Waste of time

Don't Believe the Hype

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

You don't need much of a story-line or other talented cast members if you cast Marlon Brando in a movie. This movie is all about his charisma, screen presence, marvelous expressions, that awesome leather jacket & bike gangs. Honestly, I came across this movie while I was searching for biker's leather jacket. When I found out Marlon was the one who set its trend, I fell in love with that jacket even more. Lets get to the movie. Mary Murphy did really good with her character. Others were good too. You cannot expect much from a 1953 movie. The attitude shown by Johnny towards women may not be relevant in this era. But that is what defined rowdy bikers in that era & Brando captures the essence of it with ease. The smile in the last scene says it all :)P.S. This movie is for fans of Brando & those who like the bike gangs & that iconic leather jacket.

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.

Marlon Brando's "The Wild One" from 1953 (black & white) could arguably be called the first biker flick, even though parts of the story/dialogue come off artificial, amusing and tame, especially compared to the first REAL biker flick, Peter Fonda's "The Wild Angels" from 1966.THE STORY: Two bike gangs clash in Hollister, California, Marlon Brando's Black Rebels and Lee Marvin's The Beatles. (I'm not sure if Hollister is the name of the town in the film, but that's where it was actually shot; Hollister is about 70 miles SE of San Francisco).WHAT WORKS: Needless to say, Marlon Brando is superb as the taciturn Black Rebels' leader. At the opposite end of the dispositional spectrum Lee Marvin is just as exquisite as the merry, fun-brawling leader of The Beetles. Mary Murphy is also very good as the cafe worker that shares a few romantic sparks with Brando.Brando was 30 years old at the time of this picture's release, so it's not very appropriate that he's constantly referred to as "boy" in the film. Regardless, Marlon as the titular 'wild one' is definitely the prototype of Fonzy-like "cool," a full 2 years before James Dean's "Rebel Without a Cause" would materialize. His "Whaddaya got?" response to the question "What are you rebelling against?" is priceless, to say the least.WHAT DOESN'T WORK: Although the plot is good (loosely based on a real event), the story's dramatic stagings and shifts, not to mention the trying-to-be-hip non-genuine lingo, provoke an amused "Yeah, right" response. Such phoniness will naturally hinder modern viewers from becoming enraptured by the story ("modern viewer" includes anyone who grew up on post-50s cinema -- i.e. mid-60s to the present).Still, a couple of story elements work well, like the ending ***minor SPOILER alert*** when a police officer encourages Brando to thank Mary and her father; Marlon appears to try but ultimately maintains his silent 'cool' demeanor. Mary then responds, "It's okay, he doesn't know how." Although she's right, Brando comes back a day or so later to indeed express his thanks, albeit in a non-verbal manner.BOTTOM LINE: If you're looking for a classic biker flick, don't expect "The Wild One" to remotely resemble the infamous late 60's/early 70's biker films, such as "The Wild Angels" or "Hell's Angels on Wheels." Keep in mind that cinematic "gritty realism" didn't come into vogue until the 60s. Hence, it should come as no surprise that "The Wild One" largely comes off as lame, tame, artificial and amusing, you know what I'm saying, Daddy-O? Still, Marlon Brando towers over the material and there are a few worthwhile qualities, as noted above. Needless to say, a must for Brando fans and those interested in classic cinema or amusing old-fashioned dialogue.GRADE: C

This movie opens with a caption that reads "THIS STORY IS SHOCKING." Well, I suppose that was true by the standards of 1953. By the standards of the 21st century, this isn't really that shocking, and with respect to the title, Marlon Brando's character of Johnny isn't really all that wild. This is actually pretty tame by modern standards. That doesn't mean it's a bad movie; it just means that it is dated, and probably wouldn't be of much interest to younger viewers today.Johnny is the leader of a motorcycle gang. As the movie opens, the gang is run out of town by the local sheriff after disrupting a motorcycle race. They end up moving on the a neighbouring town, are joined by a rival gang and eventually wreak havoc on the place, including one very tragic incident near the end of the movie. The "havoc" is mostly getting a bit out of control at the local bar, forcing a few girls to dance with them and breaking a few windows. As I said, not exactly "havoc" by today's standards. There were, however, a couple of things that I found very interesting about this movie.First was, in fact, the character of Johnny. Brando did well with the part. He makes Johnny an almost sympathetic character. Aside from getting into a fist fight with the leader of the rival gang, Johnny doesn't really participate in much of the havoc, and by the end of the movie seems to only want to get out of town. Johnny was almost likable in this. The other interesting part was the way in which the townsfolk responded to the gangs, eventually reversing roles and becoming themselves an out of control mob who are actually the ones responsible for the tragedy that happens near the movie's conclusion.Because of the expectations we have of modern movies, this doesn't come across as especially exciting or suspenseful, and the "gangs" come across more as troublemaking kids than what we today think of as members of motorcycle gangs. Still, there are those interesting aspects of the story that I mentioned above. (6/10)