One-Eyed Jacks (1961)

Running from the law after a bank robbery in Mexico, Dad Longworth finds an opportunity to take the stolen gold and leave his partner Rio to be captured. Years later, Rio escapes from the ... See full summary »

Director:

Marlon Brando

Writers:

Guy Trosper (screenplay), Calder Willingham (screenplay),

Stars:

Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Katy Jurado

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Marlon Brando	...	Rio
Karl Malden	...	Sheriff Dad Longworth
Katy Jurado	...	Maria Longworth
Ben Johnson	...	Bob Amory
Slim Pickens	...	Deputy Lon Dedrick
Larry Duran	...	Chico Modesto
Sam Gilman	...	Harvey Johnson
Timothy Carey	...	Howard Tetley
Miriam Colon	...	Redhead
Elisha Cook Jr.	...	Carvey (as Elisha Cook)
Rodolfo Acosta	...	Mexican Rurale Captain (as Rudolph Acosta)
Joan Petrone	...	Flower Girl
Tom Webb	...	Farmer's Son
Ray Teal	...	Barney
John Dierkes	...	Chet

Storyline

Running from the law after a bank robbery in Mexico, Dad Longworth finds an opportunity to take the stolen gold and leave his partner Rio to be captured. Years later, Rio escapes from the prison where he has been since, and hunts down Dad for revenge. Dad is now a respectable sheriff in California, and has been living in fear of Rio's return.

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Plot Keywords:

stolen gold | revenge | mexico | gold | escape | 

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Taglines:

NOW THE SCREEN ACHIEVES SURPASSING GREATNESS! (original ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Western

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

30 March 1961 (USA)

Also Known As:

El rostro impenetrable

Filming Locations:

Big Sur, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pennebaker Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

141 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Marlon Brando's original cut of the movie was over five hours long.

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Goofs

The glass tankards that the party-goers drink from in the fiesta (c.56 minutes) are of a design first produced around the 1920s.

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Quotes

Bob: We brought you along because you're supposed to be the big man with the iron; but I think now I could even out pull you.
Rio: You're probably right, Bob. You probably could put six in me by the time I put that one into you.

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Connections

Featured in Marlon Brando: The Wild One (1996)

User Reviews

Brando's directorial debut - marvelous, albeit flawed

From IMDb trivia:

Marlon Brando's first cut of the film was allegedly 5 hours long. He was reportedely unhappy with the final product, despite its box-office success. "Now, it's a good picture for them [Paramount]," he said upon its release, "but it's not the picture I made... now the characters in the film are black-and-white, not gray-and-human as I planned them."

Hand it to Brando to be dissatisfied with a film because he didn't manage to make it as long as he wanted to. Regardless of what Brando thought, this is a really fine Western and a unique one, too - it seems fresh and "new," like a Cool Man's West or something. Having Brando (when he was still looking fairly trim) in the lead role certainly gives it a certain glamor and the story itself - and execution - is great.

Overall I wish Brando had made another film after this but to the best of my knowledge this is really the only true film he ever made. If he was just trying to prove he could direct, he did - even if the film has its flaws, it's far from bad. In fact, it's very, very good - and extremely entertaining.

4.5/5