Go West

Plot synopsis:
A drifter identified only as "Friendless" (Keaton) sells the last of his possessions, keeping only a few trinkets and a picture of his mother. Unable to find a job in the city, he goes west and manages to get a job at a cattle ranch despite having no experience. Meanwhile, a neglected cow named Brown Eyes fails to give milk and is sent out to the field along with the other cattle.
As Friendless tries to figure out how to milk a cow, he's told to go out and help the other ranch hands bring in the cattle. Unsuccessful in riding a horse, he falls off and sees Brown Eyes. Noticing her limp, Friendless examines her hoof and removes the rock that had been hurting her. Brown Eyes proceeds to follow Friendless around, saving him from a bull attack. Realizing that he's finally found a companion, Friendless strikes up a friendship with the cow, giving her his blanket at night and attempting to protect her from wild dogs. The next day, Brown Eyes follows Friendless everywhere, much to the chagrin of the other ranch hands. Friendless accidentally sets two steers loose after they'd been corralled in, but on the joking suggestion of the other hands, brings them back in by waving his red bandanna.
The ranch owner (Truesdale) and his daughter (Myers) are preparing to sell the cattle to a stockyard, though another rancher wants to hold out for a higher price. The owner, no longer wanting to wait, prepares to ship the whole herd out. Friendless, shocked to hear that Brown Eyes will go to a slaughterhouse, refuses to let her go. The ranch owner fires him and gives him his wages. Friendless tries to buy his friend back with his earnings, but is told that it's not enough. After failing to get more money from a card game, he joins Brown Eyes in the cattle car and tries to find a way to free her. The train is ambushed by the other rancher and his men. Friendless and the ranch owner's other hands manage to drive off the attackers, but only Friendless makes it back to the train as the others chase away the rancher.
Arriving in Los Angeles, Friendless frees Brown Eyes and leads her away, using his red bandanna once more to guide the other thousand steers to the stockyard. The townspeople are terrified of the cattle as some of the cows break away and begin entering the stores, but Friendless manages to corral them together. Friendless ties Brown Eyes up before going back to retrieve the other cattle, leaving his red bandanna with her in order to keep her cool. Realizing his mistake, he enters a masquerade store to find something red to attract the cows. Deciding on a red devil's outfit, he exits the store and the cattle begin to chase him. The police attempt to arrest him, but are mistakenly sprayed with hoses from the fire department, who flee once the see the cattle coming.
The ranch owner, realizing his ruin if the cattle are not sold, drives with his daughter to the stockyard. The owner tells him that no cattle have arrived yet. Defeated, the ranch owner prepares to leave when he sees Friendless leading the herd into the stockyard. Overjoyed, the ranch owner tells Friendless that his house and anything he owns is his to ask for. Friendless says that he only wants "her," gesturing behind him to where the ranch owner's daughter is. The owner is surprised and the daughter flattered, but they quickly realize that it's Brown Eyes that he's referring to. The three drive back to the ranch, with Brown Eyes beside Friendless in the back seat.

Tags: humor

Review:
Despite not having a reputation as one of the better Marx Brothers films, I still found this to be a typical MB movie with crazy scenes and a few songs.
Once again, Chico comes up with the funniest lines.I think this is a solid comedy and an underrated Marx Brothers film .
The consensus is that Go West is passable, at least, but not one of the better Marx Brothers films.
Tied up with that is the fact that Go West is a late-career Marx Brothers film.
They ended up doing a couple more films together in the 1940s--A Night in Casablanca (1946) and Love Happy (1949), but the conventional wisdom has it that those were provoked more by a need to pay for Chico's gambling debts than they were by a desire to make a film together (which is not to say that they're not good films).For me, however, Go West is another excellent entry in a long string of Marx Brothers films that are primarily 10 out of 10s.
The consensus tends to evolve over time, despite the fact that the films themselves do not change.Go West has Groucho Marx in his usual huckster mode as S.
Go West ends up being about a number of people attempting to con each other out of money and the deed, in a race to see who can get it to New York first.Of course, the plot is primarily an excuse for a series of gags.
They continually play "games" with the conventions of film in general and the western in particular, making this clear right off the bat--any pretense at holding the plot supreme is joyously sabotaged in the first 10 minutes when Go West becomes an extended gag instead (as the brothers try to bilk each other out of the money needed for train fare).
Buster Keaton's infamous film The General (1927) was an obvious influence, and in fact, Keaton was an uncredited writer for Go West, as Keaton was employed as a gag writer for MGM at this time.
