Way Out West (1937)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

James W. Horne

Writers:

Jack Jevne (story) &
Charley Rogers (story) ...

Release Date:

16 April 1937 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Western

Tagline:

A Rumble Of Roars That Ends In A Laff Riot !

Plot:

Stan and Ollie are charged with delivering the deed to a valuable gold mine to the daughter of a dead prospector...

Plot Keywords:

Gold Mine | Man's Hat | Buddy | Road | Trapdoor

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Stan Laurel	...	Stan
Oliver Hardy	...	Ollie
Sharon Lynn	...	Lola Marcel (as Sharon Lynne)
James Finlayson	...	Mickey Finn
Rosina Lawrence	...	Mary Roberts / Stan's falsetto (voice)
Stanley Fields	...	Sheriff
Vivien Oakland	...	Sheriff's Wife
Dinah	...	Herself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
The Avalon Boys	...	Themselves
Don Brookins	...	One of The Avalon Boys (as The Avalon Boys)
Art Green	...	One of The Avalon Boys (as The Avalon Boys)
Walter Trask	...	One of The Avalon Boys (as The Avalon Boys)
Chill Wills	...	One of the Avalon Boys / Stan's bass singing (as The Avalon Boys)

Runtime:

65 min | 63 min (TCM print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:S | Germany:6 (nf)

Filming Locations:

Rancho Maria - 25933 Sand Canyon Road, Canyon Country, California, USA

Company:

Stan Laurel Productions

Trivia:

Hal Roach had to come up with four different titles for the film, before finding a title that wasn't already owned by another studio. The three discarded titles were: "You'd Be Surprised", "Tonight's the Night", and "In the Money".

Goofs:

Continuity: When Stan, Ollie, and Mary are running away from Mickey and Lola, and they shut the security gate on them, from the inside POV shot, you see Mickey just run up to the gate and stop, but from the outside POV, Mickey's head is through the gate.

Quotes:

Patron: Hey Finn, you're a lucky man to have a swell gal like that.
Mickey Finn: Yeah I... What are you talking about? She's the lucky one to have a swell guy like me!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Lo chiamavano Trinità (1970)

Soundtrack:

Dance of the Cuckoos

A well rounded, very funny film

Laurel & Hardy travel out west to Brushwood Gulch to keep a promise to an old prospector . On his death they must take a locket and the deeds to a valuable goldmine to his daughter. When they arrive at the saloon where she works, the saloon owner sees a chance to get rich and gets one of his dancers to pretend to be the daughter, Mary. When they discover their mistake the pair try to get the deeds back but are driven out of town. They plan to return that night and rob the safe of the deeds and return them to Mary.

I have been watching plenty of Laurel & Hardy shorts recently but it's been many years since I saw anything longer from them, so it was with great joy I saw this in the TV schedule and settled down to watch it. My first observation as a short watcher is that it is surprisingly close to the consistency of the shorts, even if it is over three times longer than those. The plot is detailed enough to provide several really good routines but also plenty of really enjoyable gags.

Of great enjoyment to a fan of the shorts were several comic scenes that showed them to be more than just funny men. The soft shoe shuffle is the oft-quoted favourite and is quite amusing but the songs are all enjoyable without intruding on the comedy in the way some films of the time did. The most pleasurable aspect is Hardy's voice – he is a charming baritone and is really surprising. Laurel is good too and the pair are cool on `Trail of the Lonesome Pine'.

Both Laurel & Hardy's delivery is impeccable and the routines and gags are only made better by their talent. Finalyson is excellent and for me is easily the king of that double take/squint thing that he does so very well! Lynn and Lawrence are both OK but are really secondary characters behind the men.

Overall fans will rightly love this film and it may also win over some who have yet to experience the pair. It has music, dance, routines and gags – all delivered by the great duo themselves. What more do you need?