As a Marx Brothers comedy, "Go West" is in my opinion great, considerably better than the critics make it out to be. Although a period film, it is quite surprising to find Harpo and Chico (pronounced "Chicko") wearing their traditional contemporary costumes about midway through. Anyhow, right from the get-go, Groucho is up to his usual wisecracking, and the other two maniacs are up to their customary con-artist shenanigans. AND the two romantic leads (John Carroll and Diana Lewis) are quite appealing to me and hardly dull, contrary to what other critics have stated. Throw in a couple of heavies (every Western film needs them) like Walter Woolf King and Robert Barrat as a pair of money-hungry land grabbers, and you have the foundation for a remarkable Marx Bros. action/comedy/romance.
Here are my personal favorite scenes from "Go West" (DO NOT read any further if you have not yet seen the film). The fabulous extended locomotive sequence at the end of the picture boasts a fair number of clever gags, among them being the train taking out a house while a carpenter works on the roof; the Marx Bros. chopping up the train cars and "borrowing" baggage for kindling; and Rusty Panello (Harpo) stretching himself to rejoin two cars that have separated. For a much less intense offering, Terry Turner (Carroll) and the Marx Bros. sing "Ridin' the Range" with Rusty accompanying on harmonica and S. Quentin Quale (Groucho) on guitar, because what would a Marx Bros. film be without music? Speaking of music, Chico (as Rusty's brother Joseph Panello) does well as always with his unique ivory-tickling technique, but I've never seen anybody play the piano with an orange! Quale offers a necklace to a beautiful Native American girl, but she bluntly replies, "No like. Want Cadillac Sedan," thus forcing Quale to conclude that she has not spent much time on a reservation; he then introduces Rusty as the tribe's new totem pole, to which Harpo incorporates his ever famous Gookie face. Speaking of Native Americans, "Go West" is in my opinion most offensive in its treatment of them, but Harpo thankfully makes up for this when his character Rusty wins the chief's respect by allowing him to play flute with Rusty's jazzy harp. During the rollicking stagecoach ride, a woman complains about "the jerks in the coach", prompting the Panello brothers to react accordingly. Quale and Joe Panello are hilarious during their off-camera drunken banter while Rusty cracks a safe. Rusty performs a hilarious showdown with Red Baxter (Barrat). And finally, "Nine dollars change, please."
Whew! I wrote a lot of details about "Go West", didn't I? Maybe I shouldn't have been so specific, but I just wanted to convey my love of this film and my conviction that it is not the big letdown that others claim it to be. See it for yourself and catch a lot of laughs.
Here are my personal favorite scenes from "Go West" (DO NOT read any further if you have not yet seen the film). The fabulous extended locomotive sequence at the end of the picture boasts a fair number of clever gags, among them being the train taking out a house while a carpenter works on the roof; the Marx Bros. chopping up the train cars and "borrowing" baggage for kindling; and Rusty Panello (Harpo) stretching himself to rejoin two cars that have separated. For a much less intense offering, Terry Turner (Carroll) and the Marx Bros. sing "Ridin' the Range" with Rusty accompanying on harmonica and S. Quentin Quale (Groucho) on guitar, because what would a Marx Bros. film be without music? Speaking of music, Chico (as Rusty's brother Joseph Panello) does well as always with his unique ivory-tickling technique, but I've never seen anybody play the piano with an orange! Quale offers a necklace to a beautiful Native American girl, but she bluntly replies, "No like. Want Cadillac Sedan," thus forcing Quale to conclude that she has not spent much time on a reservation; he then introduces Rusty as the tribe's new totem pole, to which Harpo incorporates his ever famous Gookie face. Speaking of Native Americans, "Go West" is in my opinion most offensive in its treatment of them, but Harpo thankfully makes up for this when his character Rusty wins the chief's respect by allowing him to play flute with Rusty's jazzy harp. During the rollicking stagecoach ride, a woman complains about "the jerks in the coach", prompting the Panello brothers to react accordingly. Quale and Joe Panello are hilarious during their off-camera drunken banter while Rusty cracks a safe. Rusty performs a hilarious showdown with Red Baxter (Barrat). And finally, "Nine dollars change, please."
Whew! I wrote a lot of details about "Go West", didn't I? Maybe I shouldn't have been so specific, but I just wanted to convey my love of this film and my conviction that it is not the big letdown that others claim it to be. See it for yourself and catch a lot of laughs.