Marlon Brando described directing his 1961 Western One-Eyed Jacks as an exhausting “ass-breaker”, reflecting negatively on his only time behind the camera. The production illustrated the difficulty of moving from acting to directing, despite Brando’s status as one of Hollywood’s most acclaimed stars, and contributed to a period of less successful films before his later comeback in The Godfather.

Brando starred as Rio the Kid, a betrayed bandit seeking revenge, in a film whose screenplay was co-written by Sam Peckinpah. A planned three-month, $2 million shoot reportedly expanded to six months and roughly $6 million; Brando shot about a million feet of footage and produced an initial cut nearing five hours, before the studio completed editing without him. The film received mixed reviews, lost money and earned an Oscar nomination for Best Cinematography.