# The 1970 movie Clint Eastwood wishes he could wipe from history: “I was crazy enough to try anything”

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/the-1970-movie-clint-eastwood-wishes-he-could-wipe-from-history-i-was-crazy-enough-to-try-anything/
- Published: 2026-07-19T11:54:54+00:00
- Updated: 2026-08-01T10:16:14+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/1970-movie-clint-eastwood-wishes-he-could-wipe-from-history/
- Topics: Entertainment, Film

## Key points

- Paint Your Wagon was a difficult and poorly received Eastwood musical.
- Rewrites and delays nearly prompted Eastwood to quit.
- Eastwood later criticised his own singing.

## Summary

Clint Eastwood reportedly regards the 1970 musical western Paint Your Wagon as one of the worst experiences of his career, largely because of its troubled production and his uncomfortable attempt at singing. The article argues that the film stands out as an unusual failure in an otherwise highly successful career, and that it helped reinforce Eastwood’s reputation as better suited to acting and directing than musical performance.

Eastwood said he was willing to try different things because of his interest in music, though he later acknowledged that his work in the film was not really singing. The script was repeatedly rewritten, the production ran over budget and behind schedule, and Eastwood reportedly considered leaving before writer Alan Jay Lerner and director Joshua Logan persuaded him to remain; 17 months passed between filming beginning and the premiere.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.