Watch Go West, Young Lady For Free

Fresh and Exciting

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

PENNY SINGLETON gets top billing in this diverting little programmer made at the height of her fame as "Blondie". This film, directed by the same man who did that series, has Singleton in her "Blondie" mode, as a prim and proper but ditsy blonde who acquits herself well when Indians are shooting at the carriage she's riding in during the opening scene.She's so prim and proper that she refuses to even engage in conversation with the man sitting opposite her in the coach--GLENN FORD--on his way to the town of Headstone to become its new sheriff.Ford has one of his rare comedy roles and plays it to the hilt. He's continually getting in the way of Singleton's pie-throwing finesse or taking a crack on the head with a pan, accidentally of course.ALLEN JENKINS, as a cowardly interim sheriff, ANN MILLER, as a dance hall gal, and CHARLIE RUGGLES, as Singleton's uncle, all give fresh and funny performances. Miller is especially good in a couple of her dance routines, including a sing-and-dance number with Jenkins that comes as a delightful surprise.Very enjoyable romp, it seems to borrow a lot of its material from other similar westerns. It features at least a half a dozen unpretentious musical numbers that make for easy listening.Summing up: One of Columbia's better programmers.

'Go West, Young Lady' is a surprisingly delightful little film that easily straddles at least three different genres: it's a comedy western with a couple of full-fledged musical numbers, but which never quite becomes a full-scale musical. This film features the only good comedy performance I've ever seen by Glenn Ford, who is usually a dead loss in comedies. (He ruined 'Pocketful of Miracles'.) I actively dislike Penny Singleton, partly because she's so annoying onscreen and largely because (in real life), as the inept president of Agva, she nearly drove that union into bankruptcy. But Singleton gives an enjoyable performance in this film. Even Ann Miller (whom I usually dislike) gives a fine performance as Lola, the dance-hall girl in the local saloon.Allen Jenkins, one of my favourite character actors, is hilarious (as usual) as sheriff Ford's deputy. A high point of this film is the 'Yip-Ay-Yay' number performed by Ann Miller and Jenkins. For possibly the only time in his prolific career, Jenkins sings onscreen! His gravelly voice (with his prole New York accent) is completely unsuited to carrying a tune, but Jenkins sings gamely (in both senses of the term) while Miller does a couple of simple tap steps (less elaborate than usual for her) alongside him.SLIGHT SPOILER. There's a very funny running gag, well executed. Ford keeps getting into brawls with various tough guys who are bigger and stronger than him. Each time this happens, Penny Singleton tries to help him by coshing the other man ... but she always misses him and beans Ford instead. The payoff comes when she tries this one more time. As Ford looks up in horror to see Singleton bearing down on him with a bottle, he shouts: 'Don't hit him! It'll be me!' Very funny indeed, and several other scenes in this movie are funny too. I'll rate this charming low-budget gem 9 points out of 10.

GO WEST, YOUNG LADY (Columbia, 1941), directed by Frank R. Strayer, is a western spoof starring the one and only Penny Singleton, in a rare opportunity taking time off from her then popular "Blondie" movie series, also then directed by Frank R. Strayer, which played in theaters from 1938 and ending after 28 theatrical episodes in 1950. As with the "Blondie" series, GO WEST, YOUNG LADY is a 70 minute "B" movie that concentrates on comedy, whether it be physical or verbal. It also reunites Singleton with the up-and-coming Glenn Ford, who earlier appeared in one of her "Blondie" comedies, BLONDIE PLAYS CUPID (Columbia, 1940).Set in a frontier town of Headstone, Jim Pendergast (Charles Ruggles), owner of the Crystal Palace saloon, learns that his nephew, Bill, is arriving on the next stagecoach. Since Headstone is in need of law and order, considering it is being terrorized by a masked bandit named "Pecos Pete," Pendergast believes Bill will become the town's new sheriff. After the stagecoach arrives, Pendergast mistakes Tex Miller (Glenn Ford) as his nephew, and is stunned to learn that Bill is actually an attractive young gal named Belinda Pendergast (Penny Singleton). In spite of her being a female, she is quick on the draw and can do anything a cowboy can do, even better. Later Belinda encounters Lola (Ann Miller), entertainer of the Crystal Palace, who becomes jealous over her encounter with Tex, whom she loves. Eventually with Belinda's help, she succeeds in taming the west.GO WEST, YOUNG LADY may seem overly familiar in plot mainly because portions of it borrows from other westerns, such as DESTRY RIDES AGAIN (Universal, 1939), starring Marlene Dietrich and James Stewart, where the central character is mistaken for a stronger and more forceful hero, unaware that the least likely individual turns out to be otherwise, along with a knockout fight between the two women (Singleton and Miller), but not as memorable as when Dietrich battled wits with Una Merkel; and MY LITTLE CHICKADEE (Universal, 1940), starring Mae West and WC Fields, where the hero, beingBelinda, riding in a stagecoach with a rugged hero named Tex, becomes part of an Indian massacre where the Redskins riding on their horses are attacking the stagecoach with bows and arrows. As Tex tries to shoot them off, he becomes very much surprised to find Belinda with her pistols disposing the Indians shooting gallery style from their horses one by one (as did Mae West in the earlier film). Another borrowed element from MY LITTLE CHICKADEE is a masked man terrorizing the town, who becomes the least likely suspect from the citizens but known only to dance hall girl Lola and the movie audience.Besides its broad comedy, and a couple of pies that are accidentally tossed at Glenn Ford's face, compliments of Penny Singleton (in a role that might have gone to other slapstick queens as Joan Davis, Judy Canova or even Lucille Ball), the movie takes time off for some musical numbers, songs by Sammy Cahn and Saul Chaplin, including: "Go West, Young Lady" (sung and tap danced by Ann Miller); "Somewhere Along the Trail," "Little Doggie, Take Your Time," "I Wish I Could Be a Singing Cowboy" (sung and performed by Allen Jenkins and Ann Miller); "Gentlemen Don't Prefer a Lady" (sung by Penny Singleton); and "Ida Red" performed by Bob Wills and his Texas Cowboys.Featured in the supporting cast are: Jed Prouty as Judge Harmon; Edith Meiser as Mrs. Hinkle; Bill Hazlet as Chief Big Thunder; and Waffles, the dog (filling in for the Blondie pooch, Daisy), among others.Watching GO WEST, YOUNG LADY, makes one wonder how this movie in a similar situation would have played as a "Blondie" episode, possibly titled BLONDIE OUT WEST, with Penny Singleton as Blondie, along with series regulars Arthur Lake as her husband, Dagwood Bumstead, and Larry Simms as their son, Baby Dumpling (Larry Simms), going west on vacation where Dagwood is elected sheriff to fight off cattle rustlers, shooting 'em up with cowboy villains, etc. Anyway, that never happened, but it was just a thought.GO WEST, YOUNG LADY, which was once a frequently revived movie that could be found on any given afternoon on commercial television back in the 1960s and '70s, is a very hard movie to find these days. However, it is not lost and gone forever, for it has been revived on cable television's The Westerns Channel (2003) and Turner Classic Movies (August 22, 2007). Other than watching Penny Singleton in a non-Blondie performance, providing her comedic and vocalizing talents, GO WEST YOUNG LADY does have its quota of laughs to make this one an enjoyable outing and a worthy time filler for classic movie fans. (**1/2)

A Fun movie that will leave you wishing it had been another 45 minutes. The fight between Ann Miller and Penny Singleton is astounding! Ann Miller's Dance scenes are very good, and there is even an appearance by Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys. Penny was a great talent and her vaudeville experience shows. This movie even includes Glenn Ford.