Way Out West (1937)

Stan and Ollie are headed West to deliver the deed to a gold mine to Mary Roberts, a young woman working as a maid in a local saloon.

But when Ollie slips and tells saloon owner Mickey Finn why they’re in town, he decides to have his star performer, Lola Marcel, pose as Mary so they can swipe the gold mine.

Well, they succeed in getting the deed, but Stan and Ollie are determined to correct their mistake, if doing so doesn’t kill them first.

Run out of town by the sheriff, they slip back at night. They even manage to get back into the saloon after several bundled attempts.

But will they get the deed back?

After all, it’s already been locked away in Mickey Finn’s safe.

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, about to spill what’s supposed to be a secret in Way Out West (1937)

James Finlayson as Mickey Finn, the bar owner determined to steal the deed to a gold mine in Way Out West (1937)

Review:

This being a Laurel and Hardy movie, the plot, of course, is merely an excuse to string together a bunch of gags, beginning with the opening when Ollie’s efforts to hitchhike a ride into town aren’t very successful.

Until he reveals his leg, bringing the stage to a screeching halt — just as Claudette Colbert had done in the smash hit “It Happened One Night” (1934).

Decades later, some of those gags come off much funnier than others, including the prolonged scramble for the deed between Stan, Ollie, Lola and Mickey Finn.

And while Stan might have trouble hitching a ride with his thumb, he has no trouble using that thumb as a match, a trick Ollie tries to duplicate throughout the film.

There are musical interludes too, including a performance by the Avalon Boys with Chill Wills as their lead singer. As for Dinah in the credits below — that’s the mule who helps Stan and Ollie break back into the saloon. She also co-starred with the comedic duo in 1932’s “Music Box.”

Sharon Lynn as saloon singer Lola Marcel, being convinced to pose as Mary Roberts in Way Out West (1937)

Stan Laurel tries to get a locket from around Oliver Hardy’s neck the hard way in Way Out West (1937)

Directed by:
James W. Horne

Cast:
Stan Laurel … Stanley
Oliver Hardy … Ollie
Sharon Lynn … Lola Marcel
James Finlayson … Mickey Finn
Rosina Lawrence … Mary Roberts
Stanley Fields … Sheriff
Vivien Oakland … Sheriff’s wife
Dinah … herself

Runtime: 67 min.

Rosina Lawrence as Mary Roberts, surfacing after Stan and Ollie have already given away her deed in Way Out West (1937)

Oliver Hardy, stuck again as Stan Laurel tries to lend an assist in Way Out West (1937)

Memorable lines:

Stanley, when the bartender inquires about why they want to see Mary Roberts: “You see it’s private. Her father died and left her a gold mine, and we’re not supposed to tell anyone but her.”

Micky Finn:, on whether she can pass herself off as Mary Roberts: “Think you can do it?”
Lola Marcel: “Can I do it? For a gold mine, I could be Cleopatra.”

Stanley: “We’ll get that deed or I’ll eat your hat.”
Oliver: “That’s what I call determination.”

Dinah the donkey landing on a hotel balcony thanks to her bumbling owners in Way Out West (1937)

Stanley Fields as the sheriff, fed up with the antics of Stan and Ollie in Way Out West (1937)

Vivien Oakland as the sheriff’s wife, caught beetween Ollie Sharon (Oliver Hardy) and Stanley Oliver (Stan Laurel) on a stagecoach ride in Way Out West (1937)