Go West (1940)

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

The Marx Bros. head to the Old West to find their fortune and become involved with a railroad scheme. There's also some stuff about a guy trying to settle a family feud so he can marry the girl he loves. Count me among those who prefer the Marx Bros' zanier earlier films at Paramount to the ones at MGM. Certainly the first few films at MGM are classics but after that the Marx films go downhill. By the 1940s they were putting out half-hearted efforts that seemed like they were parodying themselves. There's a scene early on in a train station where the three do a bit where Chico & Harpo rip off Groucho. The bit starts off mildly amusing but is so familiar that, by the end, I found the whole thing more tiresome than funny. Which is a good summary of this entire movie. The scene on the stagecoach with the passengers and all the hat-passing nonsense with Harpo is another example. This isn't to say there aren't any good parts. There are some funny scenes and lines but none particularly memorable. There are also the obligatory musical numbers we all hate. The worst of which is "Ridin' the Range," with a crooning John Carroll backed up by the brothers. It's possibly the corniest scene from any Marx Bros. movie. The funniest scenes are the early ones and the train stuff at the end. The middle drags. Fans of the Marxes will likely enjoy this more than people not familiar with them.

Sometimes Movie Buffs, like All Fanatics, can't Help Themselves. Approaching this Late Entry in the Cannon of Marx Brothers Movies They Shoot it Full of Holes and Wax Ridiculously About Paramount This and MGM That. This is a Consistently Funny Film, Standing On its Own in the Genre of the Most Subjective, Comedy.It is a Wildly Underrated Film that is Amusing and Hilarious from the Get Go. Full of Puns, One Liners, Sight Gags, Slapstick, and a Sophistication that Most Screen Comedies Lack. The Tunes are Bouncy and the Boys Talents are Again on Display.For Comparison, Screen this Along Side Any Abbott and Costello or Martin and Lewis Movie and even though it is a Lesser Entry in the Genealogy of Marx Brothers Movies, it will Decidedly Hold its Own Against the Best of the Aforementioned.Consistently Funny, Never Dull, with a String of Outrageous Outdoor Antics, this is Entertainment Extraordinaire and One could Argue it is Certainly Not the Peak of the Teams Art, it can Nevertheless be Considered as a Successful Performance from All Involved.Give this One a Go and Discover Gold in Them There Films that are So Easily Dismissed by the Gadfly's and be Amazed at the Talent and Slick Timing, the Wide Appeal and Timeless Humor that was the Marx Brothers. They were Never Less than Above Average. Their Stuff that was Considered Dismissible or Mediocre is Only So when Compared to Their Own High Standards.

Like so many comedians before them, and so many who would follow, The Marx Brothers spoof western clichés in this enjoyable late MGM feature. Not a classic Marx Brothers film along the lines of "Duck Soup" or "A Night At The Opera," but it is a definite improvement over their weak previous film "At The Circus." The film starts very well with con man Groucho getting conned by Chico and Harpo instead. Sadly, despite many good moments, the film soon descends into sentimental MGM malarkey. Discarding the zany, anarchic spirit of their Paramount features, MGM worked to tame the brothers by focusing their activities on laudable goals, like, in this case, helping a nice couple from being cheated out of valuable land. Fortunately, the final reel of this film, featuring the train chase, is hilarious. A nice effort. Well worth a look.

The problem with GoWest is that, by the time MGM produced it, the studio was clearly convinced that the Marx Bros. Had a formula to their magic. All the necessary scenes and lines are there, from the opening with Groucho conned out of stage fare by Chico and Harpo, to the various sexual innuendos by Groucho - but unfortunately, the MGM bosses missed one essential element - the Marx Bros., at their finest, do not operate according to formula; their whole schtick is to destroy formula.It is not surprising, therefore, to find Harpo fighting with desk drawers that pop-open according to their own logic - an old Three Stooges gag. But the Marx Bros. are decidedly not the Three stooges, and one can't help feel regret that the Marx Bros. saw their talent wasted at precisely the time - the rapidly approaching WWII - when we needed them most. Other comedians could parody Hitler; only the Marxes could parody war (Duck Soup) and then swing around and, by parodying opera (Night at the Opera), remind us that the grand scheme of monsters doesn't amount to much compared to a sweet melody, a colorful dance, or the wink of a lover.Without ever performing a scene from Shakespeare, the Marx Bros. brought the Bard's humor up to date.But not in this film; this is a cartoon; amusing, but - no cigar.