Go West

1940 - MGM
Directed By Edward Buzzell


SYNOPSIS

Two poor brothers (Chico + Harpo Marx) dream of going west, finding gold and striking it rich. They out-con a con man (Groucho Marx) and soon find themselves looking for fortune. For helping out an old man, the two get a deed for some land. Unbeknownst to them, the old man's daughter's boyfriend had intentions on selling the land to a railroad and being able to afford to get married and set them up for life. When the railroad company snatches the deed from the brothers, they, the con man, and the boyfriend team up to get it back.

MY THOUGHTS

Though it's not the Marx Brothers at top form, Go West still very funny and highly entertaining.


The characters the Marx Brothers play are way out of their element in the old west and that's why the humor works. Most of the classic comedic actors and groups headed out to the old west. The concept was still relatively fresh in 1940, but still Go West suffers from "been there, done that" syndrome:

--- The hilarious opening scene (where Groucho believes he is scamming Chico and Harpo) (see above video) plays way too much like the famed "Tootsie Frootsie Ice Cream" bit in A Day At The Races. Still, the long scene is nearly as funny as that epic classic.

--- Go West wraps up with an insanely crazy runaway train sequence that evokes Buster Keaton's The General. It's far from a direct copy... but when the brothers start chopping up the train for firewood... it gets a little close for comfort.  (Keaton did work as an uncredited gag-writer on this film.)

--- The film features some strong musical moments. As usual with their films, Chico plays a piano piece and Harpo also plays a song on the harp. These (as in all their films) slow down the film's madcap pace.

--- And, as with all their MGM era features, the trio must help out a pair of troubled lovers. That duo, John Carroll and Diana Lewis, are beyond bland. They make you pine for Allan Jones and Kitty Carlisle who played those type of roles best in A Night At The Opera.
So, much of the film feels like you've seen it before elsewhere, and better.

Still, the witty one-liners from Groucho, the dim-witted mangling of English by Chico and the surreal visual comedy of Harpo are all top notch. The brothers are at the top of their game, despite the material.

There are better western parodies and better Marx Brothers films, but Go West is still enjoyable. It's probably one of their better 'lesser' films.