Paint Your Wagon (1969)

· by · in 1969. ·

Synopsis:

In nineteenth-century California, two gold prospectors (Clint Eastwood, Unforgiven, and Lee Marvin, Cat Ballou) vie for the affections of a feisty pioneer woman (Jean Seberg, Breathless), who, to everyone’s surprise, decides to marry both men.

Reaction & Thoughts:

“Why can’t a woman have two husbands?”

This is one of cinema’s oddest musicals: a sing-along extravaganza about polygamy! Love triangles remain the bread & butter of the American film industry, but this super-production takes the old romantic formula and flips it on its ear. Paint Your Wagon is a mainstream western/musical with a non-mainstream storyline.

Directed by Joshua Logan (Picnic and Camelot) from a script by Paddy Chayefsky (Marty), Paint Your Wagon is gutsy, bizarre, and sloppy in equal doses. The film is based on the 1951 Broadway musical by Alan Jay Lerner (lyrics) and Frederick Loewe (music) of the same name. Chayefsky apparently rewrote the play and made plural marriage, which was a small subplot in the original play, the centerpiece of the film.

Why did Chayefsky do this? I don’t have a clue, but I do think that Chayefsky’s flabby script is the main problem here. I’m no prude, but I did find the idea of a threesome — the woman and the two men literally sleep in the same bed — as the basis for a cheery musical, strange and very unromantic to say the least. Furthermore, the film’s excessive running time — it’s nearly three hours long — works against the movie.

Director Logan must also share the blame for the film’s maladies — Paint Your Wagon is a real mixed bad. For whatever reason, Logan spent all his energy and time on creating elaborate sets and costumes — the art-direction and costumes are indeed fantastic — and did nothing to improve a script that lacks focus and energy. Unfortunately, the movie runs out of juice — nothing interesting happens during the story’s third act.

Logan also made the mistake of hiring non-singers to play the main roles. Perennial tough guys Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood? Counterculture darling Jean Seberg? I’m all for out-of-the-box ideas, but on this occasion the unorthodox casting choices don’t pay off. I do have to admit that I enjoyed Marvin’s performance as the boozy old miner. When he isn’t singing, the edgy Marvin is surprisingly charming as the grumpy old timer.

Eastwood is without doubt the worst offender. He plays a thankless role anyway. Eastwood’s character is strangely subordinate to Marvin’s. He can’t sing, either. At least Marvin had the decency to talk-sing the songs (Seberg’s singing was dubbed). Eastwood’s rendition of “I Talk To the Trees” is like something out of a Mel Brooks movie!

Thanks heavens for the wonderful supporting cast! Character actors Ray Walston (The Apartment) as “Mad Jack” Duncan and Harve Presnell (The Unsinkable Molly Brown) as “Rotten Luck” Willie almost steal the movie from the leads. Presnell’s fabulous rendition of the film’s best song, “They Call the Wind Maria,” is a real beauty.

Conclusions & Final Thoughts:

There are a few things in the movie that I liked, and there are many things in the movie that I disliked. Hmm… I still can’t make up my mind whether I like Paint Your Wagon or not. All the flaws and I still can’t bring myself to hate the movie. Ray Walston’s performance, Harve Presnell’s singing and the production design are big pluses. The rest is open to debate. A real curiosity. Color, 164 minutes, Rated PG-13.

10 responses to “Paint Your Wagon (1969)”

  3. The only thing I’d disagree with is your opinion that Clint Eastwood can’t sing. Maybe it’s just that everyone else is so bad that I learned to tolerate Clint’s singing. I don’t know. But other than that, I agree wholeheartedly. Yet I love every second of the movie. This is my favorite guilty pleasure movie. My favorite moment is the worst musical performance, “Wanderin’ Star” where Lee Marvin can’t decide whether he should be singing or mimicking the sounds of a broken chainsaw.

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    • Eastwood’s voice isn’t bad-bad. The problem was that he tried to hit notes that a non-singer couldn’t possibly hit. He should have talked-sing the song, like Rex Harrison in My Fair lady, or co-star Marvin. Eastwood does know a few things about music, so I’m surprised he didn’t realize that he needed to re-arrange the music to fit his limited range.

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  6. Fifty years ago, PYW, at that time four years old, was my choise of opening programme for my first cinema. I have ran it many times since then, -especially after I got the posibility of running 70mm film, on which that fabulous soundtrack with Frederick Loewe’s top score can make You sing along all the way. When I held my 40 years aniversary, PYW was up again for one last run, but could – even at ticket prices of 1973 – sell more than ten tickets… Those ten were real fans, though, and loved it, -even if a couple of them missed the 70mm print, that long ago had held it’s last reisuue – at the show black factory…
    Mr Eastwood’s singing was an offend to those Youngsters, who bought tickets for, what they thought should be a solid Eastwood/Marvin western with fist fight from start till end.
    We were not pals, when we reached the intermission, but after the break, the action took over, and No Name City went down, and they accepted their new cinema owner, despite “I talk to the Trees” (Which for me is a lovely little song, very beautiful brought forth by The Clint.) Only Billy Crystal could be forgiven for the linie “Please, Mr Eastwood, -don’t You sing no more.
    Rumors of Lee Marvin being to drunk, that “Wandering Star” was rescued at the editing table from mere scraps and oneliners mey be true, but rescued it was, as a most charming bit of the film, and listed on top charts several years to come.
    A long fil, yes. Musicals are longer. It would have been more than twice, if Logan had made made it an opera. Opera audiences ko´now that, musical audiences likewise. Just those, who had not done their homework – or at least read the top line of the poster, got disappointed (like those western-custumers of mine, back in ’73). Don’t buy a cinema ticket without knowing, what it’s for – EVER !!
    The humor my be downsized a bit for a western, but it’s there: I can’t quote it correct, but the scene, where th pious Mrs. Fenton encourage Ben Rumson to read the bible, is nothing less than sumptous. I’ve been lurking from the back of the auditorium at every show, I’ve been running, to hear the reaction of the audiences. -Moments of sheer joy !
    I still love Paint Your Waggon, and of Paramount should (for reasons, I can’t imagine) make an reissue available in 70mm, I’d sign in for it without hesitation. -Meanwhile, I’ll dream on, wishing for a Blu Ray. In Denmark, we still only have a DVD, just as is the case of “Camelot”, another Lerner & Loewe masterpiece, that never really hit the top of boxoffice.
    Point fingers a PYW, and I’ll ask Philo Beddoe to bash You all !
    Greetings from the actual “Samllest Show on Earth” to all film lovers out there !!

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    • Thanks for all the information. I always love to hear about people’s personal experiences. Some of my most treasured memories revolve around cinema! By the way, I do member Billy Crystal making fun of Eastwood’s singing! It was a great Oscar moment!

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