The Wild One

The Wild One is a 1953 outlaw biker film directed by László Benedek and produced by Stanley Kramer. It is remembered for Marlon Brando's portrayal of the gang leader Johnny Strabler, dressed in a leather jacket and riding a 1950 Triumph Thunderbird 6T. Appearing opposite Brando was Lee Marvin as a rival gang leader. The Wild One was based on a short story, The Cyclists' Raid by Frank Rooney, in the January 1951 issue of Harper's Magazine. The sto... more

The Wild One is a 1953 outlaw biker film directed by László Benedek and produced by Stanley Kramer. It is remembered for Marlon Brando's portrayal of the gang leader Johnny Strabler, dressed in a leather jacket and riding a 1950 Triumph Thunderbird 6T. Appearing opposite Brando was Lee Marvin as a rival gang leader. The Wild One was based on a short story, The Cyclists' Raid by Frank Rooney, in the January 1951 issue of Harper's Magazine. The story was later 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 the July 21, 1947 issue of Life Magazine, and dubbed the Hollister riot, with staged photographs of wild motorcycle outlaw revelers. The Hollister event is now celebrated annually. In the film, the town is located in California. The film starts by showing the Black Rebels Motorcycle Club, a group of young and... less