he’s a few notches above Lee Marvin

Paint Your Wagon
There was this wacky trend back in the day where people who made musicals decided that it didn’t matter anymore if anyone in the cast could sing (a legacy that eventually brought audiences Albert Finney in “Scrooge,” Lucille Ball in “Mame,” Peter Finch in “Lost Horizon” and Jack Nicholson in “Tommy”). Not just needs-a-little-sweetening-in-the-mix bad singing. Monumentally bad singing. And this head-scratcher featured, as its leads, three awesome non-singers in Lee Marvin, Clint Eastwood and Jean Seberg (whose voice was dubbed). Bad musical fans like to talk about Lee Marvin’s mumbled numbers but for more refined silliness, investigate Clint Eastwood’s show stopping — as in grinding the movie to a halt — ballad “I Talk To The Trees.” He sings it near some trees to prove his point. The trees in question could not be reached for comment.

And while movie musicals have long been plagued by stars cast for their box-office appeal rather than for their pipes — a sorry history that covers the likes of Lee Marvin in “Paint Your Wagon” and Will Ferrell in “The Producers” — the cast of “Sweeney” stands comfortably beside their Broadway and London antecedents in successfully performing Sondheim’s songs to their fullest.

The story begins with Todd (Depp) returning to London after spending years in prison for a crime he did not commit. The black-hearted Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman), smitten with the barber’s wife, had his rival incarcerated on a trumped-up charge. Then, for good measure, he raped the lady (who poisoned herself) and has been raising the daughter of the poor woman and the barber as his own, with the intent of one day marrying her. So, you know, it’s not like he doesn’t have the full weight of Todd’s vengeance coming.

Todd sets up shop upstairs from Mrs. Lovett (Bonham-Carter), who’s having a hard time selling what even she calls “The Worst Pies in London” in her first song. Business picks up, go figure, when Todd goes on a murderous spree, slitting throats in his barber chair and Video ‘Sweeney Todd’ Johnny Depp reunites with director Tim Burton for this gruesome musical about a murderous barber. Coming Dec. 21. Dreamworks Pictures then sending victims down the chute to Mrs. Lovett’s oven.

And while stage productions of “Sweeney” tend to be implicit or at least subtle about the blood, director Tim Burton sprays it all over the screen in a manner that would make Italian horror masters like Dario Argento tip their hat. The spray of viscera is so extreme, in fact, to take the movie out of the realm of gore and into the theatrical, melodramatic arena of Grand Guignol.

Cat Ballou is the story of a courageous teacher named Cat (Jane Fonda).

Lich support Garner is a wonderful actor character actors, including Walter Brennan grizzled, bug-eyed Jack Elam and veteran Bruce Dern serious western. They are also good performance in Joan Hackett temperament and Harry Morgan.

Director: Joshua Logan. With Lee Marvin, Clint Eastwood, Jean Seberg, Jane Fonda (Cat Ballou), Jack Elam (Jake), Michael Callan (Clay Boone), Dwayne Hickman (Jed), tom nardini. Which she felt in 1969 with their western music Paint Your Wagon.

paint your wagon Soundtrack from Nevada Smith and Paint your wagon (1972) Wand'rin star (04:26) Lee Marvin orchestra conducted by Nelson Riddle