I don't want to give any of the material away here, but it's worth watching the film for the climax alone, and in fact, during the pre-VCR days when 8mm home projectors were all the rage, the ending of Go West was siphoned off and marketed by itself.The Marx Brothers' performances are fine, of course, as are all of the technical elements, but the rest of the cast is great, too.
And of course, like always, it doesn't hurt that there are beautiful women around, even if there not in the film that much.While I agree that Go West is perhaps not the best Marx Brothers film, that's only because they have so many 10s that it's too difficult to pick.
I grew up on the Marx Brothers via my father (even though most of them were made before he was born as well), and ended up liking them so much I eventually bought every movie they made, and most of the documentaries, three single Groucho movies, two sets of 'You Bet Your Life' episodes, and even 'The Story of Mankind,' featuring the three primary brothers, though in small parts in separate segments...(Many books by and/or about them too.) In any case, I'm a huge fan.
And re-watching A Night in Casablanca (which at least a little more time and money was put into for what she really be considered their true final film, rather than the slapped together for quick cash 'Love Happy', which was originally a Harpo solo project), I've come to realize that Casablanca is stronger than I remembered, but still felt stale for much of it compared to their classics.
There's a good song, which isn't common in the Marx Brothers films, and both the piano and harp numbers are good.
They're just like those old friends that will never let you down."Go West" has each and everyone of the essential ingredients of the movies from Groucho and co.
Their unique brand of comedy adapts reasonably well to the Western format though, at the end of the day, a lot more could have been done with this situation; the film suffers in comparison with their 'classic' stuff, but even more so when measured against other comics' brush with the genre  particularly two ambitious Buster Keaton masterworks, OUR HOSPITALITY (1923) and THE GENERAL (1927), and Laurel & Hardy's (more straightforward but) equally delightful and inspired WAY OUT WEST (1937)!That said, a number of scenes here deliver the goods: the ticket-office sketch at the beginning, the stagecoach ride, the robbery of the safe and, of course, the climactic train 'wreck; on the debit side: the songs in this one are particularly negligible.My verdict, therefore, is that GO WEST is a worthwhile comedy but a lesser Marx Bros.
As always, Groucho has lots of great one-liners, Chico plays a charming con-man, and Harpo gets up to all kinds of anarchic antics.
Groucho replies, "It's out on the tracks; it seldom comes in here." In previous films, the Brothers' made fun of the circus and the opera; in this film, they play havoc with the conventions of the Old West.
I'd like-a the West better if it was in the East."In contrast to some of their other films, especially "At the Circus," the musical numbers are delightful and catchy.
This latter feature of the MGM films was often tedious and forgettable; happily, that is not the case in "Go West." I thoroughly enjoyed this film and would recommend it to anyone who appreciates the madcap humour of the Marx Bros.
'Go West' was the first movie from the Marx Brothers that I saw.
I don't want to call the movie great but since everything was new to me I had a very good time.Groucho Marx is S.
There is a nice scene with Chico playing the piano in a great and very funny way that gives the movie some spirit again.
It was symptomatic of Mayer's lack of interest in their film work - they were not sent out to test their material.Then in 1940 came GO WEST.The Marx Brothers had not been the first comedians that Mayer disliked.
By 1935 Keaton was a has-been in Hollywood, and by the end of the decade was only appearing in minor films as comedy relief, or used as a gag writer.Possibly Mayer decided (for some twisted reason) to put Keaton on the writing staff for GO WEST.
When it was finished, apparently with a sneer, Groucho said: "You really think that was funny?" Keaton, somewhat crestfallen, replied: "I just thought it might work...you fellows are pretty funny by yourselves." There are Keatonian touches in the movie: Harpo's showdown with the saloon keeper town boss, where he pulls out a shaving brush that fires a shot into the floor.
Possibly he had a hand in the great opening of the film, where Groucho is the city slicker fleeced by Chico and Harpo when he tries to fleece them.
Both of those films are way better than the slow going GO WEST.One wishes that Groucho had been more charitable to Keaton, because the latter did finally find a comedian who listened and worked with him.
In GO WEST we have the opening sequence where Groucho tries to fleece Chico and Harpo, only to get a good screwing himself in the bargain.
I also enjoyed the bit where Groucho and Chico attempt to woo a couple of gals as Harpo attempts to steal a deed from a safe in the next room.
