Westwärts zieht der Wind (1969)

Westwärts zieht der Wind: Directed by Joshua Logan. With Lee Marvin, Clint Eastwood, Jean Seberg, Harve Presnell. Two unlikely prospector partners share the same wife in a California gold rush mining town.

“Joshua Loganu0026#39;s screen version of u0026quot;Paint your wagonu0026quot; works a treat, perhaps because the original stage version is so little known and apparently has been given something of a make-over by screen writer Paddy Chayefsky. The fact that the leads (Lee Marvin, Clint Eastwood and Jean Seberg) canu0026#39;t sing matters not a jot; they perform with charisma, (even Seberg is less wan than usual) and bring a touch of realism to the proceedings, their songs seeming to evolve naturally from the action. Other singing duties are performed by the splendid Harve Presnell and a rousing, mostly male, chorus for this is a musical western of a more robust kind than u0026quot;Seven Brides for Seven Brothersu0026quot;. Itu0026#39;s plot, which concerns mining for gold, polygamy and the building of a town, fairly races along. Logan handles the whole thing with great aplomb and brings to it some nice, naturalistic touches sadly lacking from his earlier musicals, u0026quot;South Pacificu0026quot; and u0026quot;Camelotu0026quot;. Most critics didnu0026#39;t warm to it, though and it remains largely under-valued.”