The Wild One is a 1953 outlaw biker film directed by László Benedek. It is remembered for Marlon Brando's portrayal of the gang leader Johnny Strabler as a juvenile delinquent, dressed in a leather jacket and riding a 1950 Triumph Thunderbird 6T. Acting opposite of Brando was Lee Marvin as a rival gang leader. This low-budget production had Brando playing a "rebel without a cause" two years before James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause (1955).

The Wild One was based on a short story, "The Cyclists' Raid" by Frank Rooney, in the January 1951 issue of Harper's Magazine. The story was later published in book form as part of The Best American Short Stories 1952. The story took a cue from an actual biker street party on the Fourth of July weekend in 1947 in Hollister, California that was elaborately trumped up in Life Magazine, and dubbed the Hollister riot, with staged photographs of wild motorcycle outlaw revellers. The Hollister event is now celebrated annually. In the film, the town is located somewhere in California.

For the most part, the bikers in the film are just generally rowdy in pursuit of a good time, and don't radiate the sinister menace seen in later biker movies based on the Hells Angels, some of whom actually appeared in those films. Indeed, a group of local vigilantes (led by a businessman) who try to take on the bikers are noticeably more unsympathetic (using their influence to obtain lenient treatment from law enforcement, brutally beating up Brando, and finally causing an accident in which a resident is killed and for which Brando is blamed). Interestingly, Sonny Barger, the notorious founder of the Oakland Hells Angels, stated in his memoir that he identified with Chino, and considered Johnny the bully. Barger later bought the striped shirt Marvin wears in the film at an auction.

A gang of forty motorcyclists, the Black Rebels Motorcycle Club, gate-crash a legitimate motorcycle race. They are eventually thrown out, but one of the gang steals the second prize trophy and gives it to their leader, Johnny. The gang then ride into Wrightsville, where they race up and down the main street before piling into Bleekers - the local bar. The owner of the bar is happy to let the bikers spend their money, so does not support the sheriff's attempt to address any disturbances. Stuck in town following an accident to a Black Rebel, Johnny falls for the sheriff's daughter and tries to impress her with the trophy. When a rival gang, The Beetles, ride into town, trouble is just around the corner. Written by Colin Tinto