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35 out of 39 people found the following comment useful :-
Very tough, realistic and softly romantic..., 7 February 2002

Author: ironside (robertfrangie@hotmail.com) from Mexico

'One-Eyed Jacks' might be considered the most self-consciously Western of the sixties, and possibly of all time... It contains undoubted visual attributes, gorgeous photographic sequences of an immense sandy desert, and panoramas of the spectacular California coast... Not often does one get to see the sea in a Western... Another of the film's great assets is its beautiful music...

'One-Eyed Jacks' is slow, but very tough, realistic and softly romantic... The picture has excitement and violence...

Brando summons all the reserve of anger, inner ambivalence, and emotional complexity in his nature... As a cowboy, he is tough, cunning, soft-spoken, sentimental, vicious, and occasionally masochistic... He plumbs dark reserves of desolation and revenge with an inner ferocity that had always been a part of him but had never before emerged full-force... As a director, he is meticulous, with a keen eye for spectacular outdoor cinematography, and an instinctive sense for the visual expression of inner conflicts...

Karl Malden, whose surface friendliness and affability usually concealed either weakness or malice or both, is excellent as the ambitious, determined outlaw, and the volatile, treacherous, arrogant sheriff whose last poisonous spill: "You'll get a fair trial, and then I'm gonna hang you, personally.'

'One-Eyed Jacks is largely a story of vengeance... The film begins with two American outlaws operating in Mexico... Rio (Brando), a happy-go-lucky man who considers himself a Don Juan, and Dad Longworth (Karl Malden), a crooked man looking for the opportunity to settle down...

They raid banks with real ease and spend their leisure time drinking and courting women... Rio appears as a somewhat cultured bandit with a weakness for aristocratic young ladies... He gives one of them his most "precious" possession, his mother's ring...

The Mexican police trail the pair and almost catch them at their lovemaking, but Rio and Dad fight their way out to the desert... The mounted police follow and the bandits are eventually trapped in the hills with one of their horses shot... Rio determines to stay... Dad promises to return with a fresh horse, but, tempted by two sacks of gold, he never come back...

Rio is captured and spends five years of his life in a brutal Mexican prison, until he makes an escape, with the company of a friend called Modesto (Larry Duran).

The embittered Rio is now a man bent on revenge... He learns in one Cantina that his ex-partner is the sheriff of a town called Monterey, and has taken himself a Mexican wife with a teen-age daughter... So he goes to visit him...

A guilt-ridden Dad finds Rio pleasant and apparently willing to forget past differences... He presents his family, and invites Rio to stay for supper...

Rio is in league with two bandits, Bob Amory (Ben Johnson) and Harvey Johnson (Sam Gilman), and they have come to Monterey to steal a bank... They grow impatient, but Rio assures them of his intention not only to rob the bank but to kill the sheriff as well...

Obviously, Longworth is not completely convinced about his friend, and becomes uneasy when Rio and his step-daughter show a romantic interest in one another... He well remembers Rio's past amorous adventures and he has no wish for anything that will delay Rio in Monterey...

The town engages in a fiesta, with the bank not planning to open for several days... While the respected sheriff joins the townspeople in their festivities, Rio seduces the tender Louisa...

The next morning, in a saloon, Rio approaches a drunk mistreating one of the house girls and knocks the man down... The drunk reaches for a shotgun and tries to shoot Rio in the back... But Modesto (as Bronson in 'Jubal') helps save Rio from the blast... The resultant outbursts Longworth to put his grisly double-cross into effect...

He takes Rio into the street and arrests him with the help of his deputies... He ties him to a horse rail, flogs him with a whip, smashes his right hand with a rifle butt, puts him on his horse and drives him out of town...

Rio retreats to a small fishing village on the coast with his partners and nurses himself back to health... Louisa visits him at his place to tell him she is in love... Rio's eyes are full of hate against her step father... He is entirely blind in his determination for revenge... Louisa wants him to forget, to leave his dark past for a brighter future... She leaves without mentioning she is expecting a baby...

For over a period of six weeks Rio practices with his gun in an intent to regain the use of his hand... Amory and Johnson grow impatient, and decide to make their own move... From here the action is carefully builds towards an explosion...

A carefully chosen supporting cast augmented the proceedings in fine style:

- Katy Jurado repeats her role of the loving and understanding mother...

- Ben Johnson plays the unscrupulous cowardly thief who avoids Brando's fury...

- The gentle Pina Pellicer does her earnest best to temper the intensities of her man...

- Slim Pickens plays the revolting deputy intimidated by an empty Derringer..

Brando's 'One-Eyed Jacks' comes on as taught and tight, acted with deep feeling and intense concentration... Brando and Malden play largely a stylistic battle...

