The Missouri Breaks

Infobox Film | name =The Missouri Breaks


image_size =200px
caption =
director = Arthur Penn
producer =Elliott Kastner
Robert M. Sherman
writer = Thomas McGuane
starring = Marlon Brando
Jack Nicholson
Randy Quaid
Frederic Forrest
Harry Dean Stanton
music = John Williams
cinematography = Michael Butler
editing =
distributor = United Artists
released = 1976
runtime = 126 min
language =
budget =
imdb_id = 0074906"This article is about the motion picture. For the geographical feature, see Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument"

"The Missouri Breaks" is a 1976 American western film starring Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson. The film was directed by Arthur Penn, with supporting performances by Randy Quaid, Harry Dean Stanton, Frederic Forrest and Kathleen Lloyd. The soundtrack was composed by John Williams.

The title of the movie refers to a forlorn and very rugged area in north central Montana, where over eons the Missouri River has made countless deep cuts or "breaks" in the land. The movie chronicles a gang of horse thieves that set their sights on a Montana ranch, with Nicholson posing as a farmer who soon comes under the suspicion of Brando, an eccentric bounty hunter hired by the ranch's ruthless owner.

In a May 24 1976 "Time" magazine interview it was revealed that Brando "changed the entire flavor of his character—a bounty hunter called Robert E. Lee Clayton—inventing a deadly hand weapon resembling both a harpoon and a mace that he uses to kill. 'I always wondered why in the history of lethal weapons no one invented that particular one. It appealed to me because I used to be very expert at knife throwing.'" [ [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,879746,00.html "The Private World of Marlon Brando"] from "TIME" magazine]

Because of several instances of animal cruelty inflicted during the filming of several scenes—which resulted in the death of one horse and the wounding of several others—this film appears on the American Humane Association's "unacceptable" list. [ [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_370b.html "Are animals really killed in movie and TV death scenes?"] from "The Straight Dope"]

Cast

Marlon Brando ... Robert E. Lee Clayton
Jack Nicholson ... Tom Logan
Randy Quaid ... Little Tod
Kathleen Lloyd ... Jane Braxton
Frederic Forrest ... Cary
Harry Dean Stanton ... Calvin
John McLiam ... David Braxton
John P. Ryan ... Si (as John Ryan)
Sam Gilman ... Hank Rate
Steve Franken ... Lonesome Kid
Richard Bradford ... Pete Marker
James Greene ... Hellsgate rancher
Luana Anders ... Rancher's wife
Danny Goldman ... Baggage clerk
Hunter von Leer ... Sandy

References

External links

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