So, I’m currently reading an account by Truman Capote of a meeting with Marlon Brando, where he tells of Brando writing a script titled A Burst of Vermilion. Apparently Brando had gotten tired of writers trying to come up with roles worthy of him, and so set out to write his own movie (a western), which he would (of course) produce and direct, as well as writing and starring in.
Well, I got a bit curious about it. But Capote seems to be the only reference to this script in existence. Googling for it, one is led to the Wikipedia page for One-Eyed Jacks, which is indeed a Western directed by and starring Brando, but with a screenplay by four other guys, and based on a book by a fifth, none of whom is Brando. And the word “vermilion” appears nowhere on the page, which leads one to wonder how in the world Google ever connected that search string with that page.
So what’s the scoop? Did Brando give up on his script, and decide that this was the next best thing? Did he end up giving his script to other writers to doctor so much that he didn’t take credit? Is one of those credited names a pseudonym for Brando? Did the whole thing just spring full-formed from Capote’s head?