FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Haven Kaycee It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

kidboots 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!!

wes-connors 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

bkoganbing 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.

MartinHafer 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.