Way Out West

WAY OUT WEST is a film designed to be a star vehicle for the controversial WILLIAM HAINES, who was during this time an outspoken gay member of the Hollywood community. He was a talented charmer, capable of natural performances rather than the standard overacting typical of many a silent screen star.

While the film itself may not be a winner, it's entertaining enough to keep you watching until the happy ending. Haines plays a carnival worker whose crooked ways lead to his capture by a bunch of cowboy roughs who want him to work off his debt to them by doing chores as a farmhand. FRANCIS X. BUSHMAN is one of the guys, POLLY MORAN makes a winsome female, and CLIFF EDWARDS has an innocuous supporting role.

It's strictly standard stuff but interesting to watch Haines at work, creating a character you can't help but like despite his sordid reputation (in the film). Rumor has it that his being openly gay ruined his career in up tight Hollywood when morality clauses were enforced rather harshly.

Summing up: Definitely worth a look.

Other than the novelty of seeing a very effeminate performance from leading man William Haines, there isn't much to recommend this picture. It seems that despite the fact that Haines was a major silent star, in the sound age he was given crappy roles. I read a book ("The Leading Men of MGM" by Jane Ellen Wayne) that discussed leading men of the day and the author indicated that studio head, Louis B. Mayer did not like gay actors and so Haines, despite his great popularity, was given rotten films in order to destroy his career. I can't say for a fact that this is true, as the book seemed VERY scandalous and dished a lot of dirt, but based on this film, I tend to believe the author in this case. This isn't even good enough to be considered a B-movie! The writing is pretty terrible and clichéd, the action generally pretty cheesy and the whole idea of a stereotypically gay man trying to win a woman's love just seemed silly. An interesting curio, perhaps, but NOT a good film.

Although he's all but forgotten now, in 1930, Hollywood's first full year of talkie films, William Haines was king of the box office. His movies - he starred in three of them - made more money than those of any other male star. WAY OUT WEST is one of those films.

Haines plays a carnival shyster who cheats some cowboys out of their money with a crooked roulette wheel. They retaliate by kidnapping him, taking him back to their ranch and forcing him to work off the debt.

There are some of the usual silly-billy antics you expect from a Bill Haines film. But there are also lapses into very serious areas as well. The look on Haines' bleeding face after he's been roughed-up by a big cowboy, without a word spoken, speaks volumes.

Also appearing are Leila Hyams, one of MGM's pretty starlets of the early 1930's; Francis X. Bushman, Jr.; the ubiquitous Polly Moran; and little Cliff Edwards, who gets to play his ukulele & sing.

Carnival barker Windy (William Haines) cheats a group of cowboys with a rigged roulette wheel. Instead of hanging him, the boys decide to force him to work off the stolen money. He falls for ranch owner Molly Rankin (Leila Hyams).

I really like him as a scheming con-man in a carnival side show. I wouldn't mind a whole movie with that. Once he gets on the ranch, I like him a lot less. In fact, I don't think I like him at all. His flirting with Molly comes off as lies and deceits. I don't really care about the romancing and the movie falls flat. There is an undercurrent of something more which only backs up why the romance doesn't work.

The story of William Haines and his fall from Hollywood stardom is pretty well known. Popular in the silent era where his smart aleck all American type of character did well, Haines did not survive the transition to sound well even before the gay scandal decked his career for good. Way Out West is an example of this.

In Way Out West Haines is a carnival barker who rooks some cowboys out of their dough with a crooked wheel. The cowboys almost hang him, but instead are persuaded to take him back to the ranch and let him work out the $200.00 or so that cheated them out of. Of course being a city slicker he does not take to ranch life with the usual gags that follow. They are the best part of Way Out West.

But for the life of me I can't see why ranch owner Leila Hyams falls for Haines, especially when she has good old reliable Ralph Bushman around with whom she has a lot more in common. The film made little sense to me in that vein.

Charles Middleton is Hyams righteous brother and Cliff Edwards plays a sidekick role and even sings a forgettable ballad. Way Out West turned out to be the direction down for the career of William Haines.