Cow boy per forza

If you understand the background plot of "Singing in the Rain" this is a great film to watch. Made in 1930 it is a fun movie to watch. The actors were mainly silent film stars giving it a go in the infancy of talking movies. Often the dialog is absolutely horrible, exactly what was explained in "Singing in the Rain". If a confusing abduction scene the heroine is speaking a repetitious monotone with no voice inflection speaking the same line over and over again. "Please do not hurt me, Please do not hurt me. Please do not hurt me...." The gunfights are straight out of the Max Sennett school of movie making. It is one of the earliest films shot in Monument Valley, the studio scenes were done in New Mexico. When I first saw the title I thought, "Geez I really do not care for Laurel and Hardy, but what the hell I do not have anything better to watch while waiting for a delivery." After a few minutes I caught on that this Way Out West was a much earlier talkie than the Laurel and Hardy film of the same name. It is a pre code movie so the "Gay" caricatures will surprising to say the least. If you are expecting a western the calibre of "The Searchers" but if you are interesting in understanding the evolution of movie making industry this is worth watching.

Way Out West (1930)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

How much entertainment you get out of this Western spoof is certainly going to depend on your tolerance level of star William Haines. In the film he plays Windy, a carnival con man who rips off a bunch of cowboys who plan on killing him when they find out but instead they take him back to the ranch and put him to work. Of course, Windy causes one problem after another but before long the beautiful owner (Leila Hyams) begins to fall in love with him while her brother and the other cowboys continue to see him as a threat. The more pictures I see from Haines the more I realize that everyone of them are pretty much the same with just the settings changed. As you'd expect, Haines plays a fast-talking, sexist, at times mean-spirited clown who is so out of it that you honestly can't look at him as a human. This is the type of character that Haines would play throughout his career and if you can put up with the style of comedy then you have to admit that he's pretty good at it. I wouldn't say I'm a die-hard fan of Haines but I always find it somewhat amusing how far he's willing to go to try and capture a laugh. At times it's in terms of some sort of physical slapstick while at other times it's just him being downright obnoxious and rude. Of course, I think we'd all ask how any beautiful woman would fall for his type of character but it happened in each one of these MGM features. I was really impressed with the supporting cast as well. Hyams is extremely fun to watch as the sexy ranch owner and she manges to have quite a bit of chemistry with Hyams. Cliff Edwards and Francis X. Bushman, Jr. both have nice supporting parts as does Polly Moran. At just 70-minutes the film has a pretty good pace from start to finish as well as some nice laughs along the way. There's even a nice fist-fight at the end of the movie to cap everything off. WAY OUT WEST certainly isn't a classic but for fans of Haines they should enjoy it.

William Haines plays a brassy carnival barker who gets caught cheating 3 cowboys in a roulette game. His punishment is to work off the debt (after a carny girl steals his money) on a local ranch. Great concept and perfect for the Haines formula, but the film is flat in a couple places and needed a better director. The editing is also bad. But Haines is a delight as usual. His silly billy character made a smooth transition to talkies. Haines was one of the most appealing and popular stars of the late 20s and early 30s.

Good cast here with pretty Leila Hyams the ranch owner, Cliff Edwards the hapless cowhand Trilby (whom Haines keeps calling Svengali), Polly Moran as Pansy the housekeeper, Ralph Bushman the lead cowboy, Charles Middleton the brother, Vera Marshe the carny girl, Jack Pennick as Pete, and Jay Wilsey and Buddy Roosevelt the other cowboys. Ann Dvorak is one of the carny dancers.

Very odd but the carny girls wear the same cannibal outfits in their dance number as the dancers in the Free and Easy number from the 1930 film of the same name. And Dvorak was a dancer in THAT film as well (which starred Buster Keaton). MGM recycled the costumes! Minor Haines film and one credited as his first flop, but still interesting to see this once-major star in action.

In Arizona, wisecracking carnival showman William Haines (as Windy) uses leggy women to lure local cowboys into his boudoir, where he wins over $200 from them with a rigged roulette wheel. Mr. Haines wants to use the money to go to Chicago and sell life insurance, but loses it to pick-pocket Vera Marshe (as "La Belle Rosa"). When the men discover they've been had, they attempt to lynch Haines then make him work off the money on a ranch. Roughed up but retaining his good humor, Haines falls head-over-heels for pretty ranch owner Leila Hyams (as Molly Rankin). But rowdy Ralph Bushman (as Steve), son of silent legend Francis X. Bushman, wants Ms. Hyams too. Ukulele playing singer Cliff Edwards (as Trilby) and comedienne Polly Moran (as Pansy) lend support. "Way Out West" was a noticeably uneven entry from the superstar, appearing careless at times.

**** Way Out West (8/2/30) Fred Niblo ~ William Haines, Leila Hyams, Cliff Edwards, Polly Moran

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.