“Why don’t we just take a walk and we’ll just talk about the Wild West and how to get the hell out of it.”
Made in 1976 after the golden age of westerns had passed, and not featuring a clear delineation between hero and villain as many earlier westerns did, the film has more in common with more modern westerns such as Unforgiven (1992) due to its themes of moral ambiguity and the lack of a clear hero. Stars Jack Nicholson and Marlon Brando were on the set at the same time only once, despite their multiple scenes together throughout the production. Nicholson didn’t like that Brando used cue cards while filming because in their scenes together it broke his concentration when Brando would shift his gaze to a cue card behind the cameraman. Brando’s performance as Robert E. Lee Clayton was mostly improvised in exceedingly eccentric ways. His character arrives in town and quickly establishes not only his ability with a rifle but also that he is completely mad. Brando would change scenes, such as showing up dressed as an old woman. Director Arthur Penn, a three time Oscar nominee in the 1960s for directing major films like Bonnie & Clyde, eventually gave up trying to control Brando and let him portray Clayton any way he wanted. Brando received $1 million for five weeks plus 11.3% of the gross in excess of $10 million. Nicholson got $1.25 million for ten weeks, plus 10% of the gross after $12.5 million. The film made a modest $14 million domestically. This film is on the American Humane Society’s list of ‘unacceptable’ films. One horse drowned, another was crippled by tripwires, and several were injured in a stampede.
