In early 1964, singer Eddie Fisher acquired film rights to the 1951 musical Paint Your Wagon by Frederick Loewe and Alan Jay Lerner, as announced in a 3 Apr 1964 DV item. Fisher paid $200,000 for the rights, according to a 15 Aug 1968 DV item, and planned to produce the film independently, shooting in Cinerama. As of early Apr 1964, Lerner was said to be at work on the script adaptation, while Loewe was due to write four additional songs for the picture. Fisher intended to play “Julio Valveras” and reportedly wanted James Cagney for the role of “Ben Rumson.” The 13 Aug 1965 DV stated that Fisher was in talks with Paramount Pictures to sign an acting contract. It was noted that his production company at the time, New Frontier Productions, still owned rights to Paint Your Wagon. Several months later, the 25 Jan 1967 NYT listed Paint Your Wagon as one of twenty-seven upcoming projects at Paramount, and items in the 6 Apr 1967 DV and NYT announced that Joshua Logan had been set to direct. Eddie Fisher was named as executive producer.
       On 20 Jun 1967, a DV news brief stated that Paddy Chayefsky had been signed to adapt the screenplay. According to the 25 Sep 1968 DV, the musical was transformed from a “relatively pastoral” narrative into “a sexy morality tale.” In an interview published in the 23 Nov 1969 LAT, director Joshua Logan stated that Chayefsky was responsible for throwing out “the main story line, including the two major characters.” His first draft was reportedly 200 pages long. After Chayefsky wrote a second draft, Lerner came in to revise it. Logan stated that in the final film the first act was as Chayefsky had written it, but the second act was Lerner’s work. Chayesky ultimately accepted an adaptation credit, while Lerner was credited as the sole screenwriter. Frederick Loewe, who had composed songs for the original musical, did not want to go back to work on the screen adaptation, according to the 17 Jun 1968 LAT; thus André Previn was brought in to pen five new songs.
       Lee Marvin’s casting was announced in an 11 Dec 1967 DV brief. Marvin had never sung before, and received “private talk-singing lessons” from Lerner, the 22 May 1968 LAT reported. Clint Eastwood was named as Marvin’s co-star in the 3 Jan 1968 LAT. According to an article in the 22 Jun 1969 LAT, Eastwood also underwent a short period of voice training for the singing role. An estimated 18,000 actresses vied for the female lead, as stated in the 11 Aug 1968 NYT. Top contenders included Vanessa Redgrave, Barbara Harris, Mary Tyler Moore, Lesley Ann Warren, Anne Bancroft, and Faye Dunaway, the 9 May 1968 LAT noted, but Jean Seberg ultimately won the part. While preparing the film, Logan advised Seberg to model her character after a real-life person, and the actress, who had been raised in Iowa but had since moved to France, decided to use her grandmother, whom she described in the 11 Aug 1968 NYT as “an orphan who scrubbed farm floors.”
       An article in the 30 Apr 1968 NYT stated that Paint Your Wagon would use “multiple-image techniques” that had been unveiled the previous year at Canada’s Expo 67. The innovations, touted as “multiple-image designs and complicated montages for pictorial excitement and dramatic punch,” were reportedly first used in The Thomas Crown Affair and The Boston Strangler (1968, see entries). Early budget estimates ranged from $14-$16 million. Of that figure, the 25 Sep 1968 DV noted that Lee Marvin would be paid $1 million plus a percentage of the profits, and a 22 Jun 1969 LAT article claimed that Eastwood would also receive $1 million and a profit percentage.
       Principal photography began 24 Jun 1968 in the remote location of Baker, OR, where a replica of an 1849 gold mining town was built over the course of seven months, at a cost of $2.4-$2.5 million. The primary set was constructed in Eagle Creek, described in the 25 Sep 1968 DV as a “national park wilderness area.” In the Wallowa Mountains surrounding the location, 300-400 hippies, who had traveled there to perform as background actors, set up communal camps. The hippie presence enraged some local lumberjacks and ranch hands, who were rumored to have fired shots at their encampments at night. The Baker residents also reportedly started fights with crewmembers at a local saloon. An article in the 18 Aug 1968 LAT noted that some of the hippie extras complained about the food on set and petitioned for higher pay than their $20 per day salaries. When they threatened to strike, producers conceded, raising their pay to $25 per day.
