Watch Paint Your Wagon
- PG-13
- 1969
- 2 hr 34 min
-
6.6 (15,110)
Paint Your Wagon is a 1969 American Western musical film that is based upon the 1951 stage musical of the same name. The film was directed by Joshua Logan and stars Lee Marvin, Clint Eastwood, and Jean Seberg. Set in a gold rush town in California, the movie tells the story of two unlikely partners who strike it rich and battle for the affections of a beautiful woman.
The film opens with a group of men heading out to a remote mining camp in California. Among them are Ben Rumson (Lee Marvin) and his daughter Jennifer (played by Lizbeth Hush). Upon arriving, the men discover that there is only one woman in the camp, Elizabeth (Jean Seberg), who is kidnapped by a group of Mexican bandits. Ben and his daughter rescue her and bring her back to the camp. Soon enough, Ben and Elizabeth begin to develop feelings for one another.
The camp's gold mine is failing, but one day, the men discover new veins of gold in the mountains. To make their claim, they must file it with the town's government. Ben is elected as their representative and goes to the town's mayor to file the claim. However, the mayor tells him that they cannot file a claim without a town charter, and to get one, they need at least 400 people living in the town.
To attract people, the men decide to bring in prostitutes from a nearby town. One of them is Mormon with two wives, who is played by Clint Eastwood. He falls in love with Elizabeth and eventually becomes rivals with Ben for her affections. Meanwhile, Ben's daughter Jennifer falls in love with a Christian preacher named Julio, who is also a part of the group.
As the town grows, conflicts arise between the different factions, such as between the Mormons and the non-Mormons. The biggest conflict is between Ben and his rival, who both try to win Elizabeth's heart. They engage in a fierce competition, which include singing and dancing, to win her over. The climax of the film is a brutal boxing match between the two rivals, which is won by Ben.
The film's central theme is the struggle between individualism and community. Throughout the movie, Ben is portrayed as a rugged, self-sufficient man who is wary of forming attachments to others. However, he slowly learns to appreciate the benefits of living in a community and the importance of sharing one's wealth with others.
The movie's soundtrack features numerous songs, including "I Talk to the Trees," "They Call the Wind Maria," and "Wandrin' Star." Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood famously sang their own songs, despite the fact that neither of them were professional singers.
In conclusion, Paint Your Wagon is an entertaining and engaging film that combines elements of the Western, musical, and comedy genres. The performances by Lee Marvin, Clint Eastwood, and Jean Seberg are outstanding, and the film's themes of community and individualism still resonate today.
Paint Your Wagon is a 1969 comedy with a runtime of 2 hours and 34 minutes. It has received mostly poor reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 6.6 and a MetaScore of 50.