Two unlikely prospector partners share the same wife in a California gold rush mining town.Two unlikely prospector partners share the same wife in a California gold rush mining town.Two unlikely prospector partners share the same wife in a California gold rush mining town.
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
14K
YOUR RATING
- Alan Jay Lerner(book and lyrics by)
- Paddy Chayefsky(adaptation)
- Stars
- Alan Jay Lerner(book and lyrics by)
- Paddy Chayefsky(adaptation)
- Stars
Benny Baker
- Haywood Holbrook
- (as Ben Baker)
- Alan Jay Lerner(book and lyrics by) (screenplay)
- Paddy Chayefsky(adaptation)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaLee Marvin drank real alcohol throughout the production, even though director Joshua Logan fought him about it. In most movies, the actors and actresses drink tea for whiskey and water for vodka. Marvin would only work if he got real liquor.
- GoofsSoon after Ben, Pardner, and Mad Jack open their secret "gold mine" underneath No Name City, a young farmer is recruited to help dig. To emphasize the need for secrecy, Mad Jack threatens to shove a stick of dynamite in the farmer's mouth if he blabs. The film is set in 1849 or 1850, before California becomes a state. Dynamite wasn't yet invented (it was patented by Alfred Nobel in 1867).
- Quotes
Mrs. Fenty: You should read the Bible, Mr. Rumson.
Ben Rumson: I have read the Bible, Mrs. Fenty.
Mrs. Fenty: Didn't that discourage you about drinking?
Ben Rumson: No, but it sure killed my appetite for readin'!
- Crazy creditsAfter the end credits and the Paramount logo, the screen goes black and a closing medley of the songs is heard for several minutes.
- Alternate versionsOn its release to what were then called "neighborhood theatres" (i.e. theatres which showed films that had ended their first runs downtown), the film's running time was shortened by having three songs eliminated, "I Still See Elisa", "The First Thing You Know", and "Gold Fever". This left both Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood with only one solo song each. The film was restored to its original length for its first television showing, and has remained that way ever since.
- ConnectionsEdited into The Kid Stays in the Picture (2002)
Review
Featured review
Forgotten and a little misunderstood
I've never understood the cloud of negativity surrounding Paint Your Wagon, a terminally eccentric, raucously bawdy musical western epic in which old school tough guys Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood get to sing, or at least do their best. Sure it's a giant unwieldy spectacle, not all of the songs make a three point landing and it runs on far too long, but it's such an interesting piece from many perspectives, it doesn't deserve even half the shade thrown on it by critics over the years. I like it specifically because of how odd and random it is at times, how it meanders and lingers across the gold rush frontier town it takes place in, following the paths of it's strange characters diligently. Marvin is the life of the party as Ben Rumson, a booze soaked, misanthropic prospector idling his way through the west in a haze of hangovers and hijinks. Eastwood is Pardner, a soft spoken stoic type whose life is saved by Ben, and the two strike a bond that's eventually tested by Elizabeth (Jean Seberg), the beauty who loves them both. The trio makes the best of life in a rough n' tumble settlement called No Name City, a feverish shantytown on the precipice of nowhere, populated by scoundrels, miscreants and hooligans. And that's pretty much it, the story punctuated by a whole gallery of songs, some brilliant and others excruciating. The best is a haunting, melancholy melody by Marvin called 'Wandering Star', which is so good it could be listened to on repeat. 'They Call The Wind Mariah' is a gorgeous tune belted out by a young looking Harve Presnell as Rotten Luck Willie, a slick kingpin who basically runs the township. 'There's a Coach Comin In' rouses spirits, and the titular theme is well staged too. Unfortunately all of the songs sung solely by Eastwood are a slog through the mud, as he bleats like a goat and gets saddled with the most boring tracks like 'I Talk To The Trees', the sappy 'Elisa' and 'Gold Fever', a musical sleeping pill. Whenever Marvin is around it's a banger of a party, he goes the extra mile to keep the energy levels unbridled, while Eastwood is a little sleepier. There's no way the film deserves the dodgy reputation it's been slapped with though, a lot of it is fun as all hell, the big budget is spent well on fantastic production design, epic sets and big names who earn their keep, Marvin in particular.
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- NateWatchesCoolMovies
- Dec 29, 2017
Details
Box office
- 2 hours 44 minutes
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