One-Eyed Jacks (1961)

After robbing a Mexican bank, Dad Longworth takes the loot and leaves his partner Rio to be captured but Rio escapes and searches for Dad in California.

Director:

Marlon Brando

Writers:

Guy Trosper (screenplay), Calder Willingham (screenplay)

Stars:

Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Pina Pellicer

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 3 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	...	Red
Elisha Cook Jr.	...	Carvey (as Elisha Cook)
Rodolfo Acosta	...	Mexican Rurale Captain (as Rudolph Acosta)
Tom Webb	...	Farmer's Son
Ray Teal	...	Barney
John Dierkes	...	Chet
Philip Ahn	...	Uncle

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:

bank robber | haunted by the past | directed by star | escape from prison | monterey california | 

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Taglines:

The motion picture that starts its own tradition of greatness.

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

8 July 1961 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Comanchero

Filming Locations:

Bavispe, Sonora, Mexico

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pennebaker Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

141 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Marlon Brando printed close to 250,000 feet of film (the average is 150,000). All this while utilizing the Vista-Vision process, which cost fifty cents a foot! In the end, the film, originally budgeted at $1.8 million, wound up with a price tag of $6 million.

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Goofs

In the final shootout, Karl Malden has a six-shooter, but shoots off eight bullets; never reloading.

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Quotes

[Rio has just bluffed his way out of jail with an empty pistol]
Rio: Looky here, Lon; wasn't loaded.

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Connections

Referenced in Lost Kubrick: The Unfinished Films of Stanley Kubrick (2007)

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Soundtracks

Streets of Laredo
(uncredited)
Traditional
[Hummed by Deputy Lon when Luisa brings food to Rio at the jail]

User Reviews

GREAT western (surprisingly)

Maybe it's the fact it's carelessly fallen into the public domain, and that people can only see it now on awful quality knock off DVD's, maybe it's because it was directed by it's star Marlon Brando who had never directed before (or since), but I really can't understand why this movie isn't considered anything less than an out and out classic.

With the exception of only two or three I cannot stand the stoic American westerns of the 40's and 50's and always preferred the more anti-establishment and infinitely more stylish Italian westerns, but man 'One Eyed Jacks' definitely sits at a fascinating place between the two.

I'm not sure how much of Peckinpah's script or Kubrick's ideas made it into what was eventually Brando's film but it's definitely easy to make an argument that their marks (be it directly through the script or just through influencing Brando) are definitely there.

It has all the things that makes the BEST Spaghetti Westerns so great, a story that is uncomplicated (it's just a revenge tale) but at the same time takes no easy or obvious turns - rather than shoot his prey straight up Brando's character makes a much more protracted and fascinating game of his 'revenge'. And the reason for this (and this in part where I think Kubrick's ideas may have come in) is that this is not JUST a two dimensional story of settling scores at the end of a gun. The relationship between Karl Malden and Marlon Brando just bristles with possibility (again like the best Spaghetti Westerns and UNLIKE a John Ford western) you don't know where it's going to go. They are, more than once in the movie, allies then enemies and NEITHER of them is stupid.

And as far as Brando's film-making ability goes, his struggle behind the camera might be well documented now, and he has even written this edit off as not being the film he intended, but the direction here is not even close to amateurish. I really don't think there are many American directors in 1960 who would hold quite so long and so beautifully on Karl Malden as he considers betraying Brando for the first time. I got chills on Brando's arrival up the road to Malden's estate, and the fantastic hold on Malden's face, again long and perfectly acted, as he watches this potential angel of death draw closer. It is obvious in that moment that this is a meeting he has been in a way anticipating and wondering about for many years - and never known what it would mean. Then there's the meeting between Brando and Malden through prison bars where, with the tables turned, Malden declares he will hang Brando himself. Just cold stuff, taken from the best westerns there ever was, but done with great modern style here.

I sincerely hope a proper studio DVD of this film is produced soon and that this great western get's the recognition it deserves.

Don't be swayed by the cheap packaging, it's a wonderful film. Especially for those who love the intellectualism of Kubrick's films and the sheer action and cruelty of the Spaghetti Western :)