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34 out of 39 people found the following comment useful :-
A superb Western and an excellent Oedpial drama, 8 December 2002

Author: guy_lazarus from Carmel, California

One-Eyed Jacks not only is a superb Western, one of my all-time favorites, it is also an excellent Oedipal drama that moves beyond the bounds of genre into the mytho-poetic. Brando and Karl Malden both turn in outstanding performances, and the supporting cast, featuring Slim Pickens, Ben Johnson and Katy Jurado, is wonderful.

Incidentally, the featured user comment "The Lost Eye, The Lost Ear" by tedg is erroneous: Stanley Kubrick was fired from the picture, tentatively titled "A Burst of Vermillion," BEFORE he was called on by Kirk Douglas, who had an option on his services as part of the contract for "Paths of Glory," to replace the fired Anthony Mann on "Spartacus." Kubrick, who had increasingly become fed up with the snail-pace progress on developing the script due to Marlon Brando's eccentric work methods, had wanted to cast Spencer Tracy in the role of Dad Longworth, but Brando was adamant about Karl Malden filling the role. According to one account, a frustrated Kubrick has asked Brando: "Marlon, I don't know what this picture is about."

"It's about the $400,000 I've paid Karl Malden."

Kubrick, according to the account, said he could not work under those conditions and quit the picture. (Another account holds that Brando overheard Kubrick tell one of the producers that they'd have to keep Brando away from the script if they were ever to make the shooting date. Brando then fired him.) Officially, the press release said that Kubrick had resigned in order to work on "Lolita," the then infamous Nabokov novel he and his producer partner James Harris (also under contract to Kirk Douglas) had recently acquired.

"One-Eyed Jacks" began shooting in late 1958 (whereas "Spartacus" began shooting in early 1959) and went months over schedule and millions over budget, being shot in the expensive VistaVision process that cost 50 cents a foot in late 1950s prices. Brando reportedly shot hundreds of thousands of feet of footage as he sought inspiration for both himself and his actors, particularly the emotionally fragile Pina Pellicer, the young Mexican actress who had just set out on her tragically abbreviated career. It is said that Karl Malden always calls his beautiful Los Angeles home "The House That 'One-Eyed Jacks' Built" due to the small fortune in over-time he made from the film.

Incidentally, Sam Peckinpah wrote the first draft of the screenplay, based on the novel "The Authentic Death of Hendry Jones," a fictionalized retelling of the life of Billy the Kid. Later, Peckinpah would incorporate similar material such as the jailhouse scenes into his retelling of the Billy the Kid legend, "Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid." In a PLAYBOY interview, Peckinpah explained that he was fired by Brando as Peckinpah had written Rio, the protagonist, as a killer as Billy the Kid was a killer in real-life and Brando would not play such a character.

The film took over a year to edit after principal photography ended in 1959. Eventually, the studio took the film away from Brando and recut it to their own tastes. Brando reportedly did not object, becoming fed-up with editing after spending so much time trying to perfect his film. He did complain, after the fact, that the studio cut took away the moral ambiguity he sought for his character. Brando said that all the characters in the film but Dad Longworth, the ostensible heavy, are two faced -- "one-eyed jacks," with one face on top, the public face, and another face that is hidden. Although Rio accuses Dad of being a "one-eyed jack," to Brando, Dad was the only one who was honest in the film.

In Brando's cut, Dad's last shot meant for Rio hits his step-daughter Louisa instead, killing her and thus leaving Rio with nothing in the end. The studio used the alternative ending where Rio and Louisa have an emotional parting at the beach, and Rio promises to return to her.

In a development that seemingly foreshadows his future personal life, Brando had an affair on-set with Pina Pellicer, who later committed suicide. Their scenes together are quite affecting as they are emotionally true.

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27 out of 35 people found the following comment useful :-
Marlon Brando's only directional effort is a masterpiece and one of the best and ORIGINAL westerns, 29 December 2004

Author: ed56 from Israel

Originally a project for Stanley Kubrick and then went into the hands of Brando, this is not your everyday Cowboy yarn. It's very surprising that the direction so well crafted and flawless for a first time director. The film is a kind of "Old friends turns true enemies" (obvious that this film was the inspiration for Sam Peckinpah western "Pat Garret and Billy the kid" but Brando's is much much better.) with Brando as the Betrayed Rio and Karl Malden in his most nasty. Also film features the lovely actress Pina Pellicer as Brando love interest. The scenery is a real eye candy and the score is wonderful. It's unacceptable that such a classic known by so few people these days. Watch this underrated classic - you won't be disappointed. I rate this a 10/10.Recommended

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20 out of 25 people found the following comment useful :-
Fans of Brando will love it, others might look at their watch., 2 May 2002
Author: Poseidon-3 from Cincinnati, OH

