Book: Marlon Brando, Hollywood Rebel
You don’t have to be a film scholar to know Marlon Brando’s influence on entertainment. Many Brando references can pop into your head at any given moment, from his iconic silhouette in Godfather to his painful screams of ‘Stella’ in Streetcar Named Desire. And while we might think we are versed enough in this, we haven’t scratched the surface. However, thanks to the new biography Marlon Brando: Hollywood Rebel by Burt Kearns, a new world of Brando’s importance has been opened.
Just as the title would suggest, Hollywood Rebel tells the story of how Marlon Brando not only didn’t participate in the Hollywood game but became one of its most important players. Kearns examines the last 80 years of how the mythos of Brando impacted our society, from the creation of (or perfection of) an acting technique to his bigger-than-life personality. This book allows the reader a glimpse of this rebellious icon from behind the curtain.
This isn’t your typical biography, which is a good thing. There are countless biographies, including an autobiography, that one can dive into to explore the expanse of Brando’s life, but this one is of singular focus. This is the type of biography that sparks my love of film. Hollywood Rebel shines a spotlight on the rebellious acts Brando conducted throughout his career. In my opinion, this book’s limited focus allows the reader to learn more about Brando as a person and not as an expansive entity.
There were many moments throughout this book that I learned something interesting about this screen legend. With all my Classic Hollywood studying in film school, I never realized how many unspoken rules there were to become a star, and I didn’t know Brando broke all of them.
Kearns dives into this and it is fascinating, stating, “…the Hollywood establishment accepted that for all his eccentricities and rebellion against the ‘system,’ Brando was worth the trouble.”
If I’m being honest, the idea that Brando was THE Hollywood rebel wasn’t always at the forefront of my film mind. I knew he pushed boundaries, but I always imagined James Dean being the holder of that title. Little did I know that Dean was emulating Brando. A lot of the stars of that era did, and when you step back and look at what Hollywood Rebel does beautifully, you see his sheen on many actors and cultural icons. One of the most famous, you could argue, was another artistic rebel, Elvis Presley.
“But it is undeniable that the image of Marlon Brando, motorcycle rebel, surly and ready to rebel against anything surely played a role in Elvis Presley’s transformation…” Kearns explains, “Elvis had taken the handsome man, the leader of the bunch [The Wild One], as his role model.”
In Hollywood Rebel, you realize this act of rebellion wasn’t because Brando wanted to be complicated but because he wanted to do his job as pure of an art form as he could. That purity didn’t include a chess game among gossip columnists or prancing around with starlets. Brando’s career intent was to bring these incredible and meaningful stories to life. You gain a lot of respect for the man and the actor he became. It’s hard to separate these two entities from any actor at times, but learning more about the reasonings behind his film decisions made his life more robust.
The research Kearns conducted for Hollywood Rebel also touched on Brando’s bi-sexuality. This might not be a shock to many, as it seems like Brando never hid it from the public, but I was not aware of this identity. I was fascinated by his openness and how his masculinity was never questioned. Brando will forever be one of the most virile specimens of the male gender, yet he desired both women and men. That knowledge might make him more manly, being able to be vulnerable and open in a way many are repressed. To expand on this point, Kearns quotes Gene Hackman, “He [Brando] is our most sensitive actor and uses more of the feminine side of himself than anyone. Yet, he has tremendous masculinity."
As much as I enjoyed all aspects of this book, there are just a few things that were a bit jarring. For example, I understand that he was an influence on many things, but at times the topics seem like it’s grasping at straws to connect it to Brando, almost as if they were trying to make his cultural impact broader than it already was. The pace also slows as the book goes on, but you could argue that’s a good thing since you are spending more time investigating the topics being discussed.
Even with some hiccups, I highly recommend Hollywood Rebel. It not only enlightens the reader about the acting icon that Brando was but also the impactful person he was as a human. You gain more respect for him and can see his versatility outside of the vast pop culture references. To quote Kearns, “…a study of how one man’s artistic and personal decisions affected not only those around him but all of Western society and popular culture.”
Written by Lisa M Mejia
Images provided by Applause