Reviews

While Stan Laurel did not really produce this as he credited, his talented fingerprints are all over this wonderful film as a contributing writer, assistant director, constant supervisor, gag inventor, and raconteur.

This is one of the highly talented comedy duos best. Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy really were the perfect comedy team, and they were funnier than it is possible to describe. You need to be there and see it for yourself and hold your own belly for the laughs and wipe the tears of laughter from your own eyes. They had a childlike innocence and not a truly mean bone in their bodies.

Way Out West has a number of delightful musical numbers, one of which features a young and slim Chill Wills. The boys dance and charm everyone, including their mule.

James Finlayson, a frequent featured player in Hal Roach comedies and, especially, in Laurel and Hardy films, is in fine form as the villain of the piece and, ultimately of course, as their foil. Edward Everett Horton has been described as the undisputed master of the double and the triple take, but Finlayson is no slouch in that department, either. In fact, his raised eyebrows and squinted eye are in a category by themselves.

Sharon Lynn sings a sultry number in the saloon and plays the villainess Lola in cahoots with Finlayson.

Rosina Lawrence as Mary Roberts makes a fine damsel in distress for Laurel and Hardy to rescue.

Rather than tell you all that you'll encounter in this film, I'll let you have the fun of discovering the laughs for yourself. Trust me, you'll have more fun and laugh harder this way at the surprises in store for you rather than being told everything to expect beforehand. See if Way Out West doesn't turn out to be one of the funniest movies you've ever experienced, and if this is your introduction to the hilarious comedy team of Laurel and Hardy, you are definitely going to want to see more of them.

Enjoy yourself. In fact, watch this with friends who have a sense of humor and who enjoy laughing at what is truly funny.

This movie does not warrant a long review. It is that bad. I can't see any need in beating a dead horse.

Suffice to say William Bendix was one of the great character actors. He could scare the crap out of audiences as a heavy. Or win everyone's sympathy with that expressive mug of his. He could play almost anyone, any type. Almost. But Babe Ruth he wasn't.Too bad he's gotta have that on his record for all time. Thing is, with that awful script, unimaginative direction, and complete disregard for facts, it's not really his fault.

And he just doesn't resemble Ruth in the slightest.

He just got caught in the wrong movie. Too bad. Couldn't have happened to a better character actor, a nicer guy. Whoever did this to him—well, they ought to have thrown the bum out!

Richard Boone is one of a kind, a screen icon. Like so many of a small select group of actors who graced both the small and big silver screen, he had a compelling presence, enormous charisma, and a face the camera loved. In addition, as an actor, he could hold his own with anyone in Hollywood, from Broadway, or abroad, which allowed many outstanding character actors to be seen on his show in scenes with him without them being able to upstage him.

Like fellow actors Bruce Dern and Jack Elam, he was equally effective as the bad guy. No one would ever describe him as having a pretty face. But he had an expressive face with a strong, masculine, dimpled chin, deep set eyes, a broad, intelligent forehead and brow below a head of curly dark hair; and that face many of his fans and admirers described as ruggedly handsome. When he was on screen, all eyes were drawn to him, anxious to see what he would do or say next.

He made a great antagonist to actors like John Wayne who had enormous presence and could fill the screen, an accomplishment that allowed us, the audience a chance to relish some truly intense and exciting physical and verbal interactions between them.

Have Gun - Will Travel is iconic in itself. It was sharp, well written, taut, well acted and, most often, well directed. As at least one other reviewer has mentioned, many of the episodes were darker than your average western series. It suited the name of the show, the way Paladin dressed and talked (including the poetry and prose he frequently quoted), and the subjects and themes of many of those episodes, where the B&W cinematography often had scenes filmed half in deep shadow, emphasizing and reflecting the darkness of the subject matter or underlying theme. It was both timely and timeless.

Many of its episodes have contemporary themes and deal with social and ecological problems we are still dealing with today. Occasionally, the scripts were pedantic or preachy in a very small way for only a moment or two, just long enough for the writer or producer to get their point across. Fortunately, none of the shows I have seen ever lapsed into diatribes. The social or ecological consciousness of some shows remained in the shadows or within the underlying theme, showing up only in a short speech of a very few words at the beginning and/or end of an episode, where all such subjects should be kept in shows that are primarily entertainment in nature.

I like this show very much and am glad I am getting a chance to see on the Western Channel of Starz Encore a series that I mostly missed as a child in the '50's and '60's. The series and Mr. Boone are well worth watching for the first time…and again.

Richard Boone was perfect in this iconic role that he defined. He was and will remain unique, incomparable, and will never walk this way again. Thank our lucky Starz for the preservation of film, video, and all the other wonderful media where our cinematic memories are kept and treasured.

*As a footnote, DirecTV shows Have Gun – Will Travel on Channel 538 at 1:52 pm CDT on weekdays and 9:00 am CDT on Saturdays.

**For those interested in old classic westerns, on the Western Channel (Channel 538), you can also find Marshal Dillon (the half-hour episodes of Gunsmoke). Then there's Gunsmoke itself (the B&W hour-long episodes of the longest running dramatic series on television, which ran from 1955–1975. There was a reason it lasted as long as it did!

Next is Rawhide, which had the best theme song of all time (sung by Frankie Laine). It was also one of the best westerns on television, featuring Eric Fleming as the trail boss, Gil Favor, and launched the career of a young Clint Eastwood as Rowdy Yates (who sings a tune every now and again).

I almost forgot Wagon Train, an anthology show concerning different characters, and their lives, on their way west on a wagon train lead by regulars Ward Bond and Robert Horton, and later, John McIntire and Robert Fuller, among others.

Two other excellent western series, not currently running on the Western Channel at this time, are Cheyenne with tall, broad-shouldered, narrow-hipped, iconic Clint Walker and Maverick, with America's favorite television actor, James Garner who played Bret, and Jack Kelly who played his brother, Bart, both series of which ran earlier and can be seen in special marathons you have to keep on the watch for. Fortunately, the Western Channel repeats episodes and does a lot of advertising at the end of classic series episodes where you can find out, far in advance, what's coming up.

These are all early classic western series I recommend for anyone interested in, just discovering, or rediscovering the genre. There has always been good television and westerns, in particular, if you knew where to find them and what you were looking for. Good hunting and good watching!