One-Eyed Jacks (DVD, 2003)

This 1961 movie is a classic Western with an all star cast. Also, what seems the good guys at first ends up being the bad guys. And vice versa. You have to really think this one out.

Marlon Brando in his prime plays Kid Rio, who with Dan Longworth (Karl Malden) robs a bank in Mexico. As they get away, one of their horses is hurt. They flip a coin, Longworth wins, and so he is designated to go buy another horse with some of the bank money. He never returns, and Kid Rio gets caught by the Mexican posse. He spends the next 5 years in Sonora Prison.

This is the beginning of the complicated plot in "One Eyed Jacks."

Finally, Kid Rio escapes from the prison and his only aim in life is to find Longworth. When he meets up with Bob (Ben Johnson from "The Last Picture Show"), he learns that Longworth is now the sheriff of Monterey, California. He has married a beautiful Mexican woman with a beautiful teenage step daughter. When Rio gets to Monterey, Longworth welcomes Rio warmly. Everything seems forgiven when Longworth explains that when he arrived back with the extra horse, the posse was already there.

What turns the plot into a really superb movie is the step-daughter Louisa (Pina Pellicer). She falls in love with Rio, and he deceives her at first. He lies about his past, gives her a necklace supposedly that was his mother's, and they spend the night at the beach. When morning comes, Rio feels guilty and confesses his lies, and Louisa returns the necklace and goes home. Then Longworth finds out, he is furious, and he bends the law to the extreme to publicly whip and smash Rio's right hand.

Remember Bob? He and his gang of two stay with and nurse Rio back to health in a neighboring town. But Bob's ulterior motive is to get Rio's help to rob the bank in Monterey.

The plot continues from there and gets even more complicated, but in a good way. The questions that remain are: Will Rio help Bob rob the bank? Did Rio have sex with Louisa on the beach, and is she pregnant? Will Rio get revenge on Longworth for the whipping and hand injury?

This movie was beautifully filmed and was nominated for Best Cinematography of 1961. Another interesting highlight is that Marlon Brando eventually became the director of the movie when Stanley Kubrick left in the middle of it. This is the only movie directed by Marlon Brando in his lifetime.

So what does this have to do with one-eyed jacks? At one point, Rio tells Longworth that Longworth is a one-eyed jack, and he has seen the other side of his face, and it is really ugly.

Happy Viewing especially if you like Marlon Brando!