Wagons East

{{Infobox film

| name = Wagons East

| image = Wagons east.jpg

| caption = Theatrical release poster

| director = Peter Markle

| producer = {{Plainlist|

Gary Goodman
Robert Newmyer
Barry Rosen
Jeffrey Silver

}}

| writer = Matthew Carlson

| screenplay =

| story =

| based_on =

| starring = {{Plain list|

}}

| music = Michael Small

| cinematography = Frank Tidy

| editing = Scott Conrad

| studio = Carolco Pictures

| distributor = TriStar Pictures

| released = {{Film date|1994|8|26}}

| runtime = 107 minutes

| country = United States

| language = English

| gross = $4.4 million

}}

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.{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/search/title/?locations=Sierra+de+Organos,+Sombrerete,+Zacatecas,+Mexico|title=Filming Location Matching "Sierra de Organos, Sombrerete, Zacatecas, Mexico" (Sorted by Popularity Ascending)|website=IMDb|access-date=May 31, 2020}}

During the final days of the film's production in Durango, Mexico, John Candy died of a heart attack at the age of 43.{{cite news|author=Phil Reeves |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/actor-john-candy-dies-in-mexico-1427084.html |title=Actor John Candy dies in Mexico |newspaper=The Independent |date=1994-03-05 |access-date=2017-01-16}} 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.{{Cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1957&dat=19940819&id=XAUxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=P-AFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3171,4419349|title=The Daily Gazette - Google News Archive Search|website=news.google.com|access-date=May 31, 2020}} 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 a rare 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film grossed $4.4 million at the box office.

Plot

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 confessing 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

{{Cast listing|

John Candy as James Harlow
Richard Lewis as Phil Taylor
John C. McGinley as Julian Rogers
Ellen Greene as Belle
Robert Picardo as Ben Wheeler
Rodney A. Grant as Little Feather/Big Snake
Ed Lauter as John Slade
William Sanderson as Zeke
Joel McKinnon Miller as Zack Ferguson
Tony Pierce as Junior Ferguson
Marvin J. McIntyre as Irving Ferguson
Abraham Benrubi as Abe Ferguson
David Dunard as Harry Bob Ferguson
Thomas F. Duffy as Clayton Ferguson
Russell Means as Chief
Lochlyn Munro as Billy
Melinda Culea as Constance Taylor
Don Lake as Lt. Bailey
Ethan Phillips as Commander S.L. Smedly
Charles Rocket as Gen. Larchmont
Gailard Sartain as J.P. Moreland (Uncredited)

}}

Production

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.Crane, Robert, (2017). Crane: Sex, Celebrity, and My Father's Unsolved Murder

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.{{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|date=April 24, 1995|page=9|title=Carolco at end of its plank|last1=Peers|first1=Martin|last2=Weiner|first2=Rex}} 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 by costars Richard Lewis and Robert Picardo. According to People Magazine, Lewis and Picardo both broke down crying outside Candy's trailer.

Reception

Wagons East was released five months after Candy's death{{cite web|last=Holden |first=Stephen |url=http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9A06E6D71039F935A1575BC0A962958260 |title=Wagons East (1994) FILM REVIEW; Starring John Candy and Various Crude Jokes|newspaper=New York Times|date=August 26, 1994}}{{cite web|author=Willman, Chris|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-08-26-ca-31404-story.html |title=MOVIE REVIEW: 'Wagons East!'-Candy's Final Film-Just Pokes Along - Los Angeles Times |newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=1994-08-26}} and was a box-office bomb.{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-08-30-fi-32931-story.html |title=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.|author=Bates, James|date=2008-09-22 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times}} {{Rotten Tomatoes prose|0|2.9|30|Wagons East! is 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.|access-date={{RT data|access date}}}}[https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wagons_east/ "Wagons East! (1994)"]. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 24, 2022. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C−" on an A+ to F scale.{{cite web |url= https://cinemascore.com/publicsearch/index/title/ |title= CinemaScore |access-date= March 22, 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181220122629/https://cinemascore.com/publicsearch/index/title/ |archive-date= December 20, 2018 |url-status= dead }}

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.Ebert, Roger (August 26, 1994). [https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/wagons-east-1994 "Wagons East!"]. RogerEbert.com.

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.Graham Elwood and Chris Mancini. The Comedy Film Nerds Guide to Movies Morgan James Publishing, 2012. {{ISBN|1614482225}}.

Year-end lists

6th worst– Robert Denerstein, Rocky Mountain News{{cite news|last=Denerstein|first=Robert|date=January 1, 1995|title=Perhaps It Was Best to Simply Fade to Black|newspaper=Rocky Mountain News|page=61A|edition=Final}}
Top 18 worst (alphabetically listed, not ranked) – Michael Mills, The Palm Beach Post{{cite news|last=Mills|first=Michael|date=December 30, 1994|title=It's a Fact: 'Pulp Fiction' Year's Best|newspaper=The Palm Beach Post|page=7|edition=Final}}
Worst (not ranked) – Bob Ross, The Tampa Tribune{{cite news|last=Ross|first=Bob|date=December 30, 1994|title=Versed in the worst|newspaper=The Tampa Tribune|page=18|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tampa-tribune/126948976|edition=Final}}