★ 6 / 10
Marlon Brando just oozes charisma in this otherwise
CinemaSerf
Marlon Brando just oozes charisma in this otherwise rather disappointing tale of two biker gangs who descend upon a small American town. He is "Strabler" - who…
Marlon Brando just oozes charisma in this otherwise rather disappointing tale of two biker gangs who descend upon a small American town. He is "Strabler" - who hates any authority figure - and arrives with his "Black Rebels" gang. Noisy and intimidating but no real danger to anyone, which is just as well because the sheriff "Bleeker" (Robert Keith) is about as effective as a chocolate teapot. Anyway, "Strabler" takes a bit of a shine to local gal "Kathie" (Mary Murphy) but that all changes when he discovers she is the daughter of the policeman. He is soon otherwise distracted by the arrival of the "Beetles" - a group of erstwhile pals lead by "Chino" (Lee Marvin). Old grudges and testosterone take over and what starts as an uneasy truce soon borders on open warfare - helped by local vigilante "Charlie" (Hugh Sanders) who is trying to goad the townsfolk into taking action of their own. It is odd to say this about an whole town, but there is a certain claustrophobia to this drama. The gangs' grip on the place is intimidating to watch, much less to have to live in, and Brando and Marvin are strong sparring partners. The build up is tense and you can sense the palpable apprehension amongst the populace as our anticipated denouement looms. Thing is, though, the interventions of Murphy and an unwillingness from director Laslo Benedek to maximise the peril here, means that the film quite suddenly stops being menacing and starts being quite soppy. It didn't need a battle royal at the end, but somehow the conclusion just underwhelmed and was more of a damp squib. There is a paucity of dialogue - which always suited Brando, and the photography with/on the bikes works really well enhancing the tautness of the first half hour, but then it just peters out... Pity!
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★ 8 / 10
Worth watching for Brando and BECAUSE it's dated
bandw
Would this movie still be watched but for Brando's performance? I think not - it would be relegated to the scrap heap of old B movies. But Brando carries the…
Would this movie still be watched but for Brando's performance? I think not - it would be relegated to the scrap heap of old B movies. But Brando carries the movie by having the right qualities to play Johnny Strabler, the leader of a motorcycle gang that creates havoc in a small California town. Brando plays Johhny with sullen, smoldering rebelliousness with a suggestion of depth and vulnerability underneath. Brando had already shown his abilities in "A Streetcar Named Desire" and was soon to make "On the Waterfront." The performance here is not up to those standards, but it is engaging. At the time he made this movie Brando's star power was such that he could name his roles, so it is interesting to speculate why he chose to make this. Maybe this role appealed to his own rebellious spirit.
The movie is dated for sure, but you may learn some things about the 1950s that you won't find in the history books. Many early 50s anachronisms are in evidence: 78 records on the jukebox, references to television as being new, bebop music and argot, local HUMAN telephone operators. The comment the old bartender makes about the advent of TV is prescient, "Everything is noise and pictures, nobody talks to anyone anymore" - there is more truth to that with each passing decade. The score - generic, loud, obvious, and intrusive - would not be accepted in contemporary movies. Johnny's attempt to be cool by snapping his fingers to music on the jukebox is so phony as to be embarrassing. One interesting thing was to see an early version of the high-five in response to the interjection "pop me." But credit must be given for this being one of the first mainstream movies to treat the rebellion against the claustrophobic conformity and cold war angst of the early 50s. It was unique for its time.
We do not get much motivation for the reasons the gang members behave the way they do. There are mighty few specifics about the guys in the gang - where they come from, how they support themselves, or what they do besides terrorize small towns. We get only a hint of Johnny's past when, during a beating by the locals he says, "My old man used to hit harder than that." But, maybe all we need to know comes from Johnny's extolling the feeling he gets when getting on his cycle to "just go."
There are many memorable scenes, like the one where Johnny is asked if he doesn't want to thank some people who have done him a good deed and he comes to an inarticulate stop only to have his woman friend say, "That's okay, he doesn't know how."
Lee Marvin has a good go playing Chino, the head of a rival gang that had split off from Johnny's. Chino is the more stereotypical bad ass. He may not have the complex personality of Johnny, but Marvin seems to be having such a grand time in playing him that it is hard not to share in the fun.
There is some interesting photography such as the opening scene where the cyclists roar right over the camera placed in the center of the road. And there is some good night-time black and white work as well.
In an era of drive-by shootings, heavy drug trafficking, and internet pornography the events in this movie can seem pretty tame, but one should not underestimate the number of themes addressed - ones that are still relevant: standing up to intimidation, vigilantism, the desire for freedom, misinterpretation of behavior (with unfortunate consequences), the proper use of force, sex, crowd behavior, generational conflicts and confusions, the ills of stereotyping, and greed.
Also, one lesson to be learned is that steatopygous actors should not wear tight jeans.
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Lee Marvin is closer to the real thing than the art school bad boy Brando.