Most critics rate One-Eyed Jacks highly, and the praise clusters around Brando, both in front of the camera and behind it. His performance is singled out for its control of image and gesture, and his direction is called fascinating, powerful and, for a debut, remarkably assured. The Monterey coastline photography draws repeated notice, as does the film’s frankness about sadism and perversity for a Hollywood western of its period. Several critics place it as a revisionist western that looks forward to Peckinpah, and a recent restoration is credited with reviving its reputation.
The reservations are few and mild. Variety finds some of the secondary villains one-dimensional, and Time Out is more guarded, calling the direction fascinating without going much further. The spread is narrow and tilted upward: The Skinny gives full marks, and the single mixed notice sits closer to good than to poor. The New York Times is warm too, its only regret being that Brando never directed another film.