This was one of the first movies I taped after getting a newfangled gadget called a VCR back in 1983. The movie came on HBO. I liked it and wanted to try out my new toy, and I still have that tape.
Over the years, I heard people ridicule this as being a lousy movie, and that Eastwood and Marvin shouldn't have been allowed to sing. Though they haven't got hit-worthy singing voices, I think this fact added to the two rugged characters they portrayed in this very funny musical film.
Eastwood plays Pardner, a farmer who decides to move west with his brother. A wagon accident leaves Pardner's brother dead, and Lee Marvin along with some other men decide to bury him. During the hysterical graveside service, the men see the glimmering flecks of gold sprinkled in the mountainside where they are about to place "brother." Up comes brother, with so much irreverence that you can't help laughing.
This is the start of the partnership between the two men. They agree to split the gold, and to bail each other out of trouble, if and when it's needed. Naturally, it's going to be needed.
As the mining camp emerges from the mountainy landscape, the men are full of hopes and dreams. Each scene is filled with comedy and most with songs. My favorite was Marvin singing in his raspy voice, "God Made the Mountains." But the men need more than just whiskey and gold. There are no women in their camp. So when a Mormon and his 2 wives come through wanting to buy food, the men see a chance for someone to get himself a woman.
The rival women, one who has a child and one whose infant has recently died, don't want to travel together any longer. Their husband can't take anymore of their bickering and jealousy, and agrees to auction off the childless wife, (Jean Seberg). They go outside the mess tent, "where there is more room," leaving the childless woman inside with the baby, and a passed out old drunk, (Marvin.) The drunk wakes up and can't believe what he's seeing. He goes outside, pushes through the hoard of men without noticing anything that's going on, and falls, face-first into the river. And the fun begins.
I've never seen anyone play a drunk so convincingly as Lee Marvin. This role was made for him and he never stops making you laugh at the staggering drunken humor. Eastwood has a less comical role, playing the straightman to Marvin's antics. And as the only man in camp with a woman, Marvin goes a little nuts with jealousy and suspicion. This causes him to conjure up a plan to kidnap and bring to camp a wagon full of prostitutes. But if they want the women to stay, they will have to have more than a rough camp for men. They have to build a town.
As No Name City grows, becoming a boomtown, so does the hilarity of this movie. The partners have successfully given the other men something to look at, other than Jean Seberg, who plays their wife. They have agreed to a working relationship and everything is going along smoothly....but that doesn't last long.
A wildly irreverent comedy about greed, lust, vice, and even romance, this movie is a must see for anyone looking for great laughs. If you haven't seen it, it's worth the rental cost. If you have seen it, and didn't mind the untrained singing of Marvin and Eastwood, then maybe it's a good time to see it again.
In 1969, when it was released, it would have been considered too adult for children. It is still suggestive and deals with an adult theme, but it isn't full of profanity, nor are there any blatantly sexual scenes. Whatever violence is shown is done so in more of a slapstick fashion. I allowed my oldest daughter to watch it when she was only about 12, and could enjoy the humor. We spent days singing the different songs, and after hearing us, maybe Marvin and Eastwood didn't do such a bad job after all. :) It really is a funny film.
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