cinemajesty
Actor Marlon Brando's solely directing effort in the year 1960 "One-Eyed Jacks", shot entirely on location in the United States, brings elegant Western - Cinematography to screen, but misses out to grip the audience's tension on an over-long editorial of 141 minutes running time. Director Marlon Brando manages to push all the right buttons with his cast, mainly preliminary acting collaborator Karl Malden, who brings fine vicious beats to story as the character of Sheriff Dad Longworth, who changed the side of the law after a robbery with Marlon Brandon's character Rio in the film's opening scene in order to save his own existence.The interactions between the actors Karl Malden & Marlon Brando keeps the "One-Eyed Jacks" alive until the very end. But it becomes a stretched pathway to follow the character of Rio from one location to another, from working relationship to another failed romance, before he completes unfinished business in the duel shoot-out with Sheriff Dad Longworth. Specatators, who appreciated Marlon Brando's minimalistic, yet powerful performing skills, may enjoy the full length of the movie. The others, who are looking for suspense and thrills must wait between sequence before another hook snatches the specter's attention.There are some excellent directed scenes in the picture as the character of Rio sitting at breakfast with his Mexican companion, drinking coffee, before he gets dragged into a shoot-out with a drunkard, who is molesting a prostitute at the bar. The timing of the scene and calmness of the execution lets settle in a stroke of genius with Marlon Brando's directing, but his talent can not be maintained by him throughout the picture.It is senseable throughout the picture that the Director fell in love with his own film, which became a deadly working relationship when Marlon Brando and Editor Archie Marshek approached the editorials. Unable to cut a well-executed scene as the mentioned Interior Salon breakfast scene from the Final Cut, to achieve much more thrilling two-hour (or less) motion picture, which might have attract a wider audience in 1961, "One-Eyed Jacks" remains a gem in cinema, which can probably only be fully appreciated by the filmmaking community itself.© 2017 Felix Alexander Dausend (for Cinemajesty Entertainments LLC)
guylyons
I loved this film,seen it at least three times. I could kidnap western fans, starve them, then force them to watch this classic. Afterwards they would probably reward me for what they went through. The film has everything, a great script, top notch acting, and a very believable story.
sydcolpa
Just saw the remastered version - Scorcese/Spielberg involved and it was a revelation. Cinematography was awe inspiring and the acting was intense. What I had not known was how much 1991 Cape Fear owes to it. A man, five years in jail, comes back to haunt the man who put him there, his only desire to take revenge. Rolls up at the front of the house, hangs around the town, will not leave. Moral ambiguity is written in all the characters from the bank robbers to the wife to the daughter. No real good guys and the 'hero' is a seducer, liar and murderer. He seduces the 16 year old daughter of the man he wants to destroy, and boasts about it to his compatriots. Slowly we see that 'Dad' is as bad as any of them. Brando is both charming and creepy and driven- a psychopath with only one wish- who will not stop until he kills his nemesis or dies in the attempt. There are similarities in dialogue between the two films, even the ideas of masculinity and the private and public face are echoed in Cape Fear. One of those in between films of the 60s where the artists strove to break the bonds of the studio system before the new wave of American directors came along. A shame he did not make any more as a director.
SimonJack
Other reviews give good background on the making of "One Eyed Jacks." And, others discuss the plot and cast in detail. Judging from the problems with Marlon Brando's directing, it's clear to see why he never directed another film. I was curious why IMDb didn't have the usual budget and box office figures for "Jacks" that it has for most films. According to the Turner Classic Movies Web site, this film ran almost four times over its $1.6 million budget. It finished with a cost of $6 million. The box office was just $4.3 million.This is a good Western, with a different flair that builds audience empathy for Brando's character, Rio. Some critics say this is some sort of a "breakthrough" or turning point in Westerns. The claim is that the audience identifies with one of the bad guys. Judging from some of the reviews, they may be right – at least for some. As a viewer, I naturally sympathized with Rio for his betrayal by Dad Longworth, played by Karl Malden. At the same time, I clearly understood Rio's capture and imprisonment as just punishment for a criminal. Rio's escape and search for vengeance against Dad is a familiar plot in movies of various genres. But, his redemption toward the end, albeit for the sake of his love for Louisa (played by Pina Pellicer), is a nice twist. I think Karl Malden turns in the best acting in this movie. He nails his character hands down, with a variety of mood swings. He is pleasing and sweet, affable and friendly, angry and determined, matter of fact and all business. It's not a coincidence that Malden won an Oscar and was nominated for another (and perhaps should have been one or two more times). Malden was an excellent actor, who could play a variety of roles with great depth. He won his Oscar for best supporting actor in another film with Brando – "A Streetcar Named Desire." Malden and Brando also starred together in "On the Waterfront," in which Brando earned his first of two Oscars as best actor. Malden was nominated for best supporting actor in that film, as were two other stars – Lee J. Cobb and Rod Steiger. "Waterfront" had three of the five nominees that year for supporting actor, and it went to Edmond O'Brien, for his role in "The Barefoot Contessa."A couple of the weak aspects of this film were in Rio's character and the story. In the beginning, we clearly see that Rio is a Romeo. The difference between him, Dad and other gang members, is that Rio has taste and manners. While the others go for the bar girls and prostitutes, Rio pursues "good" girls. But, clearly, with the same purpose in mind. So, with that and even after five years in prison, it's a stretch to have Rio fall in love now. Especially with Dad's "new" stepdaughter, Louisa. I think the film was heavy in its efforts to build sympathy for Rio, by the number of times he was wrongly blamed or punished for something. Pellicer was a leading actress from Mexico. She had a promising career ahead of her, but ended it at age 30 when she committed suicide in 1964. Slim Pickens, Katy Jurado, Ben Johnson and Larry Duran were all very good in their roles. The scenery and cinematography were excellent. And, the technical aspects were all very good – even with a couple of noticeable jumps or skips in film cutting. The final editors must have had a real chore cutting back from the 5 ½-hours of film Brando had edited.This is a very good Western that many should find entertaining. But I can't agree with those who think it is the best Western ever. I can only think that they haven't seen some very great Westerns. "One Eyed Jacks" is not in the top rung of my list, nor is it there in other lists I've seen. Although some spaghetti Westerns were quite good and entertaining, I don't include them among the best of Westerns, primarily for the acting and stories. Among the Westerns that are likely to be found on most lists of the best of all time, are the following. "The Searchers" of 1956, "Stagecoach" of 1939, "Shane" of 1953, "Winchester 73" of 1950, "Bend of the River" of 1952, "Hombre" of 1967, "True Grit" of 1969, "The Oxbow Incident" of 1943, "The Cowboys" of 1972, "Gunfight at the OK Coral" of 1957, "High Noon" of 1952, "The Naked Spur" of 1973, "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" of 1962, "The Big Country" of 1958, "Will Penny" of 1968, "Destry Rides Again" of 1939, "The Last Train from Gun Hill" of 1959, "Wagon Master" of 1950, "My Darling Clementine" of 1946, "Rio Bravo" of 1959, "Lonesome Dove" of 1989, "Open Range" of 2003, and "Dances with Wolves" of 1990. James Stewart, John Wayne, Charlton Heston and Randolph Scott were in a number of other Westerns that rank among the best. Several other stars were in one or more outstanding Westerns. And, as for the best film about vengeance, revenge and reform, I recommend movie buffs to check out "Nevada Smith" of 1966. Steve McQueen is outstanding in his role. And, for real coincidence, a supporting actor in that one is Karl Malden. I wonder if it might not be a Malden touch that brings greatness to many films. Or at least helps bring out the best of others in their roles.
