1969 Paint Your Wagon

The movie Paint Your Wagon was an awkward attempt to update the plot of an old stage musical by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, with new songs by Andre Previn and Lerner. One can guess at one inherent problem with the picture from the very notion of starring Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood in a musical. The soundtrack is a peculiar release; in purely musical terms, it would only be of interest to dedicated fans of Harve Presnell (who performs "They Call the Wind Maria") and Anita Gordon, who acquits herself well singing Jean Seberg's part on "A Million Miles Away Behind the Door." It is Clint Eastwood and Lee Marvin, however, who do more of the singing here, and while they might not be of much interest musically, there is a certain "Golden Throats"-type allure to their songs.

The film begins with a wagon crashing into a ravine. Prospector Ben Rumson finds that of the two adult male occupants, one is dead and his brother injured with a broken arm and leg. As the man is about to be buried, gold dust is discovered at the graveside. Ben stakes a claim on the land and the surviving brother is adopted as his "Pardner" while he recuperates…