Watch Way Out West For Free

To me, this movie is perfection.

One of my all time favorites.

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy (themselves), James Finlayson (Mickey Finn), Sharon Lynne (Lola Marcel), Stanley Fields (sheriff), Rosina Lawrence (Mary Roberts), James Mason (anxious patron), James C. Morton, Frank Mills, Dave Pepper (bartenders), Vivien Oakland (stagecoach passenger/Molly, sheriff's wife), Harry Bernard (man eating at bar), Mary Gordon, May Wallace (cooks), Avalon Boys Quartet: Chill Wills, Art Green, Walter Trask, Don Brookins (themselves), Jack Hill (worker at Mickey Finn's), Sam Lufkin (stagecoach baggage man), Tex Driscoll (bearded miner), Flora Finch (Maw, miner's wife), Fred "Snowflake" Toones (janitor), Bobby Dunn, John Ince, Fritzi Brunette, Frank Montgomery, Fred Cady, Eddie Borden, Bill Wolf, Denver Dixon (aka Art Mix), Ben Corbett, Buffalo Bill Jr (aka Jay Wilsey), Cy Slocum (audience at saloon), Lester Dorr (cowboy), "Dinah" the mule, and Ham Kinsey (double for Mr Laurel), Cy Slocum (double for Mr Hardy), Chill Wills (basso voice dubber for Mr Laurel), Rosina Lawrence (falsetto voice dubber for Mr Laurel). Directed by JAMES W. HORNE. Photographed by Art Lloyd and Walter Lundin. Photographic effects by Roy Seawright. Edited by Bert Jordan. Story by Jack Jevne and Charles Rogers. Screenplay by Charles Rogers, Felix Adler, and James Parrott. Musical score and direction by Marvin Hatley. Sound by William Randall. Art direction by Arthur Royce. Songs: "Trail of the Lonesome Pine" (Hardy and Laurel) by Harry Carroll and Ballard MacDonald; "Commence to Dancing" (sung by the Avalon Boys, danced by Hardy and Laurel) by J.L. Hill. Additional background music composed by LeRoy Shield, Egbert Van Alstyne, Nathaniel Shilkret, Irving Berlin, Franz von Suppe, Eddie Leonard, Eddie Munson. Set decorator: William L. Stevens. Make-up: Jack Dawn. Production manager: Sidney S. Van Keuren. Producer: Stan Laurel. Executive producer: Hal Roach.Copyright 9 April 1937 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp. Presented by Hal Roach Studios. New York opening at the Rialto: 3 May 1937. U.S. release: 16 April 1937. 7 reels. 65 minutes.SYNOPSIS: With the possible exception of Sons of the Desert, which was subtler if not funnier, Way Out West must rank as the best of all the Laurel & Hardy features. Not only is it pure, unadulterated Laurel & Hardy, with no time wasted on subsidiary plotting or romantic or musical "relief", but it is also a first-rate satire of the Western genre. — William K. Everson in "The Films of Laurel and Hardy". NOTES: Marvin Hatley was nominated for an Academy Award for his Music Score, losing to One Hundred Men and a Girl. Tiny Sandford was originally cast as the menacing sheriff, but his scenes were re-shot with Stanley Fields. Uncredited script contributors were Arthur Vernon Jones (in the initial stages) and director James W. Horne. Art Lloyd was the movie's initial photographer.In 1975, a record of Laurel and Hardy's "Trail of the Lonesome Pine" duet was lifted from the sound track and issued in the United Kingdom and Eire. It proved astonishingly popular, eventually making it right up to the number two spot on the Hit Parade charts, grossing well over £1 million in record sales. The song provided by the Avalon Boys quartet is usually given as the 1905 hit, "At the Ball, That's All", which Laurel and Hardy "Commence to Dancing". Sharon Lynne, accompanied by a chorus of saloon cuties, also has a song, "Won't You Be My Lovey Dovey?" At the fade-out, Laurel, Hardy and Rosina Lawrence chortle "We're Going To Go Way Down To Dixie". The film commenced shooting on 27 August 1936, winding up in early November. COMMENT: One of the funniest of the features, and one of the most suitable for modern viewing as it is not disfigured by some of the vicious tit-for-tat nonsense that L & H often indulged in. The pace is fast, and the music score for once is not only apposite, it's actually a major asset. The boys do a delightful little jig as they listen to the Avalon Boys, and later chorus it up at the bar. The saloon girls' songs are a delight too. The dialogue is funny, the situations amusing. L & H and the entire cast, particularly Sharon Lynne, play with gusto. Hardy's side expressions are a joy.The concluding shots of the present TV prints have for some reason been cut, so that Hardy no longer steps into the pot-hole — which spoils the cumulative effect of one of the film's principal running gags.Impossible to split the photography credit (one doubtless did locations). Horne's direction is more accomplished than usual.

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)

In childhood this was one of my favourite Laurel & Hardy films, and seen with the eyes of an adult it is still packed with an incredible amount of funny moments. L&H arrive in a wild western town to deliver the deeds of a gold mine to Mary Roberts (Rosina Lawrence) a young girl working as a scullery maid for wily saloon owner Mickey Finn (James Finlayson) and showgirl Lola (Sharon Lynn). Finn and Lola trick the boys into handing the deeds over to them and, once they discover the duplicity, the duo are determined to retrieve it.For a full-length feature, it is surprising how well-paced the film is - especially in the first forty minutes (things go downhill a little in the last 20 minutes, although there are still laughs to be had). There are any number of not only funny but classic scenes, such as the pair's impromptu dance to The Avalon Boys song and their duet on Trail of the Lonesome Pine (which would reach the top of the charts long after the boys had both died), Stan's hysterics as Lola tries to wrestle the deeds from him, Ollie's frustrated attempts to emulate Stan's thumb trick, and Stan finding he quite enjoys the taste of Ollie's hat, etc.This is arguably one of Laurel & Hardy's greatest films and is essential viewing for anyone interested in vintage Hollywood comedy.

Way Out West (1937) *** (out of 4) Laurel and Hardy head out west to deliver a gold deed to Mary Roberts (Rosina Lawrence), which was left to her by her deceased father. Upon arriving in town the two men run into issues with the Sheriff and are eventually duped into giving the deed to the wrong woman by a conniving couple (Sharon Lynn, James Finlayson) who have control over Mary. Once they realize their mistake, it's up to Laurel and Hardy to break into the house and try to recover the claim.Way Out West isn't the duo's greatest film but it still manages to keep the viewer entertained, due in large part to Laurel and Hardy's natural charm that can keep a smile on anyone's face. I'm not sure what it was about the Old West but it seemed every comedian from the 1920's through the 1950's had to go there at least once in their career. Even with the short running time of 65-minutes I couldn't help but think this film would have been better served as a short but the lightening pace more than makes up for that.There are several key scenes that most Laurel and Hardy fans rank among their favorite.The most famous scene is where Hardy begins singing "On the Trail of the Lonesome Pine", only to be interrupted by Laurel. Another memorable scene occurs in the bedroom where villain Sharon Lynn tickles Laurel into handing over the deed. As with most Laurel and Hardy shorts or features, the ending is left for a madhouse with various object being broken, Hardy falling through roofs and floors and the manic direction by James M. Horne keeps all of this well timed and played out.