Two of Hollywood’s macho actors, Clint Eastwood (Man With No Name in the Sergio Leone’s spaghetti Westerns) and Lee Marvin (“Cat Ballou,” “Dirty Dozen”) were miscast in this musical flop, directed by Joshua Logan.
The actors, who were required to sing (as strange as it might sound), form a romantic triangle with Jean Seberg (who also could not sing much), their shared wife, in a preposterous scenario penned by the otherwise accomliahed Paddy Chayefsky.
Based on the stage musical by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe (better known for “My Fair Lady” and “Gigi”), this big-budget production was panned by all critics and tanked at the box-office.
The approach and style are incoherent, combining stagy sequences with some spectacular location shooting, resulting in a dull and ludicrous movie musical.
Cling Eastwood delivers the song, “I Talk to the Trees,” among several poorly staged numbers.
One of the few highlights, “They Call the Wind Maria,” is rendered by the only professional singer in the cast, Harve Presnell.
It didn’t help that composer and producer Lerner, who thought that Vincente Minnelli was Hollywood’s best musical director, and director Logan, known for better films such as “Picnic,” clashed notoriously on the set.
My Oscar Book:
Oscar Nominations: 1
Score of a Musical (Original or Adapted): Nelson Riddle
Oscar Awards: None
Oscar Context:
The winners of the Musical Score Oscar were Lennie Hayton and Lionel Newman for “Hello, Dolly!”
