ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

PiraBit if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

kidboots Leila Hyams was MGM's perfect leading lady. She had a patrician beauty but a very unaggressive personality so she seemed to fit into any genre. She was paired well with Chester Morris in the powerful "The Big House" and again in the zippy pre-code comedy "Red Headed Woman". Only once did she show a spark of some hidden emotion - that was when she played the carnival girl in "Freaks" but whenever John Gilbert looked at her with intensity or William Haines wisecracked, there she was, unobtrusive and behaving like a perfect leading lady. The main reason I bought this DVD was to hear Cliff "Ukelele Ike" Edwards sing "Singing a Song to the Stars" and even though he didn't get much of a chance to shine in this movie, I can guarantee that listening to his glorious falsetto will send shivers up your spine.Windy (Haines) is a carnival barker (that's Ann Dvorak on the far left of the dancers) who also doubles as a gambling shyster. He bites off more than he can chew when he steal from a bunch of cowboys who promptly drag him to the nearest tree. He is saved by Buck (Charles Middleton "Ming the Merciless") who suggests that he work off what he stole from the cowboys by working on his shorthanded ranch. He doesn't get off to a good start - flirting with the "help", Molly (Hyams) who just happens to be the boss!!! Most of the movie seems to be centered on the tricks the cowboys play on Windy to bring him down a peg or two - like the old "putting him on a docile horse that just happens to be unrideable" and sending him into town for food which means gathering hay for the cows!! It doesn't really pick up pace until the end when Molly is bitten by a snake and Windy puts the fainting maiden into the car to travel to the Indian doctor. Pansy (Polly Moran) the cook, mistakes what she sees as a kidnapping and sends all the cowboys out for Windy's blood!!If this was the best that MGM could come up with for one of their top stars (Haines) there might be a case for studio sabotage - on top of that there seemed to be some decidedly off colour jokes (mistaking him for the cook "Pansy") and name calling all at Haine's expense. Cliff Edwards as Trilby has less to do in this movie than any I have seen him in. Among the cowboys, a couple, Buddy Roosevelt and Jay Wilsey were soon to become regulars on the Gower Gulch circuit!!

Michael_Elliott 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.

Neil Doyle WAY OUT WEST is a film designed to be a star vehicle for the controversial WILLIAM HAINES, who was during this time an outspoken gay member of the Hollywood community. He was a talented charmer, capable of natural performances rather than the standard overacting typical of many a silent screen star.While the film itself may not be a winner, it's entertaining enough to keep you watching until the happy ending. Haines plays a carnival worker whose crooked ways lead to his capture by a bunch of cowboy roughs who want him to work off his debt to them by doing chores as a farmhand. FRANCIS X. BUSHMAN is one of the guys, POLLY MORAN makes a winsome female, and CLIFF EDWARDS has an innocuous supporting role.It's strictly standard stuff but interesting to watch Haines at work, creating a character you can't help but like despite his sordid reputation (in the film). Rumor has it that his being openly gay ruined his career in up tight Hollywood when morality clauses were enforced rather harshly.Summing up: Definitely worth a look.

MartinHafer 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.