The Wild One | Rotten Tomatoes (2025)

Audience Reviews

Wayne K It’s not an exaggeration to say that Marlon Brando exploded onto the movie scene in the 1950s, essentially rewriting the acting rulebook and inspiring a whole new generation to give it a shot. His role in The Wild One might not be his most acclaimed, but its easily one of his most iconic. It’s a movie that came out at exactly the right time. Any earlier and it might have been dismissed as ridiculous; any later and it may have been written off as dated and passé. But being released during the era of the American teen cult, it did for bikers and bike gangs what Rebel Without A Cause did for street racers. Brando is a commanding presence onscreen, and here we can see the germ of Stanley Kowalski, though by his own admission he played this role with more sensitivity and sympathy than the script contained. It’s a film concerned with the generational divide, with violence and unrest, and the need to pin the ills and woes of society onto any group that dares to stand out and not follow the exact letter of the law. You can see the metaphors about division and abuse of power in the characters, from the rowdy but mostly harmless biker gangs to the lawmen who are either too cowardly or under the thumb to enact any kind of meaningful authority. The romance at its heart never goes as far as you’d think it would, and you see the characters grapple with their truest feelings while doing their best to repress them. Rebel Without A Cause might have been the contemporary teenager’s cultural flashpoint, but never forget The Wild One did it first. Rated 3.5/5 Stars • Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 08/15/24 Full Review Lanfranco C Marlon is great in a good movie! Rated 3/5 Stars • Rated 3 out of 5 stars 07/01/24 Full Review Alejandro E One of the films that started the trend of the young rebel against authority and the system, with an incipient Marlon Brando, in one of his signature roles. Absorbing throughout its 81 minutes, which are unfortunately little for something so good. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/31/24 Full Review Blobbo X Solid production all around plus good acting from Brando, Lee Marvin, Mary Murphy and the rest. Nice to see Mr Kimball there in the gang, too. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/11/24 Full Review Rami A This may not be Brando's best film, but it certainly is entertaining. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 05/05/24 Full Review erroll f The difinitive biker movie that paved the way for much wilder biker films .Brando of course chews up the scenery with his inimitable method and accent. Lee Marvin,in an early role, rides into town with his Beetles gang (Lennon/McCartney see the movie?) and Brando flattens him. With a pretty thin script,this Brando star vehicle is paced well to hold most viewers interest. Rated 3/5 Stars • Rated 3 out of 5 stars 12/07/23 Full Review Read all reviews

The Wild One

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