Paint Your Wagon (1969)

Two unlikely prospector partners share the same wife in a California gold rush mining town.

Director:

Joshua Logan

Writers:

Alan Jay Lerner (book), Alan Jay Lerner (screenplay)

Stars:

Lee Marvin, Clint Eastwood, Jean Seberg

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 2 nominations.

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

Storyline

A Michigan farmer and a prospector form a partnership in the California gold country. Their adventures include buying and sharing a wife, hijacking a stage, kidnaping six prostitutes, and turning their mining camp into a boomtown. Along the way there is plenty of drinking, gambling, and singing. They even find time to do some creative gold mining.

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Plot Keywords:

polyamory | men's chorus | california gold rush | digging a grave | year 1849 | 

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Taglines:

Ben and Pardner shared everything -- even their wife!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Musical | Romance | Western

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Lee Marvin essentially reprised his Oscar-winning Kid Shelleen character from Cat Ballou (1965) for his portrayal of Ben Rumson. Ironically, where critics had lauded the scenery chewing of his earlier performance, they crucified his work on the same grounds in this movie.

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Goofs

When the town is falling apart in the end, we see the wires used hold up a falling bathtub.

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Quotes

Mad Jack Duncan: You tell no one about what we're doing here, you get me? If you so much as breath a word about this, I'll put a stick of dynamite in your mouth, do you get me?
Horton: I swear before God...
Mad Jack Duncan: I said no one!

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Crazy Credits

After the end credits and the Paramount logo, the screen goes black and a closing medley of the songs is heard for several minutes.

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Alternate Versions

On 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.

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Connections

Referenced in Show of the Week: Evil Within 2 and the 5 Worst Artists in Videogames (2017)

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Soundtracks

I Talk To The Trees
Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner
Music by Frederick Loewe
Sung by Clint Eastwood

User Reviews

Old Fashioned fun

I first watched Paint your wagon at the age of about ten when my dad who incidentally loves this movie had it on in the lounge. At ten years old it is a film that seems to rather drag and seemed so old to me I could barely watch, but now watching it again many years later have come to appreciate it as quite a comic take on the old west. Its characters are amusing and despite some criticism on clint eastwoods performance as partner i enjoy all the actors performances including his. My favourite song of the film would have to be 'no name city' as i remember as a child being amazed at how low the reverends voice goes during that song. Overall I enjoy this movie and will watch it if it is on television. An 9 out of 10. Good old fashioned fun.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 October 1969 (USA)

Also Known As:

Paint Your Wagon

Filming Locations:

Wallona National Forest, Baker, Oregon, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$14,500,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$14,500,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alan Jay Lerner Productions, The Malpaso Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

164 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (35 mm prints) 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1