Laurel & Hardy: Way Out West [VHS] (1937)

With a cartoon-like inexhaustibility, Hardy undergoes countless indignities in 'Way Out West'. In his first scene he is being carried on a fur mat by a mule, only to be stranded in a creek. He is forced to strip off in front of a lady to retrieve an heirloom. In the various attempts to recover the gold-mine deed on which the action centres, he falls through a shed roof, falls from a balcony, and finds himself the unwilling counterweight to a flying mule. He gets his head stuck in a trap door, which, when hidden by a bucket, is repeatedly kicked by his enemy, Mickey Finn. Most hilariously, his and Stan's hiding place in a piano is exposed when Finn hammers a tune and the keys batter them in the face.

'Wild Out West' has been called a comedy Western, but it doesn't truly engage with the classic images, cliches or narratives of the genre. The heroes may be strangers who ride into a town, but they are neither outlaws, civilisers, hired guns nor men running from their past; they don't transform it before they leave. 'West' is really just another setting for a Laurel and Hardy comedy - the locales could be changed with little alteration, and still be effective. This doesn't mean that the Western is irrelevant. The pointed thing about 'West' is the way it takes a genre dependent on action and a kind of mythic grandeur, and slows it down to Laurel and Hardy's grinding, creeping, present-tense pace. The main fight over the deed involves a childish chase around an apartment by four adults, bruising and scrumming each other, the female villain tickling the deed out of Stan (a weird, suggestively Freudian scene). The climactic break-in sequence, which should be tense and brisk, stands still for meticulously and patiently developed routines. Much of the film's pleasures derive from digressions, such as Stan's multi-octave acompaniment to the Avalon Boys' musical interludes, or the local dogs' interest in his shoe.

One of the problems with Laurel and Hardy features is the way their plotless, vignette-accumulating art is trammelled by the need for plot coherence and linearity, the resolution of which depends on a heroism and adeptness that betrays the leads' personae. 'West' is the best of these features because it is their most (comparatively) cinematic; because some care has gone into creating atmosphere (the soundtrack is especially imaginative); because the script is superb; but mostly because it's consistently, even hysterically, funny.

Way Out West is a GREAT flick for ALL ages whether in the original black and white or the beautifully and tastefully colorized version released several years ago. Probably the only film of theirs that comes so close to being so PERFECT and holding up so well is Sons of the Desert, which is more of a situation comedy. Way Out West is a mite more slapstick...plus it has the great songs and their most famous dance.

As usual, the film's plot is merely a device for making the audience howl with laughter at the comedy and sense the genuine chemistry and friendship between them (they were also great friends off screen). The plot a nutshell: they breeze into town, unwittingly angering their fellow stagecoach passenger, a lady who happens to be the wife of the town's formidable sheriff (played by Tiny Sanford). Their mission: personally deliver a valuable gold mine deed to the daughter of a dead partner.

James Finlayson -- originator of the DOH! catchphrase later used and made popular by Homer Simpson -- plays the daughter's lying guardian who schemes to steal the goldmine by having his girlfriend saloon-maid (Sharon Lynne) pose as the daughter to the unsuspecting L&H.

Way Out West moves quickly with virtually no padding. This 1937 movie, produced by Stan Laurel (the creative force behind the act)is a MUST for comedy-loves and students of comedy because of:

1. A running gag with Hardy being pulled across the river by a mule.
2. Several never-to-be duplicated slapstick sequences, such as their trying to sneak into the house. Their comedy bits remain as fresh as the day they were filmed.
3. Oliver Hardy's wonderful voice singing "The Trail of the Lonesome Pine." Done with a comedy touch with Laurel.
4. Their dance as the Avalon Boys sing "At the Ball, That's All." L&H start by tapping their feet casually, then dance together in a dance combining joy of music, friendship and playful humor. This short dance's grace, sweetness, and spontenaity -- even with the huge Hardy (who was light on his feet) -- has never been matched on film. They made it look easy (and maybe they had so much fun that it WAS).
5. Marvin Hatley's intricate musical score. It should be studied by anyone interested in seeing how musical instruments can be made to sound funny and silly and enhance onscreen action (recreations of parts of this score are available on various CDs).

How does Way Out West hold up? Very well. I don't think anyone has apologize to a young person about the comedy's pace. Although not as frentic as some modern comedies, it has a natural pace and is immediately engaging. I showed it to Greg, 10, and Kayla, 6, and their response was: "Show us some more of their movies!!"