Go West (1925)

Good concept, poorly executed.

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Indiana transient Buster Keaton (as Homer Holiday) is unable to make friends or hold a job. Even dogs walk away when he pets them. Trampled and downtrodden, Mr. Keaton decides to "Go West" and start a new life. He hops a train. He hops a horse. Keaton finds the western life more agreeable and begins working as a ranch-hand. His first job is to milk a cow named Brown Eyes. Buster puts the pail in the right place but expects the milk to pour out, unassisted. Despite this beginning, Buster and Brown Eyes bond. Their scenes together are sweet, with the cow allowing us to see a rarer side of Keaton's stock character. As a love interest, she functions better than female co-stars like Kathleen Myers...A memorable scene without Brown Eyes involves Keaton at the typical western card table poking fun at the classic line, "When you call me that, smile" (from 1902's "The Virginian"). The only way a stone-faced Keaton can "smile" is by employing the method used by Lillian Gish in D.W. Griffith's "Broken Blossoms" (1919). In a scene wearing that much eye make-up, Keaton is wise not to smile. Also worth catching is Keaton dressed as the Devil leading a herd of cattle through the streets of Los Angeles. "Some people travel through life making friends where ever they go, while others just travel through life," a prelude advises. This isn't the best of Keaton's great 1920s streak of classics, but it may be the friendliest.******* Go West (10/25/1925) Buster Keaton ~ Buster Keaton, Kathleen Myers, Howard Truesdale, Ray Thompson

If you have never seen a Buster Keaton film, I don't recommend you see this one--as it may fail to impress you. While it's a decent film, STEAMBOAT BILL, JR. and THE GENERAL are better Keaton efforts.First, I should mention I saw this videotape as marketed by KINO VIDEO. While the print in this case is great for a silent-era film, I was surprised that I hated the sound track so much. I'm not sure if it was originally intended for this movie--if it was, don't blame KINO. However, I doubt this because the tracks are Jazz and I can't see why anyone would pair this with a modern cowboy flick! Also, towards the end and on the accompanying Keaton shorts, there is significant slowdown--producing a very muddled sound track and choppy action.The movie itself is cute. Keaton goes west for excitement and along the way he meets and falls in love with a cow--no, it's NOT that sort of love, but more like the love of a boy and his dog. A decent film but a bit slow and not as full of humor as some of his other films.

A young man named Friendless decides to head east when his luck runs out. After nearly getting trampled by an average New York pedestrian crowd, Friendless takes Horace Greeley's advice and heads west via rail. Friendless accidently is sent off the train, he ends up at an Arizona ranch, where the owner gives him a job as a hand. Soon there he meets his first friend, a cow named Brown Eyes. When Brown Eyes is to be taken with the rest of the herd for the slaughterhouse, Friendless goes with Brown Eyes to prevent her turning into a steak dinner, until a rival ranch holds up the train, and Friendless ends up driving the entire herd through the busy 1920's streets of Los Angeles to market. This Keaton film differs from the other's he made in the 1920's, where it is more of a drama, and sacrificing the Keaton routine of the young man who unwillingly is called to do the extraordinary things, in a sense a Chaplin film. There are a few good sight gags though (Buster waiting for a cow to give milk, his failures to get to the dinner table on time), but the scenes with Brown Eyes are the movie. Rating- 7.

Go West is a movie that you seldom hear about and even Keaton did not consider it among his best. However, every time I see it, I cannot help but think that it is one of his funniest and most touching films. In his independent work, Keaton had an amazing ability to portray very unfortunate characters and yet not seem to be pandering to the audience for its pity. In this film, Keaton plays a character referred to as Friendless. The opening scenes of the film show him bouncing around from one unfortunate (and hilarious) situation to another. Yet rather than feel pity for him, the audience can root for this character and good-naturedly laugh at how Friendless reacts to and deals with his misfortunes. It's difficult not to admire the way he overcomes all challenges. When he finds a friend in a cow named Brown Eyes, his loyalty to her and the rancher that employed him precipitates an amazing sequence of events, culminating in an unbelievable cattle stampede through the streets of LA. Although, the scene may drag on a bit, I'll never forget the image of Buster Keaton running down a city street in a red devil's outfit being pursued by a giant herd of cattle. It is one of the most hilariously absurd scenes ever committed to film. There are great gags from beginning to end and, as usual for Keaton, the final sequence is very satisfying. In addition, the Kino release has an outstanding soundtrack which enhances the film considerably. I would highly recommend Go West to anyone as an introduction to Keaton, silent films, or comedies in general.