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Wagons East

Wagons East (sometimes styled as Wagons East!) is a 1994 American Western adventure comedy film directed by Peter Markle, written by Matthew Carlson, and starring John Candy, Richard Lewis, John C. McGinley, Ellen Greene, Robert Picardo, Rodney A. Grant, and Ed Lauter. It tells the story of an alcoholic wagon master who leads a group of misfit settlers in the Wild West back to the East. The film was released in the United States on August 26, 1994. Filming took place in Sierra de Órganos National Park in the town of Sombrerete, Mexico, and in Durango, Mexico.[1]

Wagons East
Theatrical release poster
Directed byPeter Markle
Written byMatthew Carlson
Produced by
  • Gary Goodman
  • Robert Newmyer
  • Barry Rosen
  • Jeffrey Silver
Starring
CinematographyFrank Tidy
Edited byScott Conrad
Music byMichael Small
Production
company
Distributed byTriStar Pictures
Release date
  • August 26, 1994 (1994-08-26)
Running time
107 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$4.4 million

During the final days of the film's production in Durango, Mexico, John Candy died of a heart attack at the age of 43.[2] Script re-writes, a stand-in and special effects were used to complete his remaining scenes, and it was released five months after his death.[3] The film marked Candy's penultimate performance with the film being dedicated in memory of him as well as the film being the last Carolco Pictures production to be distributed by TriStar Pictures.

The film was panned by critics with the rare 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film grossed $4.4 million at the box office.

Plot

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In the 1860s Wild West, a group of misfit settlers, including ex-doctor Phil Taylor, prostitute Belle, and gay bookseller Julian Rogers, 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 to take them on a journey back to their hometowns in the East.

Comedic exploits ensue as the drunken wagon master lets his horse choose the correct fork in the road, leads them to a dried-out watering hole, and eventually guides them into Sioux territory where they are captured. The Chief, however, is sympathetic to the idea of 'white men heading back east', and offers an escort off Sioux land. Meanwhile, they must also contend with (inept) hired gunslingers who have been sent by railroad magnates to stop the journey, as they fear the bad publicity it could create for the settlers about to commence a 'land rush' into the west.

Harlow's secret, that he had been wagon master for the infamous Donner Party, eventually comes out, and the group confront Harlow about his past; he chooses to walk away from the group, and they proceed on their own. The cavalry leader back at camp ends up confesses to his side that he knew Harlow, and had taken supplies from the Donner party in order to support his troops attacking Mexico. Harlow resumes his drinking at the closest tavern, he overhears that the cavalry will be confronting the group the following day, and intends to wipe them out, as directed by the head of the railroad company. As the cavalry arrives the next day and the group "square their wagons" on advice of Little Feather, and Harlow rides into the rescue and 'calls out' the cavalry leader to single combat.

After a drawn out and comical fight scene, Harlow is victorious, and the group celebrates. Harlow and Belle decide to pursue a relationship, Julian departs for somewhere "even further west" (San Francisco), and the group rides toward the now visible St. Louis to finish the journey.

Cast

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Production

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John Candy was contractually mandated to make this film due to his existing contract with Carolco Pictures from their scrapped John Hughes film Bartholomew v. Neff, which Candy was to star in with Sylvester Stallone. Despite his misgivings about the script and due to the fact that he owed more than $1 million due to his stake as a minority owner with the Toronto Argonauts football team, Candy agreed to make Wagons East in Durango, Mexico.[4]

However on the evening of March 3, 1994, after finishing the day’s shooting, an exhausted Candy went back to his hotel room to sleep. He died of a heart attack in his sleep the following day March 4. Following Candy's death, Carolco received an insurance payout of $15.3 million.[5] The film was completed by using CGI, a body double, and script rewrites to finish Candy’s remaining scenes.

Candy was set to leave the morning he was found dead, and the first two people informed were costars Richard Lewis and Robert Picardo, who had come to his trailer to see him off. Those who found him informed the rest of the cast and crew because according to People Magazine, Lewis and Picardo both broke down crying outside Candy's trailer.

Reception

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The film was released five months after Candy's death[6][7] and was a box-office bomb.[8] On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with 30 reviews, the film has a rare approval rating of 0% – meaning no favorable reviews whatsoever – receiving an average rating of 2.9/10. The site's consensus describes the film as "a witless, toothless satire of Westerns that falls far below the standard set by Blazing Saddles, and is notable only for being John Candy's final screen performance."[9]

Film critic Roger Ebert, who called the film "a sad way to end John Candy's career", stated that his legacy was already permanent and would survive this film.[10] In the book The Comedy Film Nerds Guide to Movies, Wagons East! is listed at number one on its list of The Ten Worst Westerns.[11]

Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C−" on an A+ to F scale.[12]

Year-end lists

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Filming Location Matching "Sierra de Organos, Sombrerete, Zacatecas, Mexico" (Sorted by Popularity Ascending)". IMDb. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  2. ^ Phil Reeves (March 5, 1994). "Actor John Candy dies in Mexico". The Independent. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
  3. ^ "The Daily Gazette - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  4. ^ Crane, Robert, (2017). Crane: Sex, Celebrity, and My Father's Unsolved Murder
  5. ^ Peers, Martin; Weiner, Rex (April 24, 1995). "Carolco at end of its plank". Variety. p. 9.
  6. ^ Holden, Stephen (August 26, 1994). "Wagons East (1994) FILM REVIEW; Starring John Candy and Various Crude Jokes". New York Times.
  7. ^ Willman, Chris (August 26, 1994). "MOVIE REVIEW: 'Wagons East!'-Candy's Final Film-Just Pokes Along - Los Angeles Times". Los Angeles Times.
  8. ^ Bates, James (September 22, 2008). "COMPANY TOWN : SEC Filings Show Carolco Has Little to Sing About : Movies: The company expects to lose money this year and next, despite a major financial reorganization negotiated last year". Los Angeles Times.
  9. ^ "Wagons East! (1994)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  10. ^ Ebert, Roger (August 26, 1994). "Wagons East!". RogerEbert.com.
  11. ^ Graham Elwood and Chris Mancini. The Comedy Film Nerds Guide to Movies Morgan James Publishing, 2012. ISBN 1614482225.
  12. ^ "CinemaScore". Archived from the original on December 20, 2018. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  13. ^ Denerstein, Robert (January 1, 1995). "Perhaps It Was Best to Simply Fade to Black". Rocky Mountain News (Final ed.). p. 61A.
  14. ^ Mills, Michael (December 30, 1994). "It's a Fact: 'Pulp Fiction' Year's Best". The Palm Beach Post (Final ed.). p. 7.
  15. ^ Ross, Bob (December 30, 1994). "Versed in the worst". The Tampa Tribune (Final ed.). p. 18.
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