As part of my celebration of movies that came out in 1976, in this, their 50th anniversary year, I’ve been watching and rewatching a mix of movies I’ve long loved and new ones. This week, I watched The Missouri Breaks starring Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson. It’s a movie I actually never knew existed until I started this project, and I have to say it’s been one I’d been looking forward to watching. I didn’t love it, that’s for sure, but I’m sure glad I watched it.
Expectations Were Very High For The Western
When The Missouri Breaks was released in May 1976, the two lead actors were both on the heels of Oscar-winning performances. The Western, about a “regulator” played by Brando tracking down a gang of horse thieves led by Nicholson’s character, was released just about a month and a half after Jack Nicholson won his first Best Actor Oscar for one of his all-time best roles in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. The movie was also Brando’s first release since he’d won in the same category for The Godfather at the 1973 Academy Awards.
The movie, which was directed by Arthur Penn, who himself had already been nominated three times for Best Director, had a deep well of talent both in front of and behind the scenes. It co-stars Randy Quaid before he was…well, whatever he is today (and I'm not talking about Cousin Eddie), Harry Dean Stanton, Frederic Forrest (between his career-defining roles in 1974’s The Conversation and 1979’s Apocalypse Now), John McLiam, and the sole female actor with any lines in the movie, Kathleen Lloyd. The score was composed by John Williams (following Jaws), and the script was penned by renowned counterculture novelist Thomas McGuane.
It’s safe to say that the movie came with high expectations from critics and movie-goers alike. That didn’t translate into box office success, as critics were lukewarm at best, and the public didn’t make it a blockbuster. The film’s 77% Fresh Rotten Tomatoes score today seems to represent a more modern re-evaluation of the movie, and I guess I agree with that, as overall, I did enjoy it. However, I don’t know if I enjoyed it as a movie or for Brando’s wild performance.
Brando Being Brando
1976 was an interesting time in Brando’s career. The legend had infamously hit some bumps in the road in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s before Francis Ford Copolla cast him as Vito Corleone in The Godfather. The star already had a bit of a reputation for being difficult to work with, but The Godfather cemented his status as one of the all-time greats, and his career was having its second huge peak.
However, he was also showing signs of what was to come. Brando makes some, let’s call them…interesting choices in The Missouri Breaks. His character, Robert E. Lee Clayton, is a legendary regulator and bounty hunter, but is first presented as somewhat effete and soft, magnified by the actor's choice to be very soft spoken and, weirdly, with an Irish accent. Lee soon proves that while he is a decadent snob, he’s no pushover. I’d love to know just how much input Brando had in choosing the costumes for the character, because I sense that he had a big say in how Lee was presented in every way. And it’s all way over the top.
I Kind Of Love And Hate Brando Here
I can’t say that I love it, though. When Brando was at his best, he completely disappeared into his roles. When I watch The Godfather, I don’t see an actor; I see Don Corleone. The same goes for his other Oscar-winning performance in On the Waterfront. When he was at his worst, all I could see was the actor. I’m talking about roles like Kurtz in the aforementioned Apocalypse Now, and later truly bonkers performances like Dr. Moreau in The Island of Dr. Moreau.
This one falls somewhere in between. He has some great moments, like his scenes with Randy Quaid, where he adopts a southern drawl to disguise himself, or his first two tense confrontations with Tom (Nicholson). Those were my favorite parts of the movie. Then he has some unhinged moments, like the first time we see him on screen, hanging from the side of a horse, or his later scene with Nicholson in a bathtub covered by bubbles. Brando is both awesome and nuts. Or, in other words, the total package.
Nicholson And The Supporting Cast Are Wonderful
Unlike Brando riding his second crest, Nicholson was truly at the peak of his powers. The Missouri Breaks is right in the midst of his career pinnacle. He’d been nominated for five Oscars, including in each of three previous years, before finally winning for Cuckoo’s Nest. While I wouldn’t say this is as good as some of those, he’s still amazing here. His supporting cast, especially Harry Dean Stanton, is also fantastic.
Kathleen Lloyd, who plays Tom’s love interest (and the daughter of the man who hired Lee to track him), is also really good, though I don’t think the chemistry between Lloyd and Nicholson is smoldering, exactly. Individually, I love both characters, but their scenes together are a bit…stilted. If there is anywhere that the movie drags, it’s their love story. Jane (Lloyd) is a smart, strong, independent woman who never plays second fiddle in the relationship, but the chemistry just isn’t there. It’s not all that believable.
The Missouri Breaks is not one of the best Westerns of all time, that’s for sure. I’m not going to ever rank it among even other Westerns that came out in 1976, like The Outlaw Josey Wales and even The Shootist, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it. It’s not a perfect movie, but honestly, watching Brando be Brando is really fun, and there isn’t a movie from the ‘70s with Nicholson that I don’t like (except Tommy, but that’s a whole other story). Though it’s currently not on any of the major streaming services, you can buy or rent it with a Prime subscription, which I would say is worth it, especially if you love this era of Hollywood, as I do.
