Stometer Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Tobias Burrows It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

JohnHowardReid Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy (themselves), James Finlayson (Mickey Finn), Sharon Lynne (Lola Marcel), Stanley Fields (sheriff), Rosina Lawrence (Mary Roberts), James Mason (anxious patron), James C. Morton, Frank Mills, Dave Pepper (bartenders), Vivien Oakland (stagecoach passenger/Molly, sheriff's wife), Harry Bernard (man eating at bar), Mary Gordon, May Wallace (cooks), Avalon Boys Quartet: Chill Wills, Art Green, Walter Trask, Don Brookins (themselves), Jack Hill (worker at Mickey Finn's), Sam Lufkin (stagecoach baggage man), Tex Driscoll (bearded miner), Flora Finch (Maw, miner's wife), Fred "Snowflake" Toones (janitor), Bobby Dunn, John Ince, Fritzi Brunette, Frank Montgomery, Fred Cady, Eddie Borden, Bill Wolf, Denver Dixon (aka Art Mix), Ben Corbett, Buffalo Bill Jr (aka Jay Wilsey), Cy Slocum (audience at saloon), Lester Dorr (cowboy), "Dinah" the mule, and Ham Kinsey (double for Mr Laurel), Cy Slocum (double for Mr Hardy), Chill Wills (basso voice dubber for Mr Laurel), Rosina Lawrence (falsetto voice dubber for Mr Laurel). Directed by JAMES W. HORNE. Photographed by Art Lloyd and Walter Lundin. Photographic effects by Roy Seawright. Edited by Bert Jordan. Story by Jack Jevne and Charles Rogers. Screenplay by Charles Rogers, Felix Adler, and James Parrott. Musical score and direction by Marvin Hatley. Sound by William Randall. Art direction by Arthur Royce. Songs: "Trail of the Lonesome Pine" (Hardy and Laurel) by Harry Carroll and Ballard MacDonald; "Commence to Dancing" (sung by the Avalon Boys, danced by Hardy and Laurel) by J.L. Hill. Additional background music composed by LeRoy Shield, Egbert Van Alstyne, Nathaniel Shilkret, Irving Berlin, Franz von Suppe, Eddie Leonard, Eddie Munson. Set decorator: William L. Stevens. Make-up: Jack Dawn. Production manager: Sidney S. Van Keuren. Producer: Stan Laurel. Executive producer: Hal Roach.Copyright 9 April 1937 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp. Presented by Hal Roach Studios. New York opening at the Rialto: 3 May 1937. U.S. release: 16 April 1937. 7 reels. 65 minutes.SYNOPSIS: With the possible exception of Sons of the Desert, which was subtler if not funnier, Way Out West must rank as the best of all the Laurel & Hardy features. Not only is it pure, unadulterated Laurel & Hardy, with no time wasted on subsidiary plotting or romantic or musical "relief", but it is also a first-rate satire of the Western genre. — William K. Everson in "The Films of Laurel and Hardy". NOTES: Marvin Hatley was nominated for an Academy Award for his Music Score, losing to One Hundred Men and a Girl. Tiny Sandford was originally cast as the menacing sheriff, but his scenes were re-shot with Stanley Fields. Uncredited script contributors were Arthur Vernon Jones (in the initial stages) and director James W. Horne. Art Lloyd was the movie's initial photographer.In 1975, a record of Laurel and Hardy's "Trail of the Lonesome Pine" duet was lifted from the sound track and issued in the United Kingdom and Eire. It proved astonishingly popular, eventually making it right up to the number two spot on the Hit Parade charts, grossing well over £1 million in record sales. The song provided by the Avalon Boys quartet is usually given as the 1905 hit, "At the Ball, That's All", which Laurel and Hardy "Commence to Dancing". Sharon Lynne, accompanied by a chorus of saloon cuties, also has a song, "Won't You Be My Lovey Dovey?" At the fade-out, Laurel, Hardy and Rosina Lawrence chortle "We're Going To Go Way Down To Dixie". The film commenced shooting on 27 August 1936, winding up in early November. COMMENT: One of the funniest of the features, and one of the most suitable for modern viewing as it is not disfigured by some of the vicious tit-for-tat nonsense that L & H often indulged in. The pace is fast, and the music score for once is not only apposite, it's actually a major asset. The boys do a delightful little jig as they listen to the Avalon Boys, and later chorus it up at the bar. The saloon girls' songs are a delight too. The dialogue is funny, the situations amusing. L & H and the entire cast, particularly Sharon Lynne, play with gusto. Hardy's side expressions are a joy.The concluding shots of the present TV prints have for some reason been cut, so that Hardy no longer steps into the pot-hole — which spoils the cumulative effect of one of the film's principal running gags.Impossible to split the photography credit (one doubtless did locations). Horne's direction is more accomplished than usual.