GO WEST (MGM, 1940), directed by Edward Buzzell, capitalizes on the recent popularity of the western genre that began in 1938-39, placing the three Marx Brothers in the old west, circa 1870, shortly before "Don Ameche's invention of the telephone." Although not in the classic western comedy sense as MY LITTLE CHICKADEE (Universal, 1940) featuring Mae West and W.C. Fields, GO WEST (no relation to the 1925 Buster Keaton silent) has something going for it.
No, they didn't get to find out how the West was won, nor do the Marx Brothers get to have their frequent foil, Margaret Dumont, sporting western attire and shooting up the town like Annie Oakley.
Terry (John Carroll), Turner's grandson, wants to marry Eve (Diana Lewis), Wilson's granddaughter, and in order to put an end of the Wilson-Turner feud and amend his grandfather's thievery, he requests the executive board of the New York and Western Railroad Company to link Cripple Creek to the Pacific by ways of Dead Man's Gulch so that Wilson will get $50,000 for his property.
Because Wilson is in need for $10 to buy a grubstake, his helpers, the Panello brothers, Joe (Chico) and Rusty (Harpo), who have come west digging for gold, offer him the money.
The method of how Quale, Joe and Rusty retain the deed remains to be seen.On the musical program: "You Can't Argue With Love" by Gus Kahn and Bronislau Kaper (sung by deep-voiced June MacCloy); "The Woodpecker Song" (piano solo by Chico); "Beautiful Dreamer" by Stephen Foster (sung by Diana Lewis); "Ridin' the Range Together" by Roger Edens and Gus Kahn; (sung by John Carroll); and "From the Land of the Sky Blue Water" (harp solo on loom by Harpo on Indian reservation) by Charles Wakefield Cadman.Placing the Marx Brothers in a western setting  is a welcome change of pace.
It shows great promise with its hilarious ten minute opening at the train station where wiseacre Groucho is outsmarted by Chico and Harpo for money (Chico: $9 change please), and redeems itself from prior weakness near the finish with its 15-minute Keystone comedy type locomotive race against time as the wild bunch take over command as engineers with Groucho yelling "Timber" to acquire more wood for the steam engine.
Other comic supplements, ranging from good to average, include Groucho and Chico's flirtation with Baxter's saloon gals while Harpo ("that redhead is a demon" quotes one of the floozies) in the next room searches for the stolen deed before dynamiting Baxter's safe.
One scene worth noting having Groucho getting slickered by Baxter and tripped down a flight of stairs (as in A NIGHT AT THE OPERA), thus, making him the laughing stock of the town, actually takes away from his traditional character who used to make fools of the villains.
Unlike their earlier MGM efforts, the romantic subplot, enacted by John Carroll and Diana Lewis, doesn't take too much time away from the brothers to make this 80 minute comedy drag.
Aside from the Marx Brothers assisting a young couple in need, and showing the tender side of their nature by comforting Wilson's granddaughter after learning the outcome of her grandfather's deed, GO WEST might have misfired altogether had it not been for the aforementioned opening and closing segments.
S. Quentin Quale (Groucho Marx) is a con-man heading west.
He encounters seemingly bumbling brothers Joseph (Chico Marx) and Rusty Panello (Harpo Marx) in a train station and ends up losing his money to them.
Like so many comedians before them, and so many who would follow, The Marx Brothers spoof western clichés in this enjoyable late MGM feature.
Not a classic Marx Brothers film along the lines of "Duck Soup" or "A Night At The Opera," but it is a definite improvement over their weak previous film "At The Circus." The film starts very well with con man Groucho getting conned by Chico and Harpo instead.
features aren't 'movies' in the sense that we understand them today.The idea was to entertain us with the customary skits, fill in the interstices with the peripheral dramatic plot, and provide a platform for Groucho's banter, and for Harpo and Chico's considerable musical talents.To that end, we have an entire scene set in an Indian camp engineered to have Harpo 'discover' a harp (the weaving loom), and captivate the two audiences: the 'indians', and us, the viewers.
But Chico acquits the whole scheme with his piano rags in the saloon - watch how his hands become 'characters'.Also of note is the slapstick 'train chase', constructed in a manner that did Keaton proud, and filmed as a homage to the silent era..
When the apostles of political correctness, and the thought monitors, start destroying film comedies in the interest of 'keeping us safe', let us hope that Groucho, Harpo and Chico find some way to outwit them.
Go West was another funny enough Marx Brothers vehicle.
