Way Out West

**Way Out West** is a *Laurel & Hardy* sound feature film released 16 April 1937.

## Summary

Seymore "Sy" Roberts, an old prospector, entrusts Stan and Ollie to deliver the deed to a gold mine he discovered to his daughter, Mary Roberts. She is a poor girl living in Brushwood Gulch who is consistently victimized by her cruel guardians, saloon owner Mickey Finn, and his equally-cruel saloon-singer wife, Lola Marcel.

Stan and Ollie are toward the town of Brushwood Gulch. Stan is on foot, leading a mule named "Dinah", and Ollie is lying on a travois being dragged behind the mule. In the middle of the stream, the travois becomes detached from the mule, leaving Ollie stranded. Stan goes back and helps Ollie to his feet. Then, as Ollie wades the rest of the way across, he completely disappears into a submerged hole in the river bottom. As Ollie is drying his clothes, a stage coach comes by. Ollie quickly dresses, and they are able to ride the rest of the way into town. On the stage coach, they flirt with the woman who is riding with them. She rebuffs the pair, and upon arriving in Brushwood Gulch, she complains to her husband, who draws his gun and orders the pair to leave on the next coach out of town, or else they'll be "riding out of here in a hearse." Stan and Ollie promise to do so once they have completed their mission.

Stan and Ollie arrive at Mickey Finn's saloon as The Avalon Boys are performing J. Leubrie Hill's "At the Ball, That's All" on the front porch. Stan and Ollie are captivated by the music, and perform a charming dance in the street. When they explain to Mickey Finn why they are there and that Stan and Ollie have never seen Mary before, Finn has Lola play Mary in order to hijack the deed from them. Stan and Ollie are completely duped by the charade, but before leaving town, they encounter the real Mary Roberts and immediately try to get the deed back. The evil Finns will not surrender the deed, and a major struggle ensues as Stan and Ollie attempt to reclaim the deed. Stan manages to grab it, but Lola traps him in the bedroom and wrests the deed from him by tickling him into hysterics. After further chasing, Mickey and Lola seal the deed in their safe. Ollie believes he is saved when the sheriff knocks on the door, but the sheriff is the angry husband he met at the stage coach, and he chases Stan and Ollie out of town. On the way out, Ollie again drops into the hole in the river.

Stan and Ollie sneak back into Brushwood Gulch at night. They arrive at the saloon and are met by Mary. They force Mickey to open the safe at gunpoint with his own shotgun, grab the deed and escape with Mary. Finn becomes entangled in the gate-grill at the front door. Outside the town, the happy trio sing "We're Going to See My Home in Dixie" as they ride into the future. Once again, they wade across the very same shallow river, and Ollie falls once again into the very same submerged hole that he did twice before.

## Cast

* Stan Laurel as Stanley
* Oliver Hardy as Ollie
* Sharon Lynne as Lola Marcel
* James Finlayson as Mickey Finn
* Rosina Lawrence as Mary Roberts
* Stanley Fields as Sheriff
* Vivien Oakland as Sheriff's wife
* The Avalon Boys as themselves
* Dinah [the mule] as herself

* Harry Bernard as man eating at bar
* Flora Finch as Maw
* Mary Gordon as Cook
* Jack Hill as Finn's employee
* Sam Lufkin as stagecoach baggage handler
* Fred Toones as Janitor
* May Wallace as Cook
* James C. Morton as Bartender