sol- Charged with delivering a gold mine deed to an heiress who they have never seen or met, two bumbling friends haplessly try to correct their mistake after being tricked into given the deed to the wrong women in this feature length Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy comedy. Often cited as one of the pair's funniest full length features, 'Way Out West' has some terrific moments for sure as Hardy tries eating a hat after watching Laurel enjoy eating his, as Hardy accidentally knocks on a bald man's head, and as the pair hitch a ride 'It Happened One Night' style, and yet there is no escaping how paper thin the plot is. Indeed, even at less than 70 minutes, the movie feels on the long side with the story basically just consisting of repeated failed attempts to retrieve the deed. The fact that Stan and Ollie do not appear on screen for six and a half minutes does not help matters, nor does the heavy reliance on slapstick gags - particularly head banging incidents. The film actually has some really good dialogue -- "we hope he is - they buried him" comments Stan in a deadpan manner after the fake heiress asks whether her relative is really dead. And yet, while more verbal gags like this would have perhaps been beneficial, the comedy duo are admittedly slapstick experts and the film is often funny if a tad disjointed and episodic. The Old West sets and costumes are pretty good too.

kensworld-135-305975 I must be out of step on this one, as everyone seems to acclaim this as Laurel & Hardy's best film. OK it has it's amusing moments, but one is left with the feeling that it went on for too long and that if you squeeze an orange to excess, you are just left with the pips. The only memorable scene for me was the duo's performance in the saloon of 'The Trail of the Lonesome Pine'Wasn't it Stan Laurel that said he preferred the short films they made? I think he was right, ('The Music Box' was certainly proof of that). The only exception to this rule perhaps was 'Blockheads', which was a funnier film than this.So for Laurel & Hardy at their best I will be sticking to the shorts!

JoeytheBrit In childhood this was one of my favourite Laurel & Hardy films, and seen with the eyes of an adult it is still packed with an incredible amount of funny moments. L&H arrive in a wild western town to deliver the deeds of a gold mine to Mary Roberts (Rosina Lawrence) a young girl working as a scullery maid for wily saloon owner Mickey Finn (James Finlayson) and showgirl Lola (Sharon Lynn). Finn and Lola trick the boys into handing the deeds over to them and, once they discover the duplicity, the duo are determined to retrieve it.For a full-length feature, it is surprising how well-paced the film is - especially in the first forty minutes (things go downhill a little in the last 20 minutes, although there are still laughs to be had). There are any number of not only funny but classic scenes, such as the pair's impromptu dance to The Avalon Boys song and their duet on Trail of the Lonesome Pine (which would reach the top of the charts long after the boys had both died), Stan's hysterics as Lola tries to wrestle the deeds from him, Ollie's frustrated attempts to emulate Stan's thumb trick, and Stan finding he quite enjoys the taste of Ollie's hat, etc.This is arguably one of Laurel & Hardy's greatest films and is essential viewing for anyone interested in vintage Hollywood comedy.