He leans over the handlebars of his motorcycle, zipped up in a black leather jacket, his biker cap tilted over his right eye.

Half a century ago, Francis Ford Coppola was putting together his adaptation of Mario Puzo’s novel The Godfather, but Paramount Pictures really didn’t want Marlon Brando. The 47-year-old may ...

Mann in the 2019 biography “The Contender: The Story of Marlon Brando.” He was, Mr. Mann adds, regarded as the lone American actor who could compete with the best the British had to offer.