Prison escapee Brando (wearing only slightly less eye makeup than Liz Taylor in "Cleopatra") sets out to punish ex-friend Malden, but takes time out to romance Malden's step-daughter in this adult psychological western. The film was started by Stanley Kubrick, but when he took a hike, Brando stepped in to finish directing the film (his only effort behind the camera.) Several things about the film are striking. One is the dust/sand. This is a dusty, sandy movie! Even "Lawrence of Arabia" may not have had this much dust a' blowin'. Also unusual is the setting (oceanside.) Then there is the attention to the psyche. Rare for an early '60's western, the characters' thoughts and motivations are examined quite fully. Another striking feature is the parade of posed, extended shots of Brando merely staring. One might call these vanity shots.....especially if the subject of them is also directing the film! He also has a tendency to stick his behind and crotch in front of the camera. The story has a beginning, a middle and an end, but sometimes getting to them takes a while. The movie is just plain too long. It's not that it isn't compelling, but a few judicious cuts would have made it EXTREMELY compelling. Brando does a decent job (if one can understand all his patented mumbling), but Malden is the revelation. People familiar with him only from American Express commercials and "The Streets of San Francisco" will be amazed at the range he offers here. He is so much more menacing and sinister than most will remember him having been before. It's neat to see the two former costars of "A Streetcar Named Desire" square off. Another good performance comes by way of Pickens (who would later reunite with Malden in the deadly "Beyond the Poseidon Adventure".) He is a very effective redneck deputy. There's some nice work by relatively unknown actress Pellicer as Malden's step-daughter. Though her voice in her first scene seems inappropriately low, she improves throughout and does a fine job. Jurado has less to do as her mother, but still scores. Brando has a few sidekicks along for the ride. Johnson does well as a ruthless wanted man and Gilman (a costar in no less than five other Brando films) is okay. The film has some great scenery and some strong music. It's worst detriment is it's length which bogs down the sometimes slight story.

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15 out of 17 people found the following comment useful :-
a must see for Brando fans, 28 October 2004

Author: Tashtago from Vancouver, Canada

This film is essential viewing for Brando fans. Brando directs for the only time . Working from a script that is in part based on the legend of Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, Brando interweaves themes of betrayal, revenge and hypocrisy into something strangely hypnotic and real. Particularly effective in this respect is the scene with Karl Malden and Brando on the outskirts of Monterey where the two sit reminiscing amusingly about their past together and the viewer is left wondering if at any moment the two of them might end up blowing each others heads off. The other key to this film is setting it on the west coast of California thereby giving it a feel and rhythm that is unique to the western genre. All in all a greatly neglected treasure.

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12 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :-
Brando's directorial debut - marvelous, albeit flawed, 26 November 2004
Author: MovieAddict2009 from UK

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

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7 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
From a non-Western fan!, 14 January 2006

Author: vimichael from United States

If you're wondering whether or not you would enjoy this picture, if you happen to be a non-Western fan like myself, then wonder no further. I can't even sit through the very well-made classic, "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly", without getting heavy eyelids. Sorry, I just don't like Westerns. With that said, Marlon Brando's "One Eyed Jacks" is an extremely entertaining film for me. After my very first viewing, it has become one of my favorite films of all-time! The cinematography is crisp, with an amazing array of rich earth tones, and THE SUN!!! WOW!!! There are plenty of scenes in which the sun sparkles like a pot a gold over the rainbow! The entire cast is brilliant in the acting department, and Brando's direction is well-paced, and moving. This piece of cinema should be much more appreciated than it currently is (in my opinion). Don't miss seeing this film. You could easily find a copy from a dollar store near you. I found mine on sale at my local Path-Mark, and paid only 50 cents for it! If you find the "Hollywood Classics" version of this movie, you will be pleasantly surprised at how good the picture and sound is on this transfer. I heard the "Westlake" version is pretty good too. Trust me, go find it. You won't be disappointed with your purchase, I'm sure of it!!!

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9 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Overlooked little gem, 21 July 2001
Author: valkilmersbrain from CA

I found this film quite remarkable on many levels. For one, it was the debut for Brando as director (and his only film direction since). Reportedly, it was taken after Kubrick left due to altercations. Well, this time, Brando has one foot in front of the camera, as well as one behind it. He does a great, solid job. In fact, this film never looked awkward or misguided -- it felt like an intelligent western helmed by an Anthony Mann or Raoul Walsh. To further boost the professional polish of the film, there is cinematographer Charles Lang (Magnificent Seven, How the West Was Won).

Within this polished piece of work, the muscle of the film is found in the wonderful character study. Here, the characters, like in many great stories, are complex, dark, tempermental. Although the film is about the hero's(or anti-hero's) thirst for revenge on a man who done him wrong, there's a romance in the film that is truly tender and fateful.

The magnet in this film would have to be Brando. (Karl Malden is great too). Brando's understated performance is of the subtle type, using his famous darting eyes to penetrate the characters and the viewer. He's one of my favorite all-time actors.

