Review of The Wild One (1953) by Rob S — 03 Feb 2008

Marlon Brando put in alot of iconic performances in his lifetime, the iconic Godfather, the famous Streetcar Name Desire, the brilliant On The Waterfront, but for me, this is his best and definitive role.

Brando inspired a generation as the motorcycle driving original rebel-without-a-cause outsider-gang leader, and while it sometimes looks a little quaint now, when Brando spits out "Whaddya Got?" in response to the question "What are you rebelling against anyway?" it still resonates. Brando fills Johnny with such a subtlety that the likes of Pacino and DeNiro could frankly only dream of when they came to fill his boots a generation later. Johnny says very very little in the course of the film, and yet you know exactly his motivations and feelings, even when he isn't sure himself. This isn't because the writing is obvious or flawed, its because of Brando's wonderful iconic performance. Frankly its no surprise that a generation wanted to look, sound and be like him.