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The Wild One
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The Wild One (1953) More at IMDbPro »

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The Wild One (1953) -- Two rival motorcycle gangs terrorize a small town after one of their leaders is thrown in jail.

Overview

User Rating:
6.9/10   4,708 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 7% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
John Paxton (writer)
Frank Rooney (novel)
(more)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Wild One on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
February 1954 (Japan) more
Genre:
Tagline:
Marlon Brando! Driven Too Far By His Own Hot Blood! more
Plot:
Two rival motorcycle gangs terrorize a small town after one of their leaders is thrown in jail. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
NewsDesk:
(14 articles)
Brando Lands Bike Deal
 (From WENN. 12 November 2009, 5:31 PM, PST)

Triumph to produce replicas of Marlon Brando's leather jacket from The Wild One
 (From BoxWish. 12 November 2009, 5:01 AM, PST)

User Reviews:
Brando and his motorcycle gang ride into town... more (69 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)

Marlon Brando ... Johnny Strabler / Narrator
Mary Murphy ... Kathie Bleeker
Robert Keith ... Sheriff Harry Bleeker

Lee Marvin ... Chino
Jay C. Flippen ... Sheriff Stew Singer
Peggy Maley ... Mildred
Hugh Sanders ... Charlie Thomas
Ray Teal ... Uncle Frank Bleeker
John Brown ... Bill Hamegan

Will Wright ... Art Kleiner
Robert Osterloh ... Ben
Robert Bice ... Wilson
Yvonne Doughty ... Britches
William Vedder ... Jimmy
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Wally Albright ... Cyclist (uncredited)
Don Anderson ... Stinger (uncredited)

Timothy Carey ... Chino's Boy #1 (uncredited)
Keith Clarke ... Gringo (uncredited)
Jim Connell ... Boxer (uncredited)
Ted Cooper ... Racer (uncredited)
George Dockstader ... Cyclist (uncredited)

John Doucette ... Sage Valley Race Official (uncredited)
Darren Dublin ... Dinky (uncredited)

Richard Farnsworth ... (uncredited)
Sam Gilman ... (uncredited)
Joe Haworth ... One of Chino's Boys (uncredited)
Harry Landers ... GoGo (uncredited)
Eve March ... Dorothy (telephone operator) (uncredited)
Mort Mills ... Deputy (uncredited)
Alvy Moore ... Pigeon (uncredited)
Mary Newton ... Mrs. Thomas (uncredited)
Pat O'Malley ... Sawyer (uncredited)

Jerry Paris ... Dextro (uncredited)
Gene Peterson ... Crazy (uncredited)
K.L. Smith ... One of Chino's Boys (uncredited)

Angela Stevens ... Betty (uncredited)

Gil Stratton ... Mouse (uncredited)
John Tarangelo ... Red (uncredited)
Bruno VeSota ... Simmonds (uncredited)
Blackie Whiteford ... Bystander at Art's Accident (uncredited)
Create a character page for: ?

Directed by
Laslo Benedek 
 
Writing credits
(in alphabetical order)
Ben Maddow  uncredited
John Paxton  writer
Frank Rooney  novel "The Cyclists' Raid"

Produced by
Stanley Kramer .... producer
 
Original Music by
Leith Stevens 
 
Cinematography by
Hal Mohr 
 
Film Editing by
Al Clark 
 
Production Design by
Rudolph Sternad 
 
Art Direction by
Walter Holscher 
 
Set Decoration by
Louis Diage 
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Paul Donnelly .... assistant director
 
Sound Department
George Cooper .... sound engineer
 
Stunts
Fred Carson .... stunt double: Marlon Brando (uncredited)
Larry Duran .... stunts (uncredited)
Richard Farnsworth .... stunts (uncredited)
Whitey Hughes .... stunts (uncredited)
Carey Loftin .... stunts (uncredited)
David Sharpe .... fight double: Marlon Brando (uncredited)
Tom Steele .... fight double: Lee Marvin (uncredited)
 
Music Department
Morris Stoloff .... musical director
Arthur Morton .... orchestrator (uncredited)
Shorty Rogers .... music arranger (uncredited)
 
Other crew
Jim Cameron .... technical advisor (uncredited)
Willie Forkner .... technical advisor (uncredited)
 
Crew verified as complete


Production CompaniesDistributors
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Hot Blood (USA) (working title)
The Cyclists Raid (USA) (working title)
more
Runtime:
79 min
Country:
Language:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)
Certification:
Finland:(Banned) (1954) | Finland:K-16 (1966) | Norway:16 (1956) | Norway:(Banned) (1954 - 1956) | Australia:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:PG (video rating) (1988) | UK:R (original rating) (1955) | UK:X (re-rating) (1967) (cut) | USA:Approved (PCA #16106)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
A photo of Marlon Brando as Johnny is featured on the cover of the Beatles' album, Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. more
Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: Obvious stunt double for Johnny when he and Chino are fighting - his hair changes from short and blond to longer and black. more
Quotes:
Sheriff Singer: I don't know if there's any good in you. I don't know if there's anything in you. But, I'm gonna take a big fat chance... and let you go. more
Movie Connections:

FAQ

Is this movie based on a novel?
How does the movie end?
Any recommendations for other movies like "The Wild One"?
more
7 out of 9 people found the following review useful.
Brando and his motorcycle gang ride into town..., 2 May 2007
6/10
Author: Neil Doyle from U.S.A.

MARLON BRANDO rides into town leading a pack of wild motorcycle riders who proceed to terrorize a hick town before LEE MARVIN shows up and gets into a drunken fight with Brando (as Johnny). Meantime, Johnny flirts dangerously with a cop's daughter (MARY MURPHY) who runs a cafe. Her father is played by ROBERT KEITH, a lawman who's reticent about using his authority with a bunch of motorcycle thugs.

Tension builds when Keith manages to haul Lee Marvin off to jail. Brando's buddies manage to get a hold of one of the town bullies and put him in the jail cell with the drunken Marvin who has passed out. They then go on a wild rampage but not before some of the town's men decide to form a vigilante squad and go after Brando. Brando has a brief romantic fling with the girl who realizes loving him is a lost cause.

***** POSSIBLE SPOILER AHEAD ***** The plot moves swiftly to a conclusion once the girl is able to convince the authorities that he wasn't responsible for the death of an elderly bystander hit by a motorcycle.

Stanley Kramer production has a nice, tense background score by Leith Stevens.

Summing up: Early Brando is impressive to watch, but much of the dialog is very dated and anchored firmly in the 1950s by the slang and be-bop expressions and overall concept of the film.

Famous for the moment when a girl taunts him with: "What are you rebelling against?"

Brando's terse reply: "What have you got?"

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Recent Posts (updated daily)User
incredibly stupid movie ssper
Opening Road Scene tHeJiGsAwkiLLah
Maybe one of Brando's best Loukey
Juke Box in 1953 Doug-169
Music When they are Dancing zorba_colin69
Only 6.9?!? mcfly2004
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