La Kermesse de l'Ouest

Clint Eastwood and Lee Marvin - in a musical? Yes, and it works rather well.

No expense was spared by Paramount in assembling the behind-camera talent. Lerner and Loewe's successful stage show was beefed up by Andre Previn's compositions and Nelson Riddle's arrangements, and a script by Paddy Chayefsky. If Clint and Lee aren't exactly Mario Lanza and Tito Gobbi, they are good enough. Clint sings timidly but tunefully ("I Talk To The Trees", "Gold Fever") and Marvin's growly "Wandering Star" was a big chart success back in 1969. The songs are strong, the lyrics clever and the choreography slick and busy. At two and three-quarter hours, the film is rather too long, but it contains plenty of interesting things, including some excellent comedy.

No-Name Town is a rough and ready prospectors' settlement, one of many such ramshackle communities springing up during the California Gold Rush. Two very different men link up as partners and grow into inseperable friends. 'Pardner' (Eastwood) is a straight, solid farmer from the Mid West, while Ben Rumson (Marvin) is a hell-raising wildman from no place in particular. When a mormon auctions one of his wives (Elizabeth, played by Jean Seberg), Rumson buys her. Things get complicated when Pardner falls in love with Elizabeth, and she falls in love with .... er, both men.

Added interest is provided by the arrival of a bunch of French whores and a party of rescued wagon-trainers (this last was drawn from a true story).

Good things include a barnstorming performance from Marvin, radiating enormous personality and a real flair for comedy. His career flowered late, but he was at his best in the late sixties ("Point Blank", "Hell In The Pacific", and of course this one). Previn's musical interlude which introduces the Parson (Alan Dexter) is superb, leading into one of the film's best songs, "Here It Is". The comical discords of the musical passage are a joy in themselves, and they pave the way perfectly for the Parson, who is at odds with everybody. "Hand Me Down That Can Of Beans" is rendered by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, guesting in the movie. The boys obviously decided to stay on, because they crop up in various shots throughout the film. Mad Jack is played with manic zest and a peculiar British accent by Ray Walston, none other than TV's "My Favourite Martian".

The interminable gag of the collapsing tunnels stand as a metaphor of the film's shortcomings - over-elaborate, and over-long.

Joshua Logan's screen version of "Paint your wagon" works a treat, perhaps because the original stage version is so little known and apparently has been given something of a make-over by screen writer Paddy Chayefsky. The fact that the leads (Lee Marvin, Clint Eastwood and Jean Seberg) can't sing matters not a jot; they perform with charisma, (even Seberg is less wan than usual) and bring a touch of realism to the proceedings, their songs seeming to evolve naturally from the action. Other singing duties are performed by the splendid Harve Presnell and a rousing, mostly male, chorus for this is a musical western of a more robust kind than "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers". It's plot, which concerns mining for gold, polygamy and the building of a town, fairly races along. Logan handles the whole thing with great aplomb and brings to it some nice, naturalistic touches sadly lacking from his earlier musicals, "South Pacific" and "Camelot". Most critics didn't warm to it, though and it remains largely under-valued.

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.

Is the movie great? No, but it is a good one. If it were great, it would not suffer from it's long running time. A wider audience would no doubt warm to a shorter version. More is the pity, too, because the movie has much to offer. The scenery is beautiful; the sets reconstructions are first rate. Listen to the lyrics of some of the songs ('Gold Fever' and 'The First Thing You Know' are two good examples) and you can appreciate the wordsmithing skill of Alan Jay Lerner. If you like a large all-male chorus, the film offers some of the best singing of that kind you are likely to hear. Listen especially during 'There's a Coach Coming In'.

I must confess a guilty admiration for characters who are unapologetically amoral and corrupt, at least as defined by 'respectable society'. I wouldn't necessarily want one for a neighbor or even a friend (well .. maybe), but they are fascinating on film or stage. If the film is a comedy, they can be hilarious and often steal the show. All you need is the right actor to fill the role. Paint Your Wagon offers one of the most uproariously amoral characters on film, brought to amazing life by Lee Marvin. He delivers Ben Rumson's imminently quotable home-spun philosophy of life with great relish and comedic timing. Can he sing? No. But then would a somewhat dissipated Gold Rush miner likely be a good singer? His non-singing actually fits.

The rest of the cast is good but not exceptional. Ray Walston is memorable as Mad Jack. I still find it hard to spot the actor I am used to behind the beard and accent. He also has some great lines. Harve Presnell is the only truly major-league singer in the cast and delivers the most memorable song. The remaining actors are adequate. Eastwood is good but replaceable. Jean Seaberg is not Meryl Streep but is certainly easy on the eyes. The townsfolk are solid.

An enjoyable movie, with Lee Marvin's performance worth the price of admission. It is too bad it requires such a long time commitment to experience it all.

Agreeable musical with patches of interest, long runtime and nice settings. Dealing with the California Gold Rush, in which two adventurers, Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood, living at a gold mining boom town, join forces as tough prospectors. The plot involves a farcical discovery of gold and the growth of a mining towm : No Name City. Then a Mormon wife, Jean Seberg who was mercifully dubbed, is sold by her husband and bought by a drunken Marvin. Later on, the lady pioneer takes two hubbies, but its quality scarcely matters given that the husbands are performed by the great Marvin and Clint Eastwood, hamming away as the second hubby.

A breathtaking, rotund but overlong rendition compensated for a solid plot, being based on a notorious, hard-shelled musical play by Lerner and Loewe with pretty sounds. This movie put Marvin's gravel voice at the top of the charts, thanks to the million-selling famous song Wandrin' star .Here there is also an enjoyable picture postcard approach to history. Resulting to be a sympathetic movie with plenty of panoramic scenary about two prospectors sharing the same Mormon spouse completing with a vintage Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe musical score .

It contains a colorful and brilliant cinematography in Technicolor by William A. Fraker. Amusing and entertaining screenplay by the prestigious writer Paddy Chayefsky. There stands out Lee Marvin who steals the show, he chews the sagebrush scenary. There are marvelous songs as highlights, such as Wandrin' Star sung by Marvin and the other vocal highlight : The call the wind Maria sung by Harve Presnell. Furthermore : Talk to the trees, I still see Elisa, I am on my way, Best things, among others.

Displaying a supremely tuneful score by various composers Alan Jay Lerner, Fredeick Loewe and Andre Previn .This big budgeted western musical comedy rendered very pretty and wonderful look at by filmmaker Joshua Logan. This craftsman was a good filmmaker who directed successful films, usually dramas and musical , including big name actors such as Picnic, Bus stop, Sayonara, South Pacific, Fanny, Ensign Pulver, Camelot and this Paint your wagon. Rating 7/10. Above average musical. The flick will appeal to Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood fans.