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The Wild One
Original film poster.
Directed by	László Benedek Paul Donnelly
Produced by	Stanley Kramer
Written by	Novel: Frank Rooney Screenplay: John Paxton Ben Maddow
Narrated by	Marlon Brando
Starring	Marlon Brando Mary Murphy Lee Marvin
Music by	Leith Stevens
Cinematography	Hal Mohr
Editing by	Al Clark
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	December 30, 1953
Running time	79 min.
Country	USA
Language	English
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

The Wild One is a 1953 outlaw biker film. It is remembered for Marlon Brando's portrayal of the gang leader Johnny Stabler as a juvenile delinquent, dressed in a leather jacket and driving a 1950 Triumph Thunderbird 6T. Acting opposite of Brando was Lee Marvin as a rival gang leader. This low-budget production had Brando playing a rebel without a cause two years before James Dean. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... László Benedek (March 5. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Stanley Kramer (September 29, 1913 – February 19, 2001) was a Jewish-American film director and producer. ... Frank Rooney is a wealthy American businessman. ... American screenwriter John Paxton (1911 - 1985) penned the screenplays for a number of gritty dramas for RKO and other studios from the mid-40s through to the early 70s. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Actress Mary Murphy appearing as Cindy Hilliard in The Desperate Hours Mary Murphy (born January 26, 1931) was a film actress of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. ... Lee Marvin (born on February 19, 1924 – August 29, 1987) was an Academy Award-winning American film actor. ... Leith Stevens (September 13, 1909 - July 23, 1970) was an American composer. ... Hal Mohr (b. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... December 30 is the 364th day of the year (365th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 1 day remaining. ... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... See also: 1952 in film 1953 1954 in film 1950s in film years in film film Events September 16 - The Robe debuts as the first anamorphic, widescreen CinemaScope film. ... An Outlaw Biker is an individual who is a member or an affiliate of a so-called motorcycle club. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Leather jackets A leather jacket is a type of clothing, a jacket made of leather. ... Triumph Motorcycles is an English motorcycle manufacturer, originally based in Coventry. ... Lee Marvin (born on February 19, 1924 – August 29, 1987) was an Academy Award-winning American film actor. ... James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931 – September 30, 1955) was an American film actor. ...

The film version was based on a January, 1951 short story in Harper's Magazine "The Cyclists' Raid" by Frank Rooney that was published in book form as part of "The Best American Short Stories 1952." The story took a cue from an actual biker street party on the Fourth of July weekend in 1947 in Hollister, California that was elaborately trumped up in Life Magazine (dubbed the Hollister riot) with staged photographs of wild motorcycle outlaw revellers. The Hollister event is now celebrated annually. In the film, the town is located somewhere in California. An issue of Harpers Magazine from 1905 Another issue, from November 2004 Harpers Magazine (or simply Harpers) is a monthly general-interest magazine covering literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts from a progressive, moderate left perspective in a fashion often not found in the ordinary news... A house sitting atop the Calaveras Fault Hollister is the county seat of San Benito County, California. ... Edward Steichens portrait of Greta Garbo. ... On Independence day, 1947. ...

While at one point Johnny does threaten Kathy that he could take their cafe apart so fast they won't know what hit them, if they don't stop "needling" him, the bikers for the most part are just generally rowdy in pursuit of a good time, and don't radiate the sinister menace seen in later biker movies based on the Hells Angels, some of whom actually appeared in those films. Interestingly, Sonny Barger, the notorious founder of the Oakland Hells Angels, stated in his memoir that he identified with Chino, and considered Johnny the bully. Hells Angels New York City The Hells Angels is a motorcycle club formed in 1948 in Fontana, California, where the local chapter remains active. ... Sonny Barger (born ?1939) is a founding member of the original Oakland, California chapter of Hells Angels, and perhaps the best-known member of the Hells Angels. ...

Banned in the UK

Deemed scandalous and dangerous, the film was banned by the British Board of Film Censors from showing in the United Kingdom for fourteen years. Its first UK public showing, to a mostly Rocker audience being at the then famous 59 Club of Paddington in London. The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is the organisation responsible for film classification (see Motion picture rating systems and History of British Film Certificates) within the United Kingdom. ... The definitive Wild One. ... The 59 Club, also known as The Fifty Nine Club, was a Church of England-based youth club founded in Hackney Wick on April 2, 1959, in the East End of London, which was an underprivileged area at the time. ...

It is notable that the Beatles got their name from the film,^{[citation needed]} as it is the name of Chino's, Johnny's rival, Motorcycle gang. Furthermore, current rock group Black Rebel Motorcycle Club got their name from the name of Brando's motorcycle gang, although one of the bikers calls the gang "Black Rebels Motorcycle Club". This also ties in to the 1950s motif that the band leans toward. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (BRMC for short) are an American rock and roll band from San Francisco, California, now based in Los Angeles. ...

"What are you rebelling against?"

"What have you got?"

Primary cast:

• Marlon Brando as Johnny Strabler and the narrator
• Mary Murphy as Kathie Bleeker
• Robert Keith as Sheriff Harry Bleeker
• Lee Marvin as Chino
• Jay C. Flippen as Sheriff Stew Singer
• Peggy Maley as Mildred
• Hugh Sanders as Charlie Thomas
• Ray Teal as Uncle Frank Bleeker
• Richard Farnsworth (uncredited)

This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Mary Murphy (born January 26, 1931) was an American film actress of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. ... Robert Keith (February 10, 1896/8 – December 22, 1966) was an actor who appeared in several dozen films, mostly in the 1950s as a character actor. ... Lee Marvin (born on February 19, 1924 – August 29, 1987) was an Academy Award-winning American film actor. ... Jay C. Flippen as Henry T-Dub Mansfield in They Live by Night Jay C. Flippen (March 6, 1899 - February 3, 1971) is best remembered as a gruff-faced actor usually playing a cop or weary criminal in many movies of the 1940s and 1950s. ... Ray Teal 12 January 1902, Grand Rapids, Michigan USA 2 April 1976, was an actor who appeared in more than 250 movies and over 90 television programs in his 37 year career. ... Richard Farnsworth Richard Farnsworth (September 1, 1920 – October 6, 2000) was an American actor. ...

External links

• The Wild One at the Internet Movie Database
• The Wild One at the TCM Movie Database
• Tim Dirks reviews The Wild One
• The Wild One Banned in UK