Citizen Rules...Cinemaesque Chat-n-Review

Don't even start with that.

I think I saw it, or some of it, when I was young. What I can be sure of is that my mum really liked it (as did my grandparents) and I can remember hearing that soundtrack over and over for years. I hate that bloody album. In fact, it's entirely possible that my hatred for westerns comes from that album. Both the music and the horrible, horrible album cover.



Look at that horrible brown scratchy thing.

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5-time MoFo Award winner.

For everyone (but HK) I just seen that you can legally watch Paint Your Wagon on Youtube. Hearing Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood sing is an experience.

It is so funny. I am the one person who doesn't mind "Paint Your Wagon" or the two of them singing.

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I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity - Edgar Allan Poe

I don't mind Clint's singing. I do mind Lee Marvin's, most of the music and the story itself though.

Well, at least you don't mind something about it. The music is actually really good music. But I don't think the producers handled the making of the film too well and that spoiled the music by who was cast and how the story was told. This was a Broadway show before a movie. So, I know how the music sounded originally before Lee Marvin sang. It is just different as the Broadway show.

I loved Paint Your Wagon. I thought it was cool to see a younger Eastwood in a western where he wasn't the tough guy gun fighter (I love the spaghetti westerns too). Lee Marvin sings like a frog which is great as he's a grisly old prospector and I doubt many of the 69ers could carry a tune. I thought it was a fun film and a unique musical.

I tried watching Cat Ballou for the 1960's list, but for some reason, I just didn't really care much for it. I thought it was strange because I like Jane Fonda, and it sounded like my kind of movie, so I plan to re-watch it at some point to give it another chance.

I saw Paint Your Wagon many years ago, but I don't remember much about the movie except that I didn't like it.

I don't know. Maybe I just have some kind of mental block against musical westerns?

You mean you're normal.

I've been called a lot of things, but "normal" has never been one of them.

Well now you can add it to the list.

Soldier Blue (1970)

Director: Ralph Nelson
Cast: Candice Bergen, Peter Strauss, Donald Pleasence
Genre: Exploitative History, Western


Synopsis: A U.S. Cavalry regiment is massacred by the Cheyenne Indians. There are only two survivors: a naive young solider (Peter Strauss) who's ill equipped to deal with the situation...and a savvy tough talking, young woman(Candice Bergen) who'd lived with the Cheyennes and is sympathetic to their plight.

Review: I knew when the prologue words came on the screen sounding like a protest rally, that this film would be different. Sadly what should have been a thought provoking statement on the massacre of innocent Cheyennes is turned into a campy exploitative film.

Candice Bergen's acting is so bad at times that it made the film painful to watch. Peter Strauss isn't winning any acting awards either for this and Bergen & Strauss are the main focus of the film. We don't ever get to know the Cheyenne as people, we just see them killing...and then being killed. For a film that purports to further the Native American plight, the Indians in the film are treated as nothing more than exploitative material.

Candice's character is politically correct, she can swear and belch like any man, but mostly she grates on the nerves with her squeaking angry rants. Peter Strauss plays it so naive and green that he's afraid to kiss Candice...though I can't say I blame him. His character is suited for a comedy but there's nothing funny about this film.

Worse of all is the preachy feel of the movie that is as subtle as a sledge hammer, topped only by unnecessary gore done in an over the top fashion that makes this film almost camp. Almost is the key word because while camp can be entertaining, seeing a close up of a child's head being decapitated really isn't.

The massacres of Native American people during the 1800s by the U.S. army is a poignant and sadly true story. Maybe this film had good intentions but it's the most poorly delivered message I've seen. The story of the Sand Creek massacre deserved a more dignified film than this.




Recommend films dealing with massacres of Native Americans
Cheyenne Autumn (1964)
Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee (2007)

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That kind of sounds like her character in "Murphy Brown", but at least that show was funny.

Mrs Rules like Murphy Brown too, I never seen it. The only other film I've seen her in is The Sand Pebbles (1966). I seem to recall she was OK in that film. One thing, you do not want to watch this film it has more gratuitous gore than a slasher horror film.

Based on your review, it didn't sound like my kind of movie anyway, so I doubt I'll ever watch it.

But you should watch "Murphy Brown". It's a very funny show.

Maybe I will. I just finished the last season of Soap last night. I'm starting on season 2 of Rhoda now. After that I'm a free agent and will be shopping for a TV series to watch.

"Soap" was a great show, but it's one of those shows that got worse as the show went on. The first few seasons had some of the funniest moments on TV, but the last couple of seasons weren't nearly as good.

I watched "Rhoda" when it was originally on, but I don't think I've seen it since then. I remember it being a good show, but not as good as the show that it spun off from, ("The Mary Tyler Moore Show"). Does it stand the test of time?

The first few shows of Rhoda were golden. I like Rhoda (Valerie Harper), her sister Brenda (Julie Kavner) and her nosy, bossy but loving mom, Ida (Nancy Walker). But then they had Rhoda get married and I KNEW that was a bad idea it really slowed the show down. I complained about that....Funny thing is I then watched the DVD interview with the producer of Rhoda and he said insiders had told him not to have Rhoda get married and he said they were right as it hurt the show.....So Rhoda get's divorce in season 2 and I assume that brings the show back to it's roots. Ask me again after I watch season 2.

Soap, you're right that the first season had the best stuff. But in season 2 and 3 they really developed some of the characters and did serious drama at times. The actors who played Burt and Jessica gave so moving monologues. But season 4 was old and tired and the writers brought out the same old stuff. I recommend seasons 1-3

No love for Carlton the Doorman?


The Campbell family was definitely the funnier family. I loved when Burt thought he was invisible. And everything about Chuck and Bob.

Benson was the best character in the Tate family.

It's probably no surprise that I liked Soldier Blue a lot. Maybe like is the wrong term, affected is more like it. Knowing the true story behind it and what was coming, I found it effectively disturbing.

Oh ya....Carlton the Doorman rules, always funny. He's one of the producers of the show too.

I also heard that Rhoda was so popular on Mary Tyler Moore that she received numerous offers and the MTM producers were afraid of loosing her, so they spun her off to her own show. I think her departure from MTM hurt that show some, still a great show. I finished watching MTM last month.

a short 2 minute clip of the power of Richard Mulligan's (Burt) acting ability from Soap.


and an even shorter 30 second clip of a drunken Burt, funny!