MovieChat Forums > One-Eyed Jacks (1961) Discussion > I do not understand this movie.

I do not understand this movie.

posted 7 years ago by IceboxMovies
14 replies | jump to latest

The revenge plot of this movie is so lame to me. I can sort of get why Brando wants to kill Malden for abandoning him, but why would Malden want to kill Brando just for sleeping with his stepdaughter? And at the end, during their climactic duel, Brando just kills Malden... and, uh, THAT'S IT?????????????? Nothing about the friendship they had before they became enemies for stupid reasons? It's all over, just like that?

Compare it to something as deep as The Wild Bunch. Thornton hated Pike for abandoning him, and wanted to kill him. But at the end, when Pike was killed by others, Thornton remembered how much he enjoyed being in a bunch with Pike before everything went wrong. It was moving. It was sad.

Also, the romance between Brando's character and Pina Pellicer's character was awfully-thin. Why did she love him? What did she see in him?

I wonder what might've happened if Peckinpah had stayed on One-Eyed Jacks as a screenwriter. The script might have been more nuanced. But instead, Brando rushed it into production, directed it himself... and the result was a movie that is beautiful to look at, but is hurt by a weak story. Too bad.

[–] jlam888 7 years ago

I agree about Malden's desire to kill Brando being a stretch, on the other hand Brando supposedly first cut was five hours long, indicating that originally the characters' motivations were more developed.

[–] IceboxMovies 7 years ago

I assume a lot of good stuff got left on the cutting room floor. Apparently, the initial ending was more tragic, too -- not the B.S. happy ending that the movie currently has.

[–] cultfilmfreaksdotcom 7 years ago

Five hours long, LOL. Novice directors always want to create a miniseries since they can't put enough into 2 hours. I do love this movie but I think Brando was out of his element despite some good shots.

The thing about Malden that I got was... Katy Jurado wasn't who he really wanted for a wife.

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[–] IceboxMovies 7 years ago

I definitely think Brando was out of his element here. Love him as an actor, but I'm not surprised that he never directed again.

[–] the_aids_giver 7 years ago

Good point. Malden's hatred of Brando seems a little thin if it is only because of the tryst. Their might be more there. Malden is clearly a man who doesn't want to be wrong and wants to be well liked amongst the populace of the town he now polices, Rio is a walking, talking threat to his livelihood.

[–] IceboxMovies 7 years ago

Malden is clearly a man who doesn't want to be wrong and wants to be well liked amongst the populace of the town he now polices, Rio is a walking, talking threat to his livelihood.

I still think that that's a weak motivation. There might have been a deeper movie here somewhere, but it got left on the cutting room floor.

[–] the_aids_giver 7 years ago

I still think that that's a weak motivation.

I agree with you.

[–] maturity 7 years ago

it was Rio's own fault that Dad abandoned him. He put a bullet in each hand and Dad picked a hand to decide who would go down the mountain and get the horses. He lied and cheated people with every action and then got mad when he was betrayed. He could've just had both hands empty so he went down to get the horses. That was a stupid device anyway because why would either man trust the other like that? He shouldve kept most of the gold so Dad had an incentive to return. It was all pretty stupid and flimsy. Why did Rio want to stay on the mountain empty handed and let Dad take the gold and the horse? That whole thing was dumb, unless Rio just didn't care about prison or death and wanted to test Dad. That scene was laughable.

[–] maturity 7 years ago

You're over thinking it. Malden wants to kill Brando as he knows that he abandoned Brando and thinks that Brando knows it and wants to kill him. That is enough motivation. The bigger problem is that none of these characters are interesting or appealing. They lie and cheat each other non-stop, but they naively trust each other like picking the bullet in the hand. Dad should've demanded to see both hands after he picked the hand. And why did Rio want to be left on the mountain empty handed? He should have kept most of the gold so Dad had an incentive to come back. Instead they both trust each other like suckers and get played. Rio could have had both hands empty so he went for the horses. Why would he want to stay there and face death or prison?

[–] maturity 7 years ago

There is no honor among thieves. They will torture and kill their own family over business. I just saw a story of that in the news about a father torturing his son over a drug deal gone bad or something like that.

[–] IceboxMovies 7 years ago

Sam Peckinpah hated this movie ("Marlon screwed it up!") because he felt Brando cheapened it into a simplistic movie in which Billy the Kid became a hero, not the murderous antihero that he really was.

[–] maturity 7 years ago

The writer(s) and the studio screwed it up. Brando's pride may have helped but it was all pretty silly. Why did the girl fall in love with Rio after he lied to her just like every other woman? The only honorable thing he did was offer to marry her after he found out she was pregnant. But the relationship is probably doomed. It was interesting to note the actress committed suicide at like 30 years old. She seemed very melancholy in the movie. She had sad eyes, at least.

[–] jriley555 (7048) 6 years ago

You are under-thinking it.

Rio's bullet trick was in dad's favor, not his own. As far as empty handed, rio was armed. The act showed the depth of affection rio had for dad (he trusted him), and hence the magnitude of the betrayal when, after capture, he realizes that dad had access to fresh horses, but took off by himself, leaving rio to face those years in the hellish Sonora jail with the rats.

Anyone with eyes who viewed the reunion scene could see how loaded the situation between them remained.

Going after the daughter was revenge. dad, so powerfully played by Malden, embodied the character of a charismatic psychopath. You don't need a whole lot to motivate a psychopath beyond taking something of great value from them, threatening their standing, making them look foolish.

[–] Wuchak (8076) 5 years ago

The motivations of Dad Longworth (Malden) were based on more than just Kid Rio (Brando) sleeping with his stepdaughter. Let me explain:

The opening reveals the honorable friendship of the two. When Rio's horse is shot, Dad risks everything to turn around and pick Rio up. Thus, shortly later, Rio makes sure Dad chooses the hand with the bullet so he can leave and get fresh horses. While Dad takes the money and leaves Rio to be captured, one can't help but empathize with his choices. If he went back for Rio there was a high risk of capture or death. The safest and most promising route was the selfish one.

The good thing is that Dad wisely took advantage of this opportunity and made a good life for himself in Monterey. He was obviously sick of his criminal lifestyle and wanted a real life, a real job and real family. He was getting on in years and knew that this may well be his final opportunity, so he took it.

The problem is that the past always has a way of coming back to bite us in the butt, which is another theme of the film. Rio walks back into Dad's life 5 years later and his American dream is suddenly threatened since Rio can expose Dad as a serious criminal and not the noble sheriff & wholesome family man of his new life. Notice Dad's rage when he whips/beats Rio to an inch of his life; he's doing everything in his power to kill the ugly phantoms of his past, which is why he tries to get Rio hung on false charges later.