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Wagons East!
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Wagons East! | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
|
| Directed by | Peter Markle |
| Produced by | Gary M. Goodman Robert F. Newmyer Barry Rosen Jeffrey Silver |
| Written by | Matthew Carlson |
| Starring | John Candy Richard Lewis John C. McGinley Ellen Greene Robert Picardo Ed Lauter Rodney A. Grant Charles Rocket |
| Music by | Michael Small |
| Cinematography | Frank Tidy |
| Editing by | Scott Conrad |
| Distributed by | TriStar Pictures |
| Release date(s) | August 26, 1994 |
| Running time | 107 min |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Wagons East! is a 1994 Western comedy film directed by Peter Markle and starring John Candy and Richard Lewis.
Contents |
In the 1860s Wild West, a group of misfit settlers including an ex-doctor Phil Taylor (Richard Lewis), a prostitute Belle (Ellen Greene), and homosexual bookseller Julian (John C. McGinley) decide they cannot live in their current situation in the west so they hire a grizzled alcoholic wagon master by the name of James Harlow (John Candy) to take them on a journey back to their hometowns in the East. This leads to a comedy of errors when the drunken wagonmaster leads them into Sioux Indian territory and they are pursued by the cavalry. They also have to contend with hired gunslingers who have been sent by railroad magnates to stop the journey in fear of bad publicity of the west, and their discovery that Harlow had been part of the infamous Donner Party.
On Friday, March 4, 1994 Candy died of a heart attack in his sleep on location in the Mexican state of Durango after the day's shooting for this film had finished. The film makers claim he had completed all his scenes for the film at the time of his death but this claim is disputed by critics and audiences.
Some sources state that Candy died before he had completed his remaining scenes and he was either replaced by a stunt double or his remaining scenes were re-written not to involve him.[1] At least one scene, of Candy in a bar emptying a liquor bottle, was re-used later on in the film with the background altered. YouTube scene comparision
Both the VHS and DVD boxes read: "This motion picture is dedicated to the memory of John Candy".
This was the last film John Candy was shooting before his death but not the last film he appeared in to be released. His last film Canadian Bacon released in 1995. He had completed Canadian Bacon before filming of Wagons East! began but his death caused the film's delayed release.
The film was released five months after Candy's death and was widely panned by critics and audiences alike. Despite being the posthumous release of Candy, it was a box office disaster and critic reviews were universally negative criticizing the acting, weak story and poor attempts at comedy. Critic Roger Ebert notably quoted the film as "a sad way to end John Candy's career".[2] The film has a very low rating of 1.7/10 on Rotten Tomatoes.[3]
- ^ IMDB, trivia for Wagons East at IMDB.com; last accessed December 24, 2006.
- ^ Review of Wagons East at Roger Ebert.com; last accessed February 27, 2007.
- ^ Rating of Wagons East at Rottentomatoes.com; last accessed 18 March 2007.
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