The Missouri Breaks

Brando plays a fearless sharp-shooting NUT

A rich, big-time rancher (John McLiam) in late 1800's Montana hires an eccentric sharp-shooting assassin (Marlon Brando) to take care of a gang of rustlers, led by Jack Nicholson, who are severely diminishing his profits.

Arthur Penn's "The Missouri Breaks," starring Brando and Nicholson, was a flop when it was released in 1976. Leonard Maltin rates it a "BOMB" in his movie guide. The question is: Is it the reputed flop, unworthy of your time, or not?

Let's start by exploring if there's any character for which to root. John McLiam is very unlikable as the rich rancher, Braxton. His "family" is completely dysfunctional: His wife ran out on him years before and the film hints at the reason why; his daughter, played by Kathleen Lloyd, is so mentally warped and starved-for-love that she jumps in bed with the head outlaw that's stealing from her father the first chance she gets. Jack Nicholson as Tom Logan is certainly likable in a down-to-earth type of way, but the fact is that he and his gang are thieving scum. It makes no difference that Braxton is unlikable. He certainly doesn't deserve to be ripped off as he toiled hard to build his ranch over many years.

This leaves us with Brando's character, Lee Clayton, the Irish sharp-shooting assassin, who's a serious nutjob. This is an intriguing character, to say the least. He's utterly fearless, eccentric and intimidating.

Despite Clayton's weirdness, I was definitely rooting for him in the story. I wanted him to annihilate the criminal scumbags. Hey, they CHOSE to make their living outside the law and so they must reap the wages of their actions. Living on the Western frontier was hard enough without having to contend with outlaws who want something for nothing.

One of the rustlers gets a break in the story; let's just assume he learned a lesson from his bad experiences and goes on to live a more honest, productive life.

One great scene is when Clayton v...