Way Out West (1937)
A timeless classic from the Boys. Stan and Ollie rock up at Brushwood Gulch to deliver a gold mine deed to a woman they’ve never met. James Finlayson and his wife con them out of it. Stan and Ollie have to steal it back.
What a fantastic way to spend 65 minutes. Three top songs showcasing their vaudeville heritage add lovely texture and likeability to their characters. The soft shoe shuffle to At The Ball, That’s All, beautifully sung by the Avalon Boys, is a piece of cinema history. It’s light, delicate, warm and assured, and a lovely change of pace, showing two creations at the apex of their game. The Trail of the Lonesome Pine and Dixie are nicely performed and prove that Hardy has a pleasant, harmonic voice in his repertoire.
The comedy is a mixture of one-liners (“Tell me about my dear, dear daddy. Is it true that he’s dead?” “Well we hope he is, they buried him.”), farce, slapstick and character. Great moments throughout, like the running gag with the water hole (which you can see coming from a mile off and is all the better for it), the lit thumb, the sequence trapped inside the grand piano, the efforts to get into the saloon (with flying mules, twisted heads, collapsing through a shed roof, etc), the awkwardness of the lads trying to pull Vivian Oakland in the stagecoach, and the efforts to get the deed off Stan by Sharon Lynn.
The music is great, the performances are brilliant (Finn is on TOP form, and the Sheriff is expertly cast) and the pacing perfect.
One of my favourite parts is when the Boys help the Sheriff’s wife from the stagecoach, only for her to clock her husband and grass them up for being annoying. The Sheriff grins at the Boys in a threatening laugh and says “Soooooo, fiddlin’ huh?”. Ollie smiles affirmatively then corrects himself to say that he wasn’t. The Sheriff ticks him off, telling him to get out of town on the next coach because they don’t like their kind round here, messing with their women. The close of the exchange is the Sheriff nodding and saying ‘Good day sir.’ Never really noticed it before, but it’s a lovely piece of old fashioned respect in an unpleasant situation for all concerned. That summarises this film neatly. Warm, even in its nastiest moments.
Special mention to Stan and Ollie flying down the stairs with the mule and crashing through the bannister. Hilarious. How the hell did they film that without causing an injury?
A timeless classic from the Boys. Stan and Ollie rock up at Brushwood Gulch to deliver a gold mine deed to a woman they’ve never met. James Finlayson and his wife con them out of it. Stan and Ollie have to steal it back.
What a fantastic way to spend 65 minutes. Three top songs showcasing their vaudeville heritage add lovely texture and likeability to their characters. The soft shoe shuffle to At The Ball, That’s All, beautifully sung by the Avalon Boys, is a piece of cinema history. It’s light, delicate, warm and assured, and a lovely change of pace, showing two creations at the apex of their game. The Trail of the Lonesome Pine and Dixie are nicely performed and prove that Hardy has a pleasant, harmonic voice in his repertoire.
The comedy is a mixture of one-liners (“Tell me about my dear, dear daddy. Is it true that he’s dead?” “Well we hope he is, they buried him.”), farce, slapstick and character. Great moments throughout, like the running gag with the water hole (which you can see coming from a mile off and is all the better for it), the lit thumb, the sequence trapped inside the grand piano, the efforts to get into the saloon (with flying mules, twisted heads, collapsing through a shed roof, etc), the awkwardness of the lads trying to pull Vivian Oakland in the stagecoach, and the efforts to get the deed off Stan by Sharon Lynn.
The music is great, the performances are brilliant (Finn is on TOP form, and the Sheriff is expertly cast) and the pacing perfect.
One of my favourite parts is when the Boys help the Sheriff’s wife from the stagecoach, only for her to clock her husband and grass them up for being annoying. The Sheriff grins at the Boys in a threatening laugh and says “Soooooo, fiddlin’ huh?”. Ollie smiles affirmatively then corrects himself to say that he wasn’t. The Sheriff ticks him off, telling him to get out of town on the next coach because they don’t like their kind round here, messing with their women. The close of the exchange is the Sheriff nodding and saying ‘Good day sir.’ Never really noticed it before, but it’s a lovely piece of old fashioned respect in an unpleasant situation for all concerned. That summarises this film neatly. Warm, even in its nastiest moments.
Special mention to Stan and Ollie flying down the stairs with the mule and crashing through the bannister. Hilarious. How the hell did they film that without causing an injury?
you've been warned.
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