Paint Your Wagon...

It’s not the best movie ever made, by a long shot.  Not even in the top ten, for sure.  So, why is “Paint Your Wagon” my favorite movie of all time?  And why am I blogging about it?  Well, this one’s for Ben.  He mentioned it to me in an email, so here goes:

After careful thought, most of this afternoon, I think I know why it’s my favorite movie.  There’s plenty to like about it, believe it or not….

There are the scripted lines:

Mrs. Fenty: You should read the Bible, Mr. Rumson (Lee Marvin’s character). 
Ben Rumson: I have read the Bible, Mrs. Fenty. 
Mrs. Fenty: Didn't that discourage you about drinking? 
Ben Rumson: No, but it sure killed my appetite for readin'! 

Legend has it that Lee Marvin didn’t take a sober breath during the filming…..  Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t.  Either way, he was very much in character…..

There is the scenery: an 1849 mining town in the California Gold Country……..that was, uh, filmed in Oregon. 

There’s the sheer numbers of extras: all “hippies” from Oregon.  It was 1969, you know….

There’s a young Clint Eastwood, the “hunk” in the movie.  Of course, he wasn’t as famous then as he later became, as Dirty Harry.  Or even as the mayor of Carmel, CA…..

Sometimes the stars just line up in a fashion that makes things magical.   I was a lot younger, then.  And I had two small children.  My husband and I couldn’t afford to go out very often so I didn’t see that many movies on the big screen. 

Ah, the big screen.  And the sound.  And the music.  And the chorus listed in the credits only as “the Chorus”…….And Harve Presnell singing Maria.  And, and, and…….Lee Marvin singing I was born under a wandering star……

That’s it.  That’s what I loved about it.  The music and the haunting chorus.  It was a benign, feel-good movie, shown at a time in my life when I needed to see it.  With songs I can still hear in my head…

And I saw it at the Fremont Theater in San Luis Obispo, CA…..on a Saturday night, 42 years ago.

Cali