than the gang (Blob) was. Hey I won't kid you this is a "B" movie. But Brando could have been delivering lines from a Harley Davidson repair manual would it really matter? I mean can anybody understand all his mumbling anyway? Of course not.....he was the king of the incomprehensible (I wonder if that's a word). Yet I defy anybody who sees this film to take their eyes off him even for a minute.....you can't! Is he Olivier.....No.....is he Pacino.....No.....is he mesmerizing.....A RESOUNDING YES! Other than Mary Murphy who is stunning in the girl role, Lee Marvin who is wasted, and a small part by Jerry Paris there would be no other reason to watch this film but for Brando. A true original and easily one of the greatest movie actors ever.