Oh, and Groucho plays the guitar here, something he didn't do since Horse Feathers, as well as sing a few lines with Chico during a number by one of the romantic leads, John Carroll.
There's a scene early on in a train station where the three do a bit where Chico & Harpo rip off Groucho.
The best part about Go West, which is actually a later, lesser Marx Brothers affair is Groucho's name.
I am a huge Marx brothers fan, but this one seems to last forever with little comedy before the much mentioned, "train scene" finally arrives.
My vote for bottom 3 all-time worst Marx Brothers films along with Room Service and The Big Store..
"I'd like the West better if it was in the East." Wildly Underrated Marx Bros..
Though Go West does have its moments, it's not quite in the same league as the brothers earlier MGM films, A Night At The Opera, and A Day At The Races, let alone their Paramount films.
It's also not as good a western spoof as Laurel&Hardy's Way Out West or Abbott&Costello's Ride 'Em Cowboy.When the Marx Brothers left Paramount, Zeppo did not make the trip, so it was MGM's practice to give the brothers a fourth man who happened to be a singer.
He sings the rather forgettable Rding the Range with accompaniment by the brothers.The plot of this film has to do with the Brothers trying to help Diana Lewis get the deed to her grandfather's property that they mistakenly turned over to villains Robert Barrat and Walter Woolf King so Harpo could get a 10 cent beer.
At one point, while gagging a train driver, Groucho looks to the camera and declares "This is the best gag in the picture." Sadly, he's right.So despite a great opening and good ending, Go West is just another nail in the Marx's coffin..
The sad fact about the Marx Brothers is that after the movie A NIGHT AT THE OPERA, their career was all downhill.
The film is a by-the-book effort where the Marx Brothers travel west in search of fun and adventure.
Useless because folks who go to see Marx Brothers films really don't want romance--unless it involves Groucho or Harpo chasing women.
The Marx Brothers in the old west.
"Go West" isn't the best Marx Brothers film, but it has some wonderful moments, including the train sequence in the finale.This is one of their MGM films, and while most people prefer their Paramount days, I like the MGM movies better.
Of course there are moments of inspiration here and there (Groucho's finish of the song "You Can't Argue With Love", Harpo's "discussion" with the Indian chief, the scene where people keep entering a room and drawing a gun on the person in front of them, etc.), and the climactic train chase, although overextended, features lots of good stuntwork and special effects.
As a Marx Brothers comedy, "Go West" is in my opinion great, considerably better than the critics make it out to be.
Keaton's contributions here do not become crystal clear until the last 15 minutes of the film, the climactic train chase.There are lots of similarities between gags from Our Hospitality (the train leaving the track yet still running), Steamboat Bill Jr (Harpo escapes being run over as the train with a house stuck on the front comes at him by opening a front door, then opening a back door, calling to mind the falling building facade Buster faced in the earlier film) and, of course, the General (chopping up the train for firewood), but the thing that's most noteworthy about The General is just how long Keaton can sustain a chase (it virtually runs the entire film), and the Go West sequence is marvelously sustained comedy.The Big Store also has the Brothers doing physical shtick, but the absence of the surreal makes them look like nothing more than slightly more sophisticated three stooges.
Something like watching the train go off the track and then go into a circle as merry-go-round music plays just seems like pure Keaton and pure Marx.Although not Duck Soup (what is, other than Duck Soup?) the film to me is the best thing they did between A Night at the Opera and A Night in Casablanca.
Okay not all of the Marx Brothers movies were really funny.
Dead Man's Gulch is the locale for this Marx Brothers western spoof, and whoever holds the deed to the town at the end of the show is a rich man.
Go West is probably the best AND worst of the final three MGM films, a movie that manages to contain both mild hilarity and extended dull patches.When Irving Thalberg brought the Marx Brothers over to MGM, the retooling of their characters was notable, but not detrimental.
Go West has plenty of strong material: there's the amusing "money changing" scene at the start, some funny interplay with Groucho and a wild west bar clientèle and some overtly adult gags, such as Chico's line "She looks like she knows plenty, but not about the deed!" Then there's Groucho's explicit "I'm not in business for love, you know.
Even the enchanting/impressive/tiresomely formulaic musical numbers have an uninspired feel about them, with Chico's segue line of "I'ma so happy I'd like to play the piano!" supremely lazy on behalf of the scriptwriter.The final climactic chase may be less tedious than other similar endings in Circus and Big Store, but you're never for a minute convinced that you're watching the actual Marx Brothers, only their stunt men.