Revenge is the driving force in One-Eyed Jacks. Brando plays Rio, a man who spent a long time in jail following a bank robbery and after his release goes in search of his old companion Dad Longworth (played by Karl Malden). Dad betrayed Rio and now Rio is looking for him to settle up. Dad has managed to keep his criminal past secret; he is married, has a beautiful daughter and is sheriff of a small town.This often vilified film has a special advocate in the form of experimental film-maker and avant-garde cinema critic, Jonas Mekas. Mekas: ‘With One-Eyed Jacks Marlon Brando gives cinema one of its most romantic landmarks. Its cruel romantic beauty has no equal in recent movies.’ Brando has made impressive use of the location on the coast, the most beautiful scenes are set against the background of the sea. Mekas: ‘The images themselves have something of a steel-blue clarity.’The extreme dedication with which Marlon Brando customarily approached his work as an actor he also demonstrates as director of One-Eyed Jacks. Brando was very attached to the project from the start without ever intending to direct it himself. When he did however come to direct the film, he made it one of the most distinctive of Westerns. Part of the special effect was destroyed by the studios during cutting. Brando envisaged an epic film lasting more than four hours (282 minutes), but One-Eyed Jacks was cut in half. Mekas: ‘One watches this film and knows: it is not the product of a small heart.’
