
Cop-hating Johnny Strabler is recounting the fateful events that led up to the "whole mess" as he calls it, his role in the mess and whether he could have stopped it from happening. The Black Rebels, a motorcycle gang of which Johnny is the leader, cause a ruckus using intimidation wherever they go, with their actions bordering on the unlawful. On the day of the mess, they invade a motorcycle racing event, at which they cause a general disturbance culminating with one of the ... (Full plot summary below)
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Cop-hating Johnny Strabler is recounting the fateful events that led up to the "whole mess" as he calls it, his role in the mess and whether he could have stopped it from happening. The Black Rebels, a motorcycle gang of which Johnny is the leader, cause a ruckus using intimidation wherever they go, with their actions bordering on the unlawful. On the day of the mess, they invade a motorcycle racing event, at which they cause a general disturbance culminating with one of the gang members stealing a second place trophy to give to Johnny. Despite not being the larger winning trophy, it symbolizes to Johnny his leadership within the group. Their next stop is a small town where their disturbance and intimidation tactics continue. Some in town don't mind their arrival as long as they spend money. Harry Bleeker, the local sheriff, doesn't much like them but is so ineffective and weak that he doesn't do anything to stop them, much to the annoyance of some of the other townsfolk, who see the gang as being a criminal element not to be tolerated. Johnny is attracted to the innocent Kathie Bleeker, the waitress at the local café, who is initially intimidated by Johnny and the gang. His feelings change when he learns she is Sheriff Bleeker's daughter. The actions of the gang escalates when the Beetles, a splinter group of the Black Rebels, arrive in town. As things start to get out of hand between the gangs, some of the townsfolk, such as Charlie Thomas who is in his own right a bully albeit one of the "establishment", decide to take matters into their own hands. But Kathie may make Johnny change his beliefs, especially about what is happening this day in the town.
Leave your thoughts about The Wild One.
| Hollywood ReporterMilton LubanMarlon Brando turns in a tremendously powerful performance as the inarticulate, frozen-faced, truculent outlaw who heads the gang of motorcycle hoodlums. |
| Chicago ReaderDave KehrLegions of Brando impersonators have turned his performance in this seminal 1954 motorcycle movie into self-parody, but it's still a sleazy good time. |
| Tim Dirks' The Greatest FilmsTim DirksThe Wild One (1953), a landmark film of 50s rebellion by director Laslo Benedek, producer Stanley Kramer, and screenwriter John Paxton, was based on a Harper's Magazine |
| Filmcritic.comChristopher NullOn the whole, The Wild One is now mostly silly. |
| Time OutTom MilneBrando's biker seems disarmingly tame by comparison with the wild angels he spawned. Yet the film isn't half bad. |
| DVDLaserDouglas PrattMarlon Brando stars as the leader of a motorcycle gang who somewhat inadvertantly cause a great deal of trouble in a small town. |
| User ReviewChris TMan... Marlon could really pull it off. The man was so versitile one could not begin to explain. This being one of his best < for his early work mind you, except for " On the waterfront." A must see for true film coneseuirs. |
| User ReviewGregory BOne of the most classic movie lines ever - when the girl asks him: What are you rebelling against? And Brando's reply: "What do you got?" |
| User ReviewDaimhin COne of the original rebel movies, as a wannabe rebel I loved this movie. |
| User ReviewOle-Christian RStill works...One of Brando's best which is saying something. |