Prichards12345
I can add very little to previous reviews of this film, save to say it's still one of my favourite comedies from Stan and Ollie. Endearing - almost a celebration of cinema's greatest gagsters - Way Out West is just a film to love and a film to laugh with.Laurel and Hardy come to Brushwood Gulch to deliver a deed to a goldmine to a young daughter left behind when her late father went prospecting. And of course they get stiffed by the irresistible rascal Jimmy Finlayson. This is one of Fin's best showings: those close ups of his reaction when Stan and Ollie hand over the deed had me in stitches.Of course there is also the wonderful chemistry of the stars themselves. Their dance to "At The Ball That's All" is a perfect joy, and who can forget "On the Trail Of The Lonesome Pine"? And there's the wonderful running gag of Ollie disappearing to the bottom of a muddy pond (never Stan!), the highjinks of burgling Fin's house to get the deed back and the wonderful tickling assault on Stan. I struggle to believe that some reviewers don't care much for this film. Well, each to his own.The Marx Brothers even borrowed the central plot for Go West, which is far from their best effort. As much as I love the Marxes I much prefer this version. The comedian's age may show a little but they are still the best.
lugonian
WAY OUT WEST (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1937), directed by James Horne, a Stan Laurel Production for the Hal Roach Studios, is a way out western comedy starring that classic team of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. If not their funniest, it's definitely one of their finest achievements. Placing Laurel and Hardy in a western setting is a welcome change of pace. For a western, Laurel and Hardy retain their character traits and derby hat trademark. For a western, they don't ride sidesaddle on horses, but travel along in the company of their donkey, Diane. For a western, it's their only attempt in that genre.The plot is basic and simple. It deals with Stan and Ollie traveling west to Brushwood Gulch where they are to locate and hand deliver a gold mining deed to the daughter of the late Cy Roberts. While on the stagecoach to town, Ollie gets overly familiar with a woman passenger (Vivian Oakland) who turns out to be the sheriff's wife. Learning of his wife's annoyance, the Sheriff (Stanley Fields) orders the two dudes to leave town on the next coach. Ollie obliges, but he and Stan must first fulfill their mission, and they do. After locating the whereabouts of Mary Roberts at a local saloon, they encounter Mary's guardian, saloon owner Mickey Finn (James Finlayson), who give it to his wife, entertainer Lola Marcal (Sharon Lynne), as the rightful heir. After passing off the deed to "Mary Roberts," Stan and Ollie later meet with the real Mary Roberts (Rosina Lawrence), a sweet but extremely overworked young lady working in Mickey Finn's Palace. Realizing their blunder, Stan and Ollie attempt on getting the deed back from these two crooks, which comes with much difficulty to hilarious results.With 66 minutes of non-stop comedy, song interludes are inserted, none intrusive to the plot, with those including: "Won't You Be My Lovey Dovey?" (sung by Sharon Lynne); "Commencing to Dancing" (Sung by Chill Wills and the Avalon Boys); "In the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia," and "Way Down South in Dixie" (sung by Rosina Lawrence, Laurel and Hardy). Of these fine tunes, the "Commence to Dancing" sequence is most memorable due for Laurel and Hardy's soft shoe dancing.For many years on broadcast television, the "Lovey Dovey" number was usually edited, with film opening with Stan and Ollie traveling down the dirt road bound for Brushwood Gulch. It wasn't until sometime in the late seventies when WAY OUT WEST would be shown on TV uncut, starting with Public Television, giving repeated viewers a chance to enjoy the movie intact. It's also worth noting how, in the New York City area during the late 1960s, how sometimes TV Guide programmers would confuse the Laurel and Hardy comedy with that of the William Haines own western-comedy of WAY OUT WEST (MGM, 1930) to be shown on the late-late show, or visa versa.While Haines' WAY OUT WEST is seldom revived these days (even on Turner Classic Movies), it's Laurel and Hardy edition of WAY OUT WEST that's stood the test of time. Interestingly, it's a little known fact that WAY OUT WEST did get nominated for an Academy Award. No, not for best original screenplay (by Jack Jevne, Charles Rogers, James Parrott and Felix Adler), or Best Picture, but for best musical direction (by Marvin Hatley). Accordingly, slapstick and dialog are the essence for WAY OUT WEST or any Laurel and Hardy comedy. Once seen, it's hard to forget Hardy's repeated disappearance into a hidden hole while strolling or running through the riverbed; Laurel's surreal moments singing in both baritone and monotone, and ability to turn his thumb into a flaming torch of fire; Laurel paying homage to Claudette Colbert's classic hitchhiking scene from IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (Columbia, 1934); Laurel going into hysterics while on the bed of bad girl Lola as she goes through his pockets for the deed; and best of all, James Finlayson, a regular in many Laurel and Hardy comedies dating back to the silent era, doing his now familiar yet often funny direct stares to the camera and intake of air during his constant signs of disbelieve. Finlayson is one of a kind. And where else where can anyone find a movie such as this where the donkey appears to be much smarter than Stan and Ollie.Distributed to home video in the 1980s (black and white or colorized versions), WAY OUT WEST can be found as a double feature package, along with Laurel and Hardy's other classic, BLOCKHEADS (1938) on DVD. Presented on various cable television channels in later years, including the Comedy Channel (late 1980s), American Movie Classics (1994-96) and finally Turner Classic Movies (TCM premiere: April 1, 2005). As much as SONS OF THE DESERT (1933) and BABES IN TOYLAND (1934) have become best loved Laurel and Hardy products, WAY OUT WEST will definitely be no disappointment either. Commence to laughing. (***1/2)
Jackson Booth-Millard
Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are the most famous comedy duo in history, and deservedly so, so I am happy to see any of their films. Basically Stan and Ollie are heading for the town of Brushwood Gulch to give the deed to a gold mine, property of Mary Roberts (Rosina Lawrence, also Laurel's female singing voice) after her father has recently died. Unfortunately they are tricked by bar owner Mickey Finn (James Finlayson) and his wife Lola Marcel (Sharon Lynne), pretending to be Mary, to get the fortune for themselves. As they are about to leave, the real Mary Roberts reveals herself, and they realise they have been tricked, and there is a big squabble to get the deed back, before Stan and Ollie are chased out of town by the Sheriff (Stanley Fields) who warned them to leave. Just after Stan has eaten Ollie's hat (which he said he would do if they didn't get the deed back), they sneak back into town to try and get the deed back. They do manage to get Mickey to open the safe with it, and it ends with the two boys and Mary riding out of town to head South. Also starring Vivien Oakland as Sheriff's Wife. This is among Laurel and Hardy's greatest films, at sixty minutes it features some of the best sequences and songs ever made, including the dance to "At The Ball, That's All" by The Avalon Boys, their hit song "Trail of the Lonesome Pine", the ending song "We're Going to Go Way Down to Dixie", and all the wonderful slapstick and classic comedy you could want from a black and white film, an excellent film. It was nominated the Oscar Best Music for Marvin Hatley. Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were number 7 on The Comedians' Comedian, and the film was number 92 on The 100 Greatest Films. Outstanding!
