There's really not much to the story. A motorcycle gang, led by Johnny Strabler (Marlon Brando), roars into a small town and kicks up a ruckus. The older townsfolk don't take kindly to the invasion, and Johnny becomes the object of their wrath. But Johnny is smitten with a young woman who happens to be a cop's daughter. "The Wild One" is a character study of a moody young man who starts out as a juvenile delinquent but changes as the result of a sad, mournful young woman.
Costumes play a big part in this film. Motorcycle gang members wear jeans, T-shirts, motorcycle caps, and heavy leather jackets. That's their uniform, which visually defines their rebellion. Johnny starts out in a leather jacket, and ends up in one. I don't think he ever takes it off through the whole film.
Visuals convey the impression that most of the film was shot on studio back lots. The streets and buildings all look fake. And the cinematography is helped not at all by the use of rear screen projection. Yet, the B&W lighting is quite good, especially in the second half, with high contrast noir lighting.
The film's score is annoying. I could have wished for some early 1950's songs. Plot pacing is poor. And the casting of some of the motorcycle gang is laughable. Some of the "juveniles" appear to be at least 30 or 35 years old.
"The Wild One" is remembered mostly as a cinematic vehicle for Marlon Brando, and because the film was something of a trend setter, in that it helped usher in an era of films about American juvenile delinquents, youthful rebel outcasts who didn't fit in to the post WWII era of middle-America family values.
