One-Eyed Jacks for Corrie Film Club

On Sunday 9th December, a Christmas double bill will be shown at Corrie Hall. It begins at 6.30 pm and includes supper – hence the earlier time. The evening’s programme doubles the short comedy masterpiece, Dinner For One, with the classic Western, One-Eyed Jacks (1961), starring Marlon Brando both as actor and director.

Brando only directed a film once, and people have regarded it as an eyebrow-raising masterpiece ever since. One-Eyed Jacks was based on the 1956 Charles Neider novel, The Authentic Death of Hendry Jones, which in turn was drawn from the legend of Billy the Kid. With a script by Sam Peckinpah, the young Stanley Kubrick was initially signed as director, but he and Brando fell out over character development. Brando, every inch the ‘method’ actor, wanted more of it, while Kubrick was trying to keep things reasonable. But they were not, and would not be, reasonable. With filming set to start in a month, Brando took over the direction himself.

By all accounts, it was chaos. Brando encouraged the cast to improvise, and a weary Paramount described the proceedings as ‘Stanislavsky in the saddle.’ Brando was hugely self-indulgent. Though using the expensive Vista-Vision process, which cost fifty cents a foot, the cameras rolled endlessly. Close to 250,000 feet of film were processed and the film ended up costing $6 million.

The story is a fated one, about a pair of bank robbers on the run. Brando as Rio is betrayed by his partner in crime, ‘Dad’ Longworth, who becomes the sheriff of Monterey while Rio is still serving five years in jail. Full of plans for revenge, Rio is side-tracked when he falls in love with Longworth’s stepdaughter, Louisa, played by Pina Pellicer, who committed suicide at the tragically early age of 24.

One-Eyed Jacks has the power of a Greek tragedy, played out in vast, unrelentingly sand-swept landscapes. The stunning colour cinematography by Charles Lang makes the film a visual feast, and Brando’s brooding, psychologically probing intensity, whether self-indulgent or not, is unforgettable.

All are welcome, and admission is free, though contributions to the running of Corrie Hall are welcomed. Don’t forget the earlier time of 6.30, and bring something to add to supper if you feel so inclined.