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!!

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.

The story of William Haines and his fall from Hollywood stardom is pretty well known. Popular in the silent era where his smart aleck all American type of character did well, Haines did not survive the transition to sound well even before the gay scandal decked his career for good. Way Out West is an example of this.In Way Out West Haines is a carnival barker who rooks some cowboys out of their dough with a crooked wheel. The cowboys almost hang him, but instead are persuaded to take him back to the ranch and let him work out the $200.00 or so that cheated them out of. Of course being a city slicker he does not take to ranch life with the usual gags that follow. They are the best part of Way Out West.But for the life of me I can't see why ranch owner Leila Hyams falls for Haines, especially when she has good old reliable Ralph Bushman around with whom she has a lot more in common. The film made little sense to me in that vein. Charles Middleton is Hyams righteous brother and Cliff Edwards plays a sidekick role and even sings a forgettable ballad. Way Out West turned out to be the direction down for the career of William Haines.

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.