The Missouri Breaks * (1976, Marlon Brando, Jack Nicholson, Randy Quaid, Kathleen Lloyd, Frederic Forrest, Harry Dean Stanton) – Classic Movie Review 3531

The pairing of the two legendary stars Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson, under the eagle eye of the then hot director Arthur Penn (Bonnie and Clyde), was greatly anticipated in 1976. But the camp over-acting and indulgent direction by an off-form Penn, dragging out Thomas McGuane and Robert Towne’s thin story and emaciated screenplay to more than two hours, sink this potentially highly intriguing Western.

Brando plays the villainous gunslinger ‘regulator’ character Lee Clayton, who is hired by 1880s Montana rancher David Braxton (John McLiam) to eradicate rustler Tom Logan (Nicholson), condemned to die through stealing his horses and making love to his daughter Jane (Kathleen Lloyd).

This ends up a pretentious, violent, infuriating revisionist, oddball Western with extravagant, unbelievable performances by the stars. Although, while Nicholson remains watchable, a portly Brando is particularly self-indulgent and poor – and his drag turn is truly ghastly.

There are some compensations in the high quality of Michael C Butler’s cinematography, John Williams’s score and the support performances, especially by Randy Quaid, Frederic Forrest, Harry Dean Stanton, John P Ryan, Steve Franken, Richard Bradford, Luana Anders and R L Armstrong. But, otherwise, this is really a very bad film, considering its pedigree.

Also in the cast are Sam Gilman, James Greene, Danny Goldman, Hunter von Leer, Virgil Frye, Daniel Ades, Dorothy Neumann, Charles Wagenheim and Vern Chandler.

Director Penn said real-life bounty hunter Tom Horn – personified by Steve McQueen in Tom Horn (1980) – was the inspiration for Brando’s character The Missouri Breaks (1976). Tom Horn expert Thomas McGuane works as screenwriter on both films.

© Derek Winnert 2016 Classic Movie Review 3531

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