Paint Your Wagon

PG-13

Released Oct 15, 1969

2h 38m

Musical

Comedy

Western

List

43%

Tomatometer

21 Reviews

68%

Audience Score

5,000+ Ratings

In this musical based on the Broadway show, Ben Rumson (Lee Marvin) happens upon a wrecked wagon containing a dead man and his surviving brother, Pardner (Clint Eastwood), in the wilds of California during the Gold Rush. At the burial, they discover gold dust and stake a claim. Soon a mining camp dubbed "No Name City" emerges, rife with lonely men starved for female companionship. When a polygamist Mormon arrives looking to sell off a wife (Jean Seberg), a bidding war commences.

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Clayton Dillard

Slant Magazine

Joshua Logan’s Paint Your Wagon can be viewed as one of the last gasps of a dwindling Hollywood studio system, as well as a precursor to the New Hollywood.

Mar 25, 2024

Full Review

Pauline Kael

New Yorker

Paint Your Wagon plays it so safe that it has been directed by a man whose qualification is having directed Camelot, which was also a failure, but in the same financial class.

Jul 6, 2022

Full Review

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

The fact is, Paint Your Wagon doesn't inspire a review. It doesn't even inspire a put-down. It just lies there in my mind - a big, heavy lump.

Rated: 2/4

Oct 23, 2004

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Flawed, to be sure, but not without its ample charms.

Rated: 3/4

Apr 10, 2024

Full Review

Tom Cassidy

Common Sense Media

Most of the songs in Paint Your Wagon are upbeat and catchy, and a sense of fun runs through it. There's also some heart.

Feb 6, 2024

Full Review

John Huddy

Miami Herald

A bawdy but funny story that is saved by the virtuoso performance of Lee J. Marvin

Jun 16, 2022

Full Review

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Johan J

Just finished watching this movie again and it's criminally underrated. Admittedly it's too long and should probably have trimmed down 20-30 minutes and some of the subplots.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/16/24

Full Review

Pura V

Clumsy movie with Clint Eastwood wandering around trying to do something. Lee Marvin saves the show. Maybe. Still, "Paint Your Wagon" has the best of the California gold rush years. The nasty stuff is overlooked. If you're trying to explain how Anglo culture got started in California, and if you want to know why California is different from other places, this movie is a starting place. I'm being generous with the stars. The movie is good but it's not great.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/29/24

Full Review

stuart s

I think people are disappointed in this because it's a musical and not a pure Western. However if you can live through a few songs this is a great Western. Clint Eastwood and Lee Marvin aren't half bad at singing. Then there's Harve Presnell singing "The Wind they Call Maria". A true work of art. Then after that it's a great comedy.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/23/23

Full Review

Davide l

Refreshingly in the vein of the simplest authentic sentiment oozing and with bygone pace, wit and wisdom and sufficient irony to comment and reflect on better ways before their paving, crowding and policing. About the wild & free ever further west, the greedy and all the fiddle in the middle. Enjoy, it's musical a little, poetic and subtly comical, a lot. The end is as abrupt as the beginning, don't wait for a sign pointing to an obvious exit. No gift shop, A glimpse of raw human emotion through juxtaposed situations, all in turmoil.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/17/23

Full Review

Glans V

They just don't make movies like this anymore. Great characters, wonderful music and beautiful scenery. No CGI, just great cinematography. Do yourself a favor and watch this movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/15/23

Full Review

Logan M

Poor plot and unnecessary subplots, but great comedy, energy, performances and songs.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

06/03/23

Full Review

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Joshua Logan

Director

Lee Marvin

Ben Rumson

Clint Eastwood

Sylvester Newel

Jean Seberg

Elizabeth

Harve Presnell

Rotten Luck Willie

Ray Walston

Mad Jack Duncan

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Synopsis

In this musical based on the Broadway show, Ben Rumson (Lee Marvin) happens upon a wrecked wagon containing a dead man and his surviving brother, Pardner (Clint Eastwood), in the wilds of California during the Gold Rush. At the burial, they discover gold dust and stake a claim. Soon a mining camp dubbed "No Name City" emerges, rife with lonely men starved for female companionship. When a polygamist Mormon arrives looking to sell off a wife (Jean Seberg), a bidding war commences.

Director: Joshua Logan
Producer: Alan Jay Lerner
Screenwriter: Alan Jay Lerner
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Paramount Pictures, Malpaso Company
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Musical, Comedy, Western
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 15, 1969, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 15, 2011
Runtime: 2h 38m

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