10 Times They Were Worried What Movies Would Do To You

5. Marlon Brando's Wild One Would Damage Triumph Sales

Batman Returns Penguin
Columbia Pictures

The image of a sideburns-adorned Marlon Brando on his Triumph Thunderbird 6T - cap tilted, leather motorcycle jacket on - is one of the most iconic looks in the history of cinema.

From Laszlo Benedek's The Wild One, Brando portrayed uber-cool biker Johnny Strabler in what would be one of the screen legend's most memorable roles. To this day, Johnny is one of the characters that immediately spring to mind when reflecting back on the career of one of the greatest to ever do it.

Prior to The Wild One's 1953 release, though, American motorcycle importer Johnson Motors expected Brando's Strabler to cause a hugely negative sh*t-storm that they wanted no part of. You see, one of the biggest items that Johnson Motors imported at that time was Triumph motorcycles - with Triumph being a England-based company that existed between 1885 and 1983.

Johnson was totally against the use of Triumph bikes in the movie, with the fear being that the brand would become synonymous with the no-good Johnny Strabler. The thing is, Johnson was right in this 'fear', as Triumph did become synonymous with Johnny . What the importer didn't predict, mind, is that audiences would lap up Strabler and the character would become a cultural icon... as would his patented Triumph Thunderbird 6T.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.