Sadly, when Groucho delivers the line there's a glint in his eye that suggests he believes it. Go West is probably the best AND worst of the final three MGM films, a movie that manages to contain both mild hilarity and extended dull patches.
When Irving Thalberg brought the Marx Brothers over to MGM, the retooling of their characters was notable, but not detrimental. Although suddenly they change from pure forces of nature into more helpful characters with stricter narratives and romantic subplots, A Night At The Opera is still one of their finest films; the follow up was also worthwhile. Sadly, Thalberg's death saw this tenuous formula erode still further and their star treatment at MGM slide.
Very few people suggest that their post-Day At The Races movies are up there with the rest of their work, and At The Circus, Go West and The Big Store are certainly far, far poorer movies than their work from 1929-1937. However, these are only bad Marx Brothers movies by comparison: taken as movies in their own right, they're still average, passable fare, and often brim with invention, even if only in spots. In fact, if you joined up all the funny scenes in the three movies you'd be able to get 90 minutes worth of good material out of it. The only problem is, all three films together last for 240.
Go West has plenty of strong material: there's the amusing "money changing" scene at the start, some funny interplay with Groucho and a wild west bar clientèle and some overtly adult gags, such as Chico's line "She looks like she knows plenty, but not about the deed!" Then there's Groucho's explicit "I'm not in business for love, you know. I was in love once, and I got the business. But that's another story, and a very unpleasant one, too."
However, there's also those dead patches. The scenes with "Red Indians" appal not because of how politically incorrect they may seem in 2012, but because they're just excruciatingly unfunny. There's also a role for the gifted Arthur Housman, though he doesn't get a single line. (That said, considering Housman showed the ability to steal away movies from Laurel and Hardy, maybe they were best only giving him reactions to a below-par Groucho). Even the enchanting/impressive/tiresomely formulaic musical numbers have an uninspired feel about them, with Chico's segue line of "I'ma so happy I'd like to play the piano!" supremely lazy on behalf of the scriptwriter.
The final climactic chase may be less tedious than other similar endings in Circus and Big Store, but you're never for a minute convinced that you're watching the actual Marx Brothers, only their stunt men. Okay, all three brothers were in their fifties by the time it was released, and Groucho's hairpiece is only too obvious, but for escapades on a runaway train it compares unfavourably with the daredevil work of Buster Keaton. Sadly, Keaton himself was down on his luck and forced to work for low pay as an unscripted gag man on this movie. Fifteen years earlier Keaton had written his own "Go West"... and also directed and starred in it.
In all, while a better film than its reputation, Go West can perhaps be best summed up in the words of Groucho himself: "the boys at the studio have lined up another turkey for us and there's a strong likelihood that we'll be shooting in about three or four weeks. I'm not looking forward to it but I guess it's just as well to get it over with." If you care, I take up the story of the Marx Brothers' comeback in a review of Love Happy...
When Irving Thalberg brought the Marx Brothers over to MGM, the retooling of their characters was notable, but not detrimental. Although suddenly they change from pure forces of nature into more helpful characters with stricter narratives and romantic subplots, A Night At The Opera is still one of their finest films; the follow up was also worthwhile. Sadly, Thalberg's death saw this tenuous formula erode still further and their star treatment at MGM slide.
Very few people suggest that their post-Day At The Races movies are up there with the rest of their work, and At The Circus, Go West and The Big Store are certainly far, far poorer movies than their work from 1929-1937. However, these are only bad Marx Brothers movies by comparison: taken as movies in their own right, they're still average, passable fare, and often brim with invention, even if only in spots. In fact, if you joined up all the funny scenes in the three movies you'd be able to get 90 minutes worth of good material out of it. The only problem is, all three films together last for 240.
Go West has plenty of strong material: there's the amusing "money changing" scene at the start, some funny interplay with Groucho and a wild west bar clientèle and some overtly adult gags, such as Chico's line "She looks like she knows plenty, but not about the deed!" Then there's Groucho's explicit "I'm not in business for love, you know. I was in love once, and I got the business. But that's another story, and a very unpleasant one, too."
However, there's also those dead patches. The scenes with "Red Indians" appal not because of how politically incorrect they may seem in 2012, but because they're just excruciatingly unfunny. There's also a role for the gifted Arthur Housman, though he doesn't get a single line. (That said, considering Housman showed the ability to steal away movies from Laurel and Hardy, maybe they were best only giving him reactions to a below-par Groucho). Even the enchanting/impressive/tiresomely formulaic musical numbers have an uninspired feel about them, with Chico's segue line of "I'ma so happy I'd like to play the piano!" supremely lazy on behalf of the scriptwriter.
The final climactic chase may be less tedious than other similar endings in Circus and Big Store, but you're never for a minute convinced that you're watching the actual Marx Brothers, only their stunt men. Okay, all three brothers were in their fifties by the time it was released, and Groucho's hairpiece is only too obvious, but for escapades on a runaway train it compares unfavourably with the daredevil work of Buster Keaton. Sadly, Keaton himself was down on his luck and forced to work for low pay as an unscripted gag man on this movie. Fifteen years earlier Keaton had written his own "Go West"... and also directed and starred in it.
In all, while a better film than its reputation, Go West can perhaps be best summed up in the words of Groucho himself: "the boys at the studio have lined up another turkey for us and there's a strong likelihood that we'll be shooting in about three or four weeks. I'm not looking forward to it but I guess it's just as well to get it over with." If you care, I take up the story of the Marx Brothers' comeback in a review of Love Happy...