Review of One-Eyed Jacks (1961) by Roberto A — 31 Mar 2008

A clumsy opening, involving a rather leisurely bank robbery and Marlon Brando calling a woman "Senor", belies what eventually develops into a hard-edged, though flawed Revisionist Western. The film really gets rolling when Dad Longworth (played straight and clean by an impressive Karl Malden) betrays Rio (Brando) and lets his compadre rot in a Sonora prison.

The film turns steadily darker from there, when Rio relentlessly pursuing his revenge. Rio is a bad man, no doubt, but not a particularly competent one, which I found to be a large part of this film's charm.

Another stand out is Slim Pickens, who plays the sleazy Deputy Dedrick to greasy perfection; think M. Emmet Walsh in "Blood Simple". The movie drags when Rio is playing loverboy with Louisa, though the scene where he admits everything he told her was a complete lie is impressive.

All in all a curious, enjoyable film, with slick dialog and anarchist themes that don't quite match the very dated, cheesy music. Could Brando have become as great a director as he was an actor? Well, One Eyed Jacks is a pretty impressive debut, so who can say? Recommended.