PAINT YOUR WAGON (1969)
Directed by Joshua Logan
Starring: Lee Marvin, Clint Eastwood, Jean Seberg
During the California Gold Rush, the cranky Ben Rumson (Marvin) is burying a man killed in a wagon wreck. That is, until he discovers there's gold in that there grave! A claim is quickly staked as he, out of goodwill, nurses the dead man's brother (Eastwood) back to health. He also gives his new "Pardner" (as he is hereafter refered to) a 50/50 share in the gold. However, the two come from different backgrounds. Pardner is a stoic, sober man, whereas Ben is a hard drinkin', hard livin' old cuss who wants nothing to do with civilization.
A makeshift town is built to accommodate all the riff-raff who hear about the gold, and things are about as uncivilized as they can get, which is just the way most of them like it. However, when a Morman comes to this no-name city called...well, "No Name City," with his two wifes, it is the first time in a good long while tha many of the men have seen a woman. Elizabeth (Seberg) is the trouble wife, and the Morman agrees to do the honorable thing and and put her up for auction among the men. Ben wins her with a drunken bid and they marry. Of course, the rest of the male population are jealous and want women of their own. So they, too, do the honorable thing and hijack a coach with six French prostitutes, turning the city into an actual boom town, full of all the whiskey and women any drunken and horny prospector could ever want. In the meantime, Ben and Pardner's "pardnership" runs into trouble as Elizabeth expresses her love for both men. Again, logic prevails and they all three agree to live as husband, husband and wife.
In the late 60's, there were two kinds of films that audiences had turned their backs on: westerns and musicals. This movie is both. And at the time, that meant it had two strikes against it. And it's got other problems as well, namely the fact that Lee Marvin can't carry a tune in a bucket. Luckily, the songs are by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, the duo who brought us Camelot and My Fair Lady. One of their signatures is a leading man who does a sort of talk-singing, so more or less any actor could play the lead. But Marvin fails even at that, however, as his whiskey-and-cigarettes voice growls through the few songs he "sings." Eastwood, on the other hand, actually isn't half bad on the singing front. I know it's strange thinking of Harry Callahan or "Blondie" singing a syrupy ballad about lost love, but Eastwood pulls it off rather well, even if he does seem a bit uncomfortable in the role at times. And yes, I checked. That really is Clint Eastwood singing. That's really Lee Marving, too.
Most of the songs are forgettable, though not altogether bad, and there are a few standout tunes that everyone can hum along to. Of particular note is the song "Wandrin' Star," sung by Marvin. In this number, his gruffness and inability to sing actually come in handy, as he bellows about the loneliness he's going through.
Also, it's interesting to look back at the time when this movie came out. In 1969, the free-love movement was at its peak, and all the major plot points center around what is and is not acceptable to society. The love triangle between Ben, Pardner and Elizabeth is a good arrangement for those involve, but outsiders see it as strange or downright sinful. A preacher who comes to town acts as a prophet to condemn all the boozing, whoring and carousing in the town, saying God has doomed No Name City to destruction. He's like the Fred Phelps of his generation; only a little more likeable.
This is a highly flawed and overly long movie (it clocks in at nearly three hours), but I still found it fun, even if it does, like Ben, suffer from bouts of melancholy. But it never wallows in it, and there's plenty of comedy to keep things light. Especially at the end, where a series of unfortunate events make us wonder if the preacher was right all along...
No comments:
Post a Comment