Paint Your Wagon (1969)

Memorable, crazy movie

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Despite the fact that Paint Your Wagon seems to have a non-existent plot line (at least for the first two thirds of its running time) it is a film that I did find to be highly enjoyable. Although the storytelling is rather weak, the writers provide so many humorous scenes that to me it very rarely mattered. Lee Marvin is the main reason to see this and his performance here was nothing short of sublime. Although Marvin was great here, I was a little disappointed with Eastwood. The truth of the matter is that his character was a bit bland and nowhere near as interesting as Marvin's character. However, the blame for this lies with the writers and not Eastwood and I just didn't find his character that interesting and also found the chemistry between Eastwood and Marvin was a bit hit and miss.The musical numbers here are colourful, lively and very enjoyable (I don't think there was one song that I didn't like). However, usually with musicals songs are used to cover plot points or to convey emotions from characters. In Paint Your Wagon there were a couple of songs here that worked in this manner, but a lot of songs were rather random and had nothing to do with the story. Again this isn't a major problem as the musical numbers were fun, but again it made the story a little strange at times.Where this film really comes good is in its final third (when we get to the point of the story) and the final act was absolutely hilarious.On balance there is definitely more good than bad here. Despite the fact that there was no real story for the first two thirds of the film, there were still enough fun moments to make this worthwhile overall. However, Lee Marvin's superb performance and incredibly funny on-screen antics are definitely the biggest selling points here.

This epic Musical Western may not be an artistic triumph but is an unbeatable entertainment with larger-than-life star-power. By sharp contrast to the elegance and sophistication of the Lerner & Loewe team's exquisite MY FAIR LADY, GIGI and CAMELOT, the entirely revised movie version of PAINT YOUR WAGON throws all grace and poise to the winds in its raunchy celebration of the pure joy of dancing and wallowing in gloriously filthy mud.The original 1950's Broadway show was daring at the time for its interracial romance between a white woman and a Mexican native, but by 1968 this theme had become dated. Thus producer/lyricist Alan Jay Lerner based his bawdy screenplay on an entirely new story by playwright Paddy Chayefsky, which parodies "Sodom and Gomorrah" as a grandiose comedy of colorful moral follies in Gold Rush California. The previous Lerner & Loewe film, CAMELOT -- also directed by Joshua Logan (SOUTH PACIFIC) -- had focused on an adulterous triangle relationship, so the new PAINT YOUR WAGON seeks to top that with a marriage-threesome at center. But in place of the tragic fall of a shining ideal, the inevitable collapse of "No Name City" (the Las Vegas of the Old West) is played entirely for uproarious belly-laughs.Seven songs from the original show are retained, including "I Talk to the Trees", "There's a Coach Comin' In", and (supremely) the show- stopping aria "They Call the Wind Maria" (powerfully sung by Harve Presnell in full "Howard Keel" mode). In support of these are five new songs written by Lerner with composer Andre Previn (standing in for the retired Frederick Loewe).The production and costumes are spectacular, but it is the bold casting that makes this a memorable show. Clint Eastwood has natural singing ability and demonstrates how cool an old-fashioned Musical can be with "Gold Fever" (the one Lerner-Previn song that gives the vintage score a real challenge). In other respects Eastwood is in good form as the easy- going side of his unique screen persona. Jean Seberg is fine as well, leavening the broad comedy with an underplayed wry humor.However, the movie truly belongs to the great Lee Marvin, who is its heart and soul. Besotted old "Ben Rumson" is one of the actor's most memorable characters, evoking his Academy Award-winning role in another comic Western, CAT BALLOU. Taken as a super-vehicle for Marvin, this PAINT YOUR WAGON becomes something special.As for the caliber of Lee Marvin's talk-singing: Don't let it be forgot that the soundtrack recording of his rough yet poignant performance of the Lerner-Loewe classic "Wandrin' Star" was a #1 hit in England.Rating: 8/10 **** OUTSTANDING.

There is something deeply touching about reading these positive reviews for the famously awful "Paint Your Wagon" as bad a film as Otto Preminger's "Hip" quasi musical of around the same time, "Skidoo." "Paint Your Wagon" which tanked on Broadway in the first place, was transformed into a dirty minded attempt to capture a piece of the "Sound Of Music" market, the shoot went badly over budget, and Clint Eastwood later said he saw everything NOT to do on a set from the waste of time and money he saw making this film. On the very small plus side, this movie LOOKS great. The color and scenery are really a marvel. And that takes care of the plus side. Oh yes, I would also say the stars (including the tragic Jean Seberg) carry themselves with dignity and do not falter, though I had had enough of Lee Marvin by the end. And I am a BIG Lee Marvin Fan. For this is one tasteless, stupid, overwrought, sexist, moronic bad musical. Tommy Smothers was right, "I Talk To The Trees" is one stupid song and and they go downhill from there. Lerner and Lowe had some classics but also some other big bombs ( "Little Prince" anyone?) and this must be the worst. It's not that Clint and Lee can't sing (Rex Harrison couldn't sing either), it's that these are bad songs. It's a fine line, perhaps, that separates the tasteless from the funny. Many people here seem to find "Paint Your Wagon" good, bawdy fun. The anti-civilisation theme must please some libertarians. Surely, one of the good things about avoiding civilization would be the absence of terrible films like this one.

I love musicals, but I honestly didn't know what to make of this film. Out of the Joshua Logan-directed musical movies, this film is my least favourite. It does have some nice photography, costumes and sets, and the score and songs are very pleasant and hummable. Out of the cast, Ray Walston and Harve Presnell(who actually has the best songs) come off best, and the chorale work directed by Roger Wagner is some of the finest ever heard in a musical. However, Joshua Logan's direction didn't work, I personally found it too stage-bound and smug. Also the dialogue doesn't convince, the film is too long and the story is forgettable and has one too many silly moments. The acting is nothing special, and while the singing isn't amazing it was passable. Lee Marvin's rendition of Wandrin' Star is listenable, and some of his comedy is a nice touch. Wasn't sure about Clint Eastwood though, I was perplexed at his casting initially and after hearing his singing my opinion hasn't changed. In conclusion, if I had to make an honest summary of this film, I would say worth watching for the music, chorale work and production values if little else. 5/10 Bethany Cox