The Wild One (1953)

Directed by László Benedek. Starring Marlon Brando, Mary Murphy, Lee Marvin, Robert Keith, Hugh Sanders, Jay C. Flippen, Yvonne Doughty, Ray Teal, Will Wright, Peggy Maley, Keith Clarke, John Brown.

Johnny (Brando) and his outlaw motorcycle cronies ride into the small town of Wrightsvile, turn the lives of the citizens upside down with their presence, including impressionable police chief daughter Murphy. The archetypal biker gang movie is awfully dated, even corny, at times—these young rabble-rousers are about as threatening as the dancing gangs from West Side Story—but still worth watching just for Brando’s indefatigable screen presence; the visage of the actor riding a Triumph Thunderbird in a black leather jacket and titled cap is a timeless icon. Most of the local populace are indistinguishably stiff, and many of the gang members are screwy hambones, but Marvin scores in an early film role as a rival biker. Brando’s gang name Black Rebel Motorcycle Club later inspired the name of a rock band. Produced by “message movie” maven Stanley Kramer; Timothy Carey has a small role as one of Marvin’s followers.

66/100