Wagons East (sometimes stylised as Wagons East!) is a 1994 American Western adventure comedy film directed by Peter Markle and starring John Candy and Richard Lewis. 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. During the final days of the film's production in Durango, Mexico, John Candy died of a heart attack at the age of 43. 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. The film marked Candy's penultimate performance. As well as being one of John Candy's final performances, this is also 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 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. As he 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