One eyed Jacks

Charles Neider’s novel “The authentic death of Hendry Jones” is the source of this tellingly direct screenplay. It is the brooding, deliberate tale of a young man (Marlon Brando) consumed by a passion for revenge after he is betrayed by an accomplice (Karl Malden) in a bank robbery, for which crime he spends five years (1880-85) in a Mexican prison. His vengeful campaign leads him to the town of Monterey, where Malden has attained respectability and the position of sheriff, but romantic entanglements with Malden’s stepdaughter (Pina Pellicer) persuade Brando to abandon his intention until the irresistibility of circumstance and Malden’s own irrepressible will to snuff out the living evidence of his guilt draws the two men into a showdown. This film is a violent story of double-cross, suspicion and betrayal, and ranks as one of the all-time great Westerns. Watch for a special appearance by one of the movies great “cowboy” actors - Ben Johnson.