Let's be realistic.

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

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.

In Arizona, wisecracking carnival showman William Haines (as Windy) uses leggy women to lure local cowboys into his boudoir, where he wins over $200 from them with a rigged roulette wheel. Mr. Haines wants to use the money to go to Chicago and sell life insurance, but loses it to pick-pocket Vera Marshe (as "La Belle Rosa"). When the men discover they've been had, they attempt to lynch Haines then make him work off the money on a ranch. Roughed up but retaining his good humor, Haines falls head-over-heels for pretty ranch owner Leila Hyams (as Molly Rankin). But rowdy Ralph Bushman (as Steve), son of silent legend Francis X. Bushman, wants Ms. Hyams too. Ukulele playing singer Cliff Edwards (as Trilby) and comedienne Polly Moran (as Pansy) lend support. "Way Out West" was a noticeably uneven entry from the superstar, appearing careless at times.**** Way Out West (8/2/30) Fred Niblo ~ William Haines, Leila Hyams, Cliff Edwards, Polly Moran

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.