The Wild One [PG]

Johnny is the classic rebel without a cause. The leader of a rowdy, leather-clad motorcycle gang, destruction and danger lies on every path he travels. That is until he and his gang invade a small California town. There, Johnny takes a shine to a good girl named Kathy whose dad happens to be a cop. Johnny’s shot to turn his life in a solid direction however, gets threatened when a psychotic rival gang shows up and the prejudices of the townspeople towards the hoodlums inspire them to take matters into their own hands. 

It’s Marlon Brando as a greaser! How in the hell had I never seen this flick before?! A classic 50s cult movie, The Wild One is an engaging tale of life, law, judgement, and direction. 

I have to be honest, not an awful lot actually happens in this movie in terms of action, brawls, character changes, romance, or indeed anything. The central drama of the story and the power of the film lie in its dialogue and Marlon Brando’s captivating performance. 

What makes this movie different is that we start watching it with a theory in mind as to how things are going to pan out, what generic story steps it’s going to take, and such, but then hardly any of those expectations are met. Instead, we get a movie that seems quite undirected and indecisive as to what it wants to be and where it is going and this makes it a very captivating movie because it literally mirrors the plight of its leading character. Essentially, this is a movie about a guy with no plans, no life direction, no ideas, being a rebel rebelling against nothing. Johnny’s character depicts the concept of the classic juvenile delinquent, greaser, or ‘drape’ and he sits within the company of (but just a little bit isolated from) other iconic drape characters such as Wade ‘Cry Baby’ Walker from Cry-Baby, Jim Stark in Rebel Without a Cause, and Danny Zucko in Grease. But, unlike the drapes that come into their own, Johnny’s story doesn’t seem to reach closure and is more about his mind being opened to the idea that he needs a direction in life rather than him finding salvation. What’s particularly appealing about him is that we never really get to learn much about his history, we get hints dropped here and there, but even as ‘The End’ hits the screen there are still many questions to be answered as to why this guy is the way he is. The journey of a character like that is always intriguing because you’re hankering to find out more. 

Brando’s performance as Johnny was gorgeous. Beginning the film with a voice-over monologue in a slow Southern drawl, his performance is more reliant on his screen presence rather than the words that come out of his mouth, which are few and far between. His minimal use of dialogue and his intense stares, gestures, and facial expressions are as depictive and captivating as any beautifully delivered chunk of dialogue. 

Starring Mary Murphy, Robert Keith, Lee Marvin, Jay C. Flippen, Peggy Maley, Hugh Saunders, Ray Teal, John brown, Will Wright, Robert Osterloh, William Vedder, and Yvonne Doughty, The Wild One is a cult classic filled with action, drama, romance, prejudices, and second chances. Also too it’s a young Marlon Brando in a leather jacket, Aviators, and a great hat! What more could you want?