Everyone's got their own take on the Wild One. It was made in 1952 and gets credit for being the first outlaw motorcyclist film and also the best of the 1950's. Another good one to find is "Motorcycle Gang" from a few years later where most of the riders are on Brit, scrambler type bikes. From the article above we see that the Wild One (also titled "Hot Blood" early on) was not welcome by the motorcycle press and old Bill Johnson before it even hit the screens. Totally understandable from their point of view. I love the Wild One and all the other trashy biker flicks. Both lead characters played by Marlon Brando and Lee Marvin make it a classic.
Mr Johnson how wrong you were. That movie most likely sent motorcycle sales through the roof, especially Triumphs. I'll bet Johnson Motors didn't turn any of the customers away.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good point, just like the "Angels" movies and Easyriders started a whole new trend of motorcyclists in the late 60's that Harley initially tried to ignore, but eventually based their whole image on.
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