Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-03-17

CTd1lA 1OOOAACy . SyCAAoVo 1OdAus
youthful terrorist gang which
took over a California town in
1919. Although it rises to hair
raising cinema spectacle. the
whole Of 1.-THE Wild One" con-
triveS to add up to less than the
sum Of its parts.
This is due to the fact that
while the production poses the
adolescent delinquent problem in
brutal and suspenseful terms. it
leaves it hanging somewhere be-
low midair. If the ending is not
an apology for having brought
the subject up. it is at least a
confession of not really knowing
what to do about it.
In its own indeciSive terms,
however, "The Wild One" tingleS
with terror over the tactics Of
the muscularly strong. mentally
and morally weak and purpose
less young.
AS for Brando. it gives him
chance to give a masterfully
chilling performance as a dam
gerous young marauder. stimu-
lated by alcohol and 1--WE music
and gnawed by shapeless dream
of power. Adolescent anarchy
has seldom. if ever, looked so
shuddery.
The ominouS and mounting
tension which Laslo Benedek
puts into the direction of THE
Wild One" begins with the roar
ing appearance of the cyclists on
q quiet country highway. The
group represents force. undi-
rected but alert for a chance
to spend itself for kicks"
The chance comes when the
group stops at a sleepy small
town, discovers that it arouses
both enmity and suspicion. and
decides to stick around to see
what excitement will develop.
Between bouts of beer and bop
music at the local tavern. the
invaders work of their excessive
energy by pushing around the
nearest citizens.
These include the pretty young
waitress at the tavern. a girl
who captures Brando'S fancy as
leader of the gang. the spine
less village policeman who hap
pens to be the girls father. the
tavern dishwaSher, and finally
the town bully.
It is the latter that is the
cyclists major mistake The
towns middle-aged muscleman
sets the stage for the showdown
by organizing the citizens into
a rival mob. When force has ex-
pended itself against force. the
casualties prove to be heavy and /
the town is something of a
ShambleS with several of its busi-
ness houses wrecked and its ter
rified women running to what
ever cover offers itself.
Benedek's premise in the di-
rection of the film is that each Of
its horrible incidents is some
thing to be savored fully. He
goes to great pains to catch the
jerky temper of the raiders. al
ternate states of dreamy trance
followed by fits of exuberant
violence.
Only the trace Of a judgment
creeps into THE Wild One"
this that if the raiders are moral
degenerates the townspeople who
welcome their business are
equally guilty. Despite one
death. accidental, and the dam
age to the town. the picture
ends with the cyclists being sent
on their way with q warning
from the police.
Beyond Brando's, there are
several excellent individual per-
formances in THE Wild One"
Newcomer Mary Murphy, for
one. shapes a dramatic character
as the pretty young waitress torn
between admiration and revul-
sion for the cyclists leader. Lee
Marvin as the dopily gone"
raider is another impressive
figure and so is the appeasing
village policeman played by
Robert Keith.
Lesser types in this piece Of
blood-curdling journalism are
played to the exacting standards
of Kramer productions.
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