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The Wild One
1954
The Wild One is the original motorcycle film, starring Marlon Brando as the brooding leader of a biker gang that invades a small town. The film always looked like one of those synthetic Hollywood ideas of subculture life in the 1950s, which means it looks even more artificial today. But it is an actor's piece more than anything,.. Read more
| Starring | Marlon Brando, Mary Murphy, Robert Keith, Lee Marvin |
|---|---|
| Director | Laslo Benedek |
| Genres | Drama |
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The Wild One
The Wild One is the original motorcycle film, starring Marlon Brando as the brooding leader of a biker gang that invades a small town. The film always looked like one of those synthetic Hollywood ideas of subculture life in the 1950s, which means it looks even more artificial today. But it is an actor's piece more than anything, and toward that end Brando's performance really is an important one in the context of his revolutionary reinvention of film acting during that decade. The film was directed by Lásló Benedek (Namu, the Killer Whale) and produced by the socially conscious Stanley Kramer. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com
| Starring | Marlon Brando, Mary Murphy, Robert Keith, Lee Marvin, Jay C. Flippen, Ray Teal, Petty Maley, Hugh Sanders |
|---|---|
| Director | Laslo Benedek |
| Studio | SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 16 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Dubbed | French, German, Italian, Spanish |
| Subtitles | DVD: Arabic, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish |
| Released | DVD: 23 Aug 1999 Production year: 1954 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (3)
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“What are you rebelling against, Johnny?” asks waitress Mary Murphy. “What've you got?” snarls Marlon Brando, his leather-clad biker entering the iconography of the decade. Long-banned in Britain, and shown famously only at a Cambridge cinema turned into a film club for the purpose by manager Leslie Halliwell (yes, he of the Film Guide), this is the first, the best, the quintessential motorbike movie, actually based on a 1947 incident when a cycle gang terrorised the small town of Hollister, California one desperate Fourth of July. OK, the back projection is a joke, Lee Marvin's far too old and the direction's often inadequate (as is the budget), but Brando is simply brilliant and the film still retains its unique power to astound.
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Brooding, compulsive, well-made little melodrama which was much banned because there was no retribution. As a narrative it does somewhat lack dramatic point.
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Most helpful member's review
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5 out of 5 people found this review helpful
This film isn't for everybody, but if you're a Marlon Brando fan (which i am) it's essential. While arguably not his best performance, it's easily his coolest... And it makes the movie a classic in my opinion. The rest of the actors look like they've been trained for a musical... and they dont let you forget this movie was shot in the 50's. Lee Marvin seems oddly out of place as the rival biker. A very simple, light, cult classic. Whadd'ya got?
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Most recent members' review
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1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
oh dear...
There are films that age badly and this is one of them. Brando plays his part like a sullen child. The script is dreadful. It appears to be written by someone who has no apparent grasp of what they are writing about. Liberally sprinkling the film with wannabe hipster beat phrases just does not cut it daddio. An embarrassment.
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The Wild One
The Wild One is the original motorcycle film, starring Marlon Brando as the brooding leader of a biker gang that invades a small town. The film always looked like one of those synthetic Hollywood ideas of subculture life in the 1950s, which means it looks even more artificial today. But it ...
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