One of the first Broadway musicals I ever saw was James Barton, Olga San
Juan and Tony Bavaar in Lerner and Loewe's PAINT YOUR WAGON. Mind you,
this was in 1951 (I was a mere child!). It took almost twenty years to
make the film version and when I saw it I was astounded that they even
called what came out PAINT YOUR WAGON!
In the first place the story is totally different. In the original Ben
Rumson is a single father. He sings "I Still See Eliza" about his dead
wife. (In the movie Clint Eastwood sings it leaning against a tree as a
song with no relation to the story at all.) In the Broadway play, Ben is
trying to raise a young and anxious daughter who falls in love with a
Mexican prospector. Yes there are prospectors and yes there are "Bawdy
women," but the heart of the original has been cut out for the movie.
All that's left in the screen version are some of the beautiful songs
from the show by Lerner and Loewe, (and some not so beautiful ones
written for the film by Andre Previn,) some characters with the same
name as those in the play and that's about it.
Needless to say I was very disappointed when I saw the film on a
reserved seat roadshow version in London in 1970. (I doubt if I have
looked at my watch more than at that show, except maybe for THE PERFECT
STORM and DUDLEY DOO-RIGHT.) Recently however, a friend gave me the DVD
of the film as a birthday gift and, wanting to hear at least a few of
the good songs, I popped it into the player last night. Surprise! The
film is not as bad as I had remembered. I think I know why. That this
time I am not expecting the Broadway play is a given, but mainly the
film just plays better on home video. On it's initial release, Lerner's
simple story got dwarfed by the 70mm projection and the booming sound.
Seen on a 32 inch screen (with surround sound), the film can be seen for
the almost chamber piece that Lerner conceived. All at once the
brilliance of Lee Marvin's performance shines through, an incredibly
young Clint Eastwood accounts himself well (and sings pleasantly!), and
the tragic Jean Seberg comes across as a far better actress than I had
imagined. Yes, the destruction of the mining camp is still ridiculous
and yes, Joshua Logan's direction is stultifyingly dull (as it was in
CAMELOT), but all in all the film is a surprising treat. If you hated
PAINT YOUR WAGON the first time, give it another chance. I think you
will be pleasantly surprised.
Juan and Tony Bavaar in Lerner and Loewe's PAINT YOUR WAGON. Mind you,
this was in 1951 (I was a mere child!). It took almost twenty years to
make the film version and when I saw it I was astounded that they even
called what came out PAINT YOUR WAGON!
In the first place the story is totally different. In the original Ben
Rumson is a single father. He sings "I Still See Eliza" about his dead
wife. (In the movie Clint Eastwood sings it leaning against a tree as a
song with no relation to the story at all.) In the Broadway play, Ben is
trying to raise a young and anxious daughter who falls in love with a
Mexican prospector. Yes there are prospectors and yes there are "Bawdy
women," but the heart of the original has been cut out for the movie.
All that's left in the screen version are some of the beautiful songs
from the show by Lerner and Loewe, (and some not so beautiful ones
written for the film by Andre Previn,) some characters with the same
name as those in the play and that's about it.
Needless to say I was very disappointed when I saw the film on a
reserved seat roadshow version in London in 1970. (I doubt if I have
looked at my watch more than at that show, except maybe for THE PERFECT
STORM and DUDLEY DOO-RIGHT.) Recently however, a friend gave me the DVD
of the film as a birthday gift and, wanting to hear at least a few of
the good songs, I popped it into the player last night. Surprise! The
film is not as bad as I had remembered. I think I know why. That this
time I am not expecting the Broadway play is a given, but mainly the
film just plays better on home video. On it's initial release, Lerner's
simple story got dwarfed by the 70mm projection and the booming sound.
Seen on a 32 inch screen (with surround sound), the film can be seen for
the almost chamber piece that Lerner conceived. All at once the
brilliance of Lee Marvin's performance shines through, an incredibly
young Clint Eastwood accounts himself well (and sings pleasantly!), and
the tragic Jean Seberg comes across as a far better actress than I had
imagined. Yes, the destruction of the mining camp is still ridiculous
and yes, Joshua Logan's direction is stultifyingly dull (as it was in
CAMELOT), but all in all the film is a surprising treat. If you hated
PAINT YOUR WAGON the first time, give it another chance. I think you
will be pleasantly surprised.