Go West Young Man (1936)

A movie star, stranded in the country, trifles with a young man's affections.

Director:

Henry Hathaway

Writers:

Lawrence Riley (play), Mae West (screenplay)

Stars:

Mae West, Warren William, Randolph Scott

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mae West	...	Mavis Arden
Warren William	...	Morgan
Randolph Scott	...	Bud Norton
Alice Brady	...	Mrs. Struthers
Elizabeth Patterson	...	Aunt Kate Barnaby
Lyle Talbot	...	Francis X. Harrigan
Isabel Jewell	...	Gladys
Margaret Perry	...	Joyce Struthers
Etienne Girardot	...	Prof. Herbert Rigby
Maynard Holmes	...	Clyde
John Indrisano	...	Chauffeur
Alyce Ardell	...	Jeanette (French maid)
Nick Stewart	...	Nicodemus (as Nicodemus Stewart)
Charles Irwin	...	Master of Ceremonies
Walter Walker	...	Andy Kelton

Storyline

Movie star Mavis Arden, as amorous in private as she is pure in public, gets involved with a politician despite her watchdog publicist Morgan. Planning to meet her beau again at the next stop on her personal appearance tour, Mavis is stranded at a remote rural boarding house, with a pretentious landlady, sensible old maid, rabid film fan waitress...and strapping young mechanic Bud Norton, whom to Mavis is just the plaything of an idle hour...

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Plot Keywords:

film in film | cardinal direction in title | four word title | based on play

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Taglines:

The story of the touring movie star...and the country boy!

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 November 1936 (USA)

Also Known As:

Personal Appearance

Filming Locations:

General Service Studios - 1040 N. Las Palmas, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Emanuel Cohen Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of over 700 Paramount productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.

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Goofs

Story is set in mid-Thirties but at premiere of Mavis Arden's latest movie, stock footage of audiences watching the film are people dressed in fashions and hairstyles of some ten years earlier.

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Quotes

Morgan: You mean I'm practically your slave.
Mavis Arden: You're not. Slaves are generally useful.

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Connections

Featured in Rapture (1980)

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Soundtracks

"GO WEST, YOUNG MAN"
Written by Arthur Johnston
Lyrics by Johnny Burke
(used instrumentally)

User Reviews

Mae West as a glamorous movie star who finds herself stuck for the night in a small rural inn with too many admirers.

This was Paramount's attempt to star Mae West not as her usual sui generis self, but in a well-made B'way blvd farce. (The play ran a remarkable 501 perfs and gave its original star, Gladys George, a nice Hollywood career in standout character parts.) Unlike the Marx Bros, whose similar try @ RKO in ROOM SERVICE/'38, failed to come off, Paramount really went to bat for Mae. This is a first-class pic (megged by Henry Hathaway, well cast & richly shot by the great Karl Struss) about a famous movie star forced to spend a night amid the hoi polloi at a country inn. Randolph Scott is handsome & charming as the local Mae vamps while Warren William turns out to be about the best consort Mae would ever land. Alice Brady, Elizabeth Patterson, Isabel Jewell & the rest all get tasty character turns to play and if you can bear the racial stereotypes, it's a kick to see Nicodemus Stewart and recognize the voice of Brer Bear from SONG OF THE SOUTH. Yet, the play feels like it could have worked even better @ M-G-M for Jean Harlow & William Powell. For West, it represents something of a career capitulation.