Biker Films --The Wild One (1953)
and the Real Life Hollister Riot
In
1966, Roger Corman, often known as king of the B-movies, released “Wild
Angels,” a low budget, exploitation film starring Peter Fonda and Nancy Sinatra
that offered a sensationalized image of life among the Hells Angels outlaw
motorcycle gang. For the next ten years, more or less, “Biker Films” were a
staple of the drive-in or urban “grindhouse” theaters where audiences would
gather seeking cheap thrills and a break from the tension of ordinary life.
But
some would argue that “Wild Angels” was not the first outlaw biker film, but
instead the 1953 film, The Wild One started the genre. Loosely based and highly
fictionalized, the film is based on an event called “The Hollister Riot,” an
incident where a large group of motorcycle enthusiasts, many recently returned
World War Two combat veterans, gathered in the town of Hollister, California
and the group became out of control. For those interested in learning more
about the actual history of the event, I’ve included some links below.
“The Wild One” is a 1953 film
starring Marlon Brando. Should it be considered as the first real biker film?
Some say yes, others say no. They argue that the genre began in the 1960s and
this is merely an outlier, a curiosity that is not really part of the genre.
As for
me, I don’t really consider it part of the genre, but I do think any good
discussion of biker films must, nevertheless, discuss this film or be painfully
incomplete. And therefore, WITH SOME SPOILERS, I offer my thoughts on The Wild
One and why I think it does not really belong as part of the genre.
First,
The Wild One was intended as a drama, not an action film. The main character,
Johnny Strabler, portrayed by the talented actor Marlon Brando is arguable
portrayed as an unhappy outsider. While in many ways, handsome and radiating a
certain “bad boy charisma,” as the film goes on, he begins to appear
increasingly broken. What he clearly wants is a real relationship with Kathie
Bleeker, the town police officer’s daughter who works at the restaurant, a
character portrayed by the very beautiful but not nearly as well known actress
Mary Murphy. At several points in the film, he clearly wishes to say things to
her, express emotions, but he just doesn’t seem to know how. As this goes on
during the film, as he tries to connect with Bleeker, the gang of rowdies that
follow him, became less of an asset and more of an embarrassment and hindrance
that increase the gulf between him and Kathie Bleeker, the woman he wishes to
connect with. Meanwhile, he rejects the offer of a relationship from
“Britches,” (played by Yvonne Doughty) an old flame from the old biker gang,
clearly showing that this is not the kind of woman he wants despite it clearly
being the kind of woman he could easily have, and as the dialogue indicates,
did have a relationship with in the past. What he wants, a relationship with
Kathie Bleeker, is something that becomes increasingly obvious that he just
does not know how to pursue and obtain despite some initial interest from
Kathie Bleeker when the handsome, outlaw leader first enters town and enters
her restaurant and her life. Near the end, he finds himself mobbed and captured
by angry townspeople who hold him in a chair and begin punching him. His
response to being punched, “My old man hit me harder than that.” He is a
character who doesn’t know how to get what he wants, not just rejected by the
woman he wants but not even sure how he should go about establishing a link
with her.
By
contrast, if one watches the later film, “Wild Angels,” Peter Fonda’s
character, a character named “Heavenly Blues,” itself a stark contrast to the
name “Johnny Strabler” (who, if given the choice, would prefer to be known as
“Johnny Strabler” when you could be called “Heavenly Blues”?) knows exactly
what he wants. He wants to be free, to ride, to get loaded, as the famous quote
goes, and throughout the film, he does that. And who does he want to be with,
romantically speaking? Why Nancy Sinatra’s character, “Mike.” Does he get to
spend time with her? Definitely, and when the relationship starts to get
complicated, well, he just tells her, “You talk too much,” and kisses her and
she’s quite happy with that behavior. Perhaps a bit confused as to what he
really wants at the end of the film, but, basically a happy guy who appears to
be living the weird life he has chosen for himself.
Meanwhile,
back in The Wild One, we see the members of the BRMC (or “Black Rebel
Motorcycle Club” ) entering town, causing trouble, being out of control, but in
the end being chased out of town by a mob of angry townspeople and the police
who show up from nowhere to restore law and order. Not exactly the most
threatening image of outlaws ever portrayed. The gang is almost peripheral to
the story and, as stated above, by the time the true drama develops, what is
going to happen between the male and female lead in the story, the gang is a
hindrance, not an asset in the protagonist getting what he wants in life and in
the story.
Ultimately The Wild One is a very
good film, well worth watching. However, it did not start the later “biker
film” fad that came about ten years later and, in my opinion, should not be
seen as part of that genre.
Additional Reading on the 1947 Hollister Riot
Capulli, Sarah. 2002.
Hollister California: Birthplace of the American Biker.
Senior Project, California
State University Monterey Bay.
McBee, Randy. “Here’s Hoping the ‘Hound’ and His Friends had
a Good Time”: The Hollister Gypsy Tour of 1947 and the rise of the “Outlaw”
Motorcyclist. International Journal of Motorcycle
Studies. Volume 11, Issue 1: Spring 2015
Holland, Sarah L. ““Impromptu Fiesta” or “Havoc in
Hollister”: A Seventy-Year Retrospective.” International Journal of Motorcycle
Studies. Volume 14 | 2018
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