       Tensions between Logan and Lee Marvin, who allegedly abused alcohol and often disappeared from set, prompted rumors that Logan would be replaced. On 12 Jul 1968, DV stated that Paramount executive Robert Evans had visited Baker that week to discuss a director change, while early scenes were already being re-shot. An LAT item published on the same date identified Richard Brooks as Logan’s likely successor. However, Brooks had a previous commitment at United Artists (UA), and the 16 Jul 1968 LAT reported that UA’s Arnold Picker refused to release him to Paramount. In an interview published in the 6 Oct 1968 LAT, Logan claimed that the rumors of his leaving had been premature, and that Brooks had initially been contacted for advice, since he had directed Marvin in The Professionals (1966, see entry). Meanwhile, the 18 Jul 1968 LAT stated that Eddie Fisher planned to remove his name from onscreen credits due to the controversy. An item published in the 15 Aug 1968 DV gave a conflicting report that Fisher had mentioned his executive producer role on Paint Your Wagon in his recent performance at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub in Los Angeles, CA. However, two months later, the 22 Oct 1968 DV confirmed that Fisher’s name was off the film.
       Rain caused twenty-five days’ worth of production delays, as stated by Lerner in the 22 Oct 1968 DV. The inclement weather was said to have marked the first August rainfall in the Wallowa National Forest in thirty-five years. Other problems on set included minor injuries endured by Marvin, who was knocked off a stagecoach by an overhanging tree branch and run over by another stagecoach, as reported in the 13 Aug 1968 DV. Although Marvin continued working directly after the incident, he was eventually taken to the hospital to have his ankle and one of his ribs taped.
       According to a 12 Sep 1968 DV brief, Alan Jay Lerner made his “acting and singing debut” in a scene that was shot the day before.
       While filming was underway, Jean Seberg’s then husband, Romain Gary, issued a statement announcing his and Seberg’s impending divorce, as noted in the 25 Sep 1968 DV. Some years later, Seberg’s 30 Nov 1980 NYT obituary indicated that the actress had had an on-set affair with her co-star, Clint Eastwood. When Romain Gary had heard rumors of the infidelity, he had flown to Oregon to confront her. While in Baker, he had reportedly challenged Eastwood to a duel, although it never came to fruition. NYT noted that, after the shoot, Eastwood returned to his then wife, Maggie Eastwood, and the divorce between Seberg and Gary was finalized.
       In early Oct 1968, production moved to Paramount studios in Hollywood, CA, for a final five weeks of interior shooting, the 16 Oct 1968 Var noted. By that time, the 6 Oct 1968 LAT reported that the budget had risen to over $20 million. On 6 Nov 1968, cast and crew went to Big Bear Lake, CA, to “match” some of the locations shot in Baker, according to that day’s DV. Filming was scheduled to conclude on 27 Nov 1968; however, shooting continued through the first week of Dec 1968, which was costly since Marvin’s contract stipulated he be paid an additional $20,000 per day anytime on or after 1 Dec 1968.
       Paint Your Wagon was included in a 26 Oct 1968 NYT article about the new wave of expensive musicals sweeping Hollywood. After a relative dearth of musicals, major Hollywood studios had reportedly invested $91 million in the making of eighteen such films, including a few that had already been released, such as Funny Girl, Star!, and Finian’s Rainbow (1968, see entries). Lerner was simultaneously involved in Paint Your Wagon and another musical, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970, see entry); and, before either was released, he was named Loew’s Theaters’ “Producer of the Year – 1968” for his participation in those films, the 12 Dec 1968 DV reported.
       The picture was rated “M” (for mature audiences) by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). It subsequently marked the first “roadshow” release to be rated anything other than “G” (for general audiences) since the MPAA’s new rating system had debuted in Nov 1968, according to various contemporary sources including the 30 Apr 1969 Var.
       A soundtrack was scheduled for release in mid-Sep 1969, one month prior to theatrical release, the 12 Jun 1969 DV reported. A $2-million promotional campaign included a series of newspaper advertisements by the artist Peter Max, and a “fashion tie-in” with the Lurex Company, Ltd., as stated in the 16 Jul 1969 and 17 Sep 1969 issues of Var, and the 7 Sep 1969 LAT. An estimated forty premieres and special screenings, benefitting various charities, were set to take place in various cities, according to the 1 Oct 1969 DV. The world premiere in New York City occurred on 15 Oct 1969 at the Loew’s State 2 Theatre. A Los Angeles premiere was scheduled to follow on 22 Oct 1969 at the Pacific Cinerama Dome. The picture was set to expand to seven more cities by late Oct 1969; and, as stated in the 7 Sep 1969 LAT, it was expected to be showing “in 70mm, six-track stereo in 46 theaters” by the end of the year.
       Following mixed critical reception, ticket sales were disappointing. In the 20 Jan 1971 Var, Paramount President Frank Yablans was quoted as saying that the film would end up grossing $14 million.
       An Academy Award nomination went to Nelson Riddle for Music (Score of a Musical Picture—original or adaptation).
       Music editor William Lloyd Young was said to be working on the film around the time of his death in mid-Feb 1969, according to his 13 Feb 1969 DV obituary. Cal Bartlett, Senator Wayne Morse, and Marina Maubert were named as a cast members in the 22 Jun 1968 LAT, 18 Nov 1968 DV, and 15 Jan 1969 Var.