One Eyed Jacks

Moviedrome Introduction

Film Details

Release Date: 1961

Director:  Marlon Brando

Stars:

Marlon Brando as Rio / The Kid

Karl Malden as Dad Longworth

Plot Summary:

One-Eyed Jacks, directed by Marlon Brando in his only directorial effort, is a classic Western that delves into themes of betrayal, revenge, and the complexities of human relationships.

The film follows Rio (Marlon Brando), an outlaw who is left to face imprisonment after a bank robbery in Mexico. His partner in crime, Dad Longworth (Karl Malden), betrays Rio and escapes with the stolen loot. After five years in prison, a hardened Rio escapes with a singular purpose: vengeance.

His pursuit leads him to California, where Dad has undergone a surprising transformation, becoming a respected sheriff. However, this facade cannot mask Dad's true nature, which Rio recognizes all too well. The situation becomes further entangled when Rio finds himself unexpectedly drawn to Dad's beautiful stepdaughter, Louisa (Pina Pellicer).

Caught between his burning desire for revenge and the blossoming feelings for Louisa, Rio grapples with his conscience. Can he reconcile his past with his present and find redemption, or will vengeance consume him entirely? One-Eyed Jacks builds suspense as Rio navigates a web of deceit, ultimately leading to a confrontation that forces him to confront the true nature of Dad.

This compelling Western explores the themes of loyalty, betrayal, and the enduring power of human emotions within the unforgiving landscape of the Wild West.

Personal History

I'd not previously heard of this.

Current Review

Moviedrome Series 1 comes to an end. Strangely with another Western, hot of the heels of last week's the Good, Bad and Ugly.

This is an old Hollywood Western morality tale. But not without its quirks;

There's no good vs. evil in this tale.  All the main characters are wrong uns. The film starts with The Kid, Dad and a third man nonchalantly robbing a bank. Cue gunfights, the loss of a gang member and a chase into the desert where Dad and Rio con each other into who will fetch more horses. 

Brando - about to pull the bullet trick

Brando mumbles his way through the film, showing his cinematic charm when smiling at ladies he is either robbing or presenting the proceeds of his robberies as love gifts.
 

I've listened to a podcast which details the production difficulties of this film - over budget, over time.  Multiple potential screenwriters and directors, with Peckinpah and Kubrick on board at various points. Rumours of 8 hour, then 5 hour running times, it was a bit of a relief that the version I watched cam in at about 2.5 hours. It does leave the film with an "episodic feel" and lacking continuity.  For example;

The five years the Kid spends in jail is summarised in a single scene where he escapes, shackled to a Mexican, tumbling down a sand dune. The Mexican remains in the film. There has to be a story here.

Then, there is a whole scene about a drunken man bothering a prostitute in a bar.  Quite why that made the final cut, I don't know.

The love interest scenes all a bit telegraphed and over long.

The scenery is fantastic - and the seaside locations of Monterey, California are unusually dramatic in a Western. And surely the sea is as West as you can get in America.

Cowboys on location

The culture differences of Mexico we well presented - including entire monologues in Spanish, with no subtitles. 

Possibly a film of more interest from its making than its back story but certainly an interesting curio that I wouldn't have found with Moviedrome.

I'll put season 1 down a success - 18 films taking me 8 months.

Quirky Facts

• Marlon Brando insisted on getting drunk to film a scene in which he was supposed to act drunk, but he got too drunk to act or direct and so he insisted on repeating the process another day. Again he got too drunk to direct or act.
• On a budget of $6 million, this was a huge disappointment at the box office. To help offset the costs, Marlon Brando persuaded Universal to pick up the tab. In return, he agreed to make five films for the studio: The Ugly American (1963), Bedtime Story (1964), The Appaloosa (1966), A Countess from Hong Kong (1967) and The Night of the Following Day (1969), none of which performed well at the box office.

Quotes

Bob: Harvey Johnson's gonna be a famous name in these parts.
Harvey Johnson: How's that?
Bob: He's about to get hisself killed by a fella named Rio.
Harvey Johnson: That ain't him.
Bob: I wouldn't want to lose me a handful of brains trying to find out.

Deputy Lon Dedrick: You ain't gettin' no older than tomorrow.

Sustenance

A fair amount of Tequila consumed within the film.  

Future Inspiration

Another set of influences is recommending Last Tango in Paris, also starring Marlon Brando.

Books by Cormac McCarthy - Blood Meriden and his Mexican trilogy, All the Pretty Horses*, The Crossing and Cities on the Plain.  

* Thank god for Good Reads - transpires I have read three Cormac McCarthy books and hated them all.  Including All the Pretty Horses in 2018 :-)