As with all great films, One-Eyed Jacks is a quiet masterpiece, displaying what every good film needs: great script, powerful acting, layered characterization, and be technically-sound.

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7 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
A Great Director Manque?, 21 January 2004

Author: James Hitchcock from Tunbridge Wells, England

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Possible Spoilers

In the only film that he directed, Marlon Brando stars as Rio, a bandit who is betrayed by his partner, Dad Longworth, and spends several years in a Mexican jail. Escaping, Rio vows revenge and tracks Longworth down to a California seaside town, where he has become the sheriff and, seemingly, a reformed character. Rio's quest for vengeance, however, is complicated when he falls in love with Louisa, Longworth's stepdaughter from his marriage to a Mexican woman. Further complications are caused by the fact that Rio is in league with two other outlaws to carry out a bank robbery. As one might expect, the movie ends with much violence and a bloody shootout.

The above plot summary might suggest that this is a run-of-the-mill revenge Western. That would not be a fair impression. My summary is in fact very much telescoped- the actual plot is a complex one. Although elements of the plot may be drawn from the commonplace book of stock Western clichés, there is much about the film that lifts it above the commonplace. There is some fine acting from Brando himself, who brings his characteristic intensity to Rio, from Karl Malden as Longworth, and particularly from the young Mexican actress Pina Pellicer as Louisa. Pellicer was not a classical beauty, but she gives Louisa, caught between love for Rio and loyalty to her stepfather, a fragile, tragic quality which is one of the most attractive things about this film.

The other thing which lifts the film out of the ordinary is Brando's eye for beauty. Despite the name of the genre, most Westerns are not actually set at the westernmost edge of the North American continent- in most, the action takes place considerably further east, and I have even seen the term used to describe films about east-coast states. (Shenandoah, set in Virginia, is an example). One-Eyed Jacks is unusual in its seaside setting, and Brando makes full use of the magnificent Californian coastal scenery to produce what is visually one of the most striking Westerns ever.

Although the film can be slow in places, its length allows Brando to build up his characters more fully and effectively than would have been possible in a shorter, faster-paced film. This is one of the new type of longer, epic, character-driven Westerns that were becoming popular in the fifties rather than the shorter action-driven Westerns that had previously held sway. Other examples of this new breed of Western were Anthony Mann's The Naked Spur and William Wyler's The Big Country. Those are two particularly fine films made by two great directors, but Brando's film can bear comparison with them. On the evidence of One-Eyed Jacks it seems a pity that he did not persist with his career as a director. 8/10.

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8 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
It Happened In Old Monterrey, 12 July 1999
Author: Michael Coy (michael.coy@virgin.net) from London, England

The Rio Kid gets double-crossed by Dad Longworth, his outlaw partner, and spends five years rotting in a Mexican prison. After his escape, the one sole purpose of his existence is to exact revenge on Longworth.

Marlon Brando stars as Rio, and also directed this handsome western. Judging by this first-rate piece of work, it is a great shame that Brando hasn't ever directed another film in his half-century in the industry.

From the outset, it is apparent that the movie is under the control of an assured cinematic intelligence. The camera tracks forward, passing through the gates of a casada, leaving the realm of titles and credits, and moving into the fictional space of the story, Sonora, Mexico in 1880. We see a bank robbery in progress, and Rio is sitting perfectly relaxed on the bank counter while all around him is drama and bustle. This is a man, we feel, who is not subject to the usual human frailties.

After the robbery, Rio courts a Mexican beauty. This short scene conveys important character information - we see that Rio can be charming, but that he is ruthless and manipulative.

It is often the case with westerns that the terrain is almost a character in the story, and so it is in this film. The two beautiful settings of the action are filmed in Vistavision. Mexico is arid and empty, and the wind sculpts the dust into gorgeous shapes. The barrenness of the land underpins the film's meaning - there is nothing here for the Rio Kid. When the action shifts to Monterrey, the majestic Californian surf becomes an ever-present, the constant boom of the breakers acting like a Greek chorus, reminding us that Rio is elemental and untameable.

Brando is, as always, an enthralling screen presence. He can be frighteningly still and silent, as in the confrontation with Harv in Red's cantina, exuding lethal menace, or explosively violent. Rio is a fascinating character, both unsettling and attractive at the same time.

Karl Malden (Dad Longworth), Ben Johnson (Amory) and Sam Gilman (Harv) turn in competent performances as the bad guys. Katy Jurado, with her sultry hispanic looks, was a 'must' for westerns of this period and acquits herself well as Maria, Longworth's wife. Slim Pickens is memorable as the revolting Lon, and Elisha Cook pops up as the bank teller who fights back. Pina Pellicer was to die by her own hand a short time after starring here as Luisa, the girl who loves Rio.

Verdict - An outstanding western which stands alone as Brando's one foray into directing.

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