IMDb > Paint Your Wagon (1969)
Paint Your Wagon
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Paint Your Wagon (1969) More at IMDbPro »

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Paint Your Wagon (1969) -- Two unlikely prospector partners share the same wife in a California gold rush mining town.
Paint Your Wagon (1969) -- Two unlikely prospector partners share the same wife in a California gold rush mining town.

Overview

User Rating:
6.5/10   4,673 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 4% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Joshua Logan
Writers:
Paddy Chayefsky (adaptation)
Alan Jay Lerner (musical play "Paint Your Wagon")
more
Contact:
View company contact information for Paint Your Wagon on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
15 October 1969 (USA) more
Genre:
Comedy | Musical | Romance | Western more
Tagline:
Stake Your Claim To The Musical Goldmine of '69! more
Plot:
Two unlikely prospector partners share the same wife in a California gold rush mining town. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 2 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(5 articles)
70Mm Todd A-o Film Festival To Be Held In Germany, October 2-4
 (From CinemaRetro. 7 September 2009, 8:27 PM, PDT)
Is Clint Eastwood the Longest-Running Movie Star Ever?
 (From Get The Big Picture. 13 January 2009, 5:19 PM, PST)
User Comments:
It still grabs ya more (82 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Lee Marvin ... Ben Rumson

Clint Eastwood ... Pardner

Jean Seberg ... Elizabeth
Harve Presnell ... Rotten Luck Willie
Ray Walston ... Mad Jack Duncan

Tom Ligon ... Horton Fenty
Alan Dexter ... Parson
William O'Connell ... Horace Tabor
Benny Baker ... Haywood Holbrook (as Ben Baker)
Alan Baxter ... Mr. Fenty
Paula Trueman ... Mrs. Fenty

Robert Easton ... Atwell

Geoffrey Norman ... Foster
H.B. Haggerty ... Steve Bull
Terry Jenkins ... Joe Mooney
more
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for thematic material.
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
158 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.20 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
4-Track Stereo (35 mm prints) | 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)
Certification:
Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | UK:A (original rating) | USA:TV-14 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-8 | Norway:16 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:M (original rating) | USA:PG-13 (re-rated: 2001) | West Germany:16 | Singapore:PG
Filming Locations:
Baker, Oregon, USA more
Company:
Malpaso Company, The more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
This was the only film produced by Alan Jay Lerner. more
Goofs:
Anachronisms: While working in the "mine", Ben Rumson can clearly be seen wearing a carbide lamp. Carbide lamps were not developed until 1892, but the movie is set in 1849. more
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'!
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Clint Eastwood: Director (1982) (TV) more
Soundtrack:
Best Things more

FAQ

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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
11 out of 15 people found the following comment useful.
It still grabs ya, 28 July 2004
Author: orthogonal6 from US

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.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Paint Your Wagon (1969)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Best Thing About Movie . . . teresa-elbin
Where's the baby?? joellyn917
Who sang They Call the Wind Mariah in the movie? turner-33
Cover Art on 1969 Album kmgeissel
Lee Marvin very different in this movie! nikkiandtim
Comeon Paramount it's worth a BD loa-3
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