Matthew B
While there have been many great westerns, there are aspects of the genre that lend themselves to mockery. The relentless machismo of the western heroes and villains is a long way from the persona of the average comedy actor, who is typically of smaller or less impressive physical stature, and not given to heroic or courageous gestures.
Naturally the difference between the humorous little man and the tough world out west was good comic pickings for Buster Keaton. The actor, whose height stood at five foot four, and whose body was hardly muscle-bound, would provide a humorous contrast to the well-built cowboys working on a ranch.
Of course while Keaton was no body-builder, he was spry and athletic, and performed his own stunts, some of them so dangerous that he suffered a number of injuries during his years in acting. He even broke his neck while making Sherlock Jr. Anyone who has seen a building nearly fall on Keaton in Steamboat Bill Jr, or watched his waterfall stunts in Our Hospitality may well wonder how he lived to see his 70th birthday.
The title comes from an expression by Horace Greeley, a newspaper editor, who is famously credited with popularising the slogan, "Go west, young man, go west". This was an invitation for people living in the crowded east to expand into the uncolonised areas in the west.
The man who is inspired to go west is an unemployed drifter who is simply called Friendless (played, of course, by Keaton). Due to his friendless condition, he is always on the move to new places. We first see him using a rope to drag all his worldly possessions, one of which is a bed. These will be sold in exchange for a few paltry dollars that are soon gone.
The city is no place for Friendless, who does not fit in with the residents. He is jostled and trampled on by passing crowds, and knocked over by a passing vehicle. So Friendless takes the advice of Horace Greeley, and hitches a lift on a train going west. Here he soon finds work on a cattle ranch, where much humour is to be found in watching the inexperienced and physically inadequate Friendless struggling to adjust.
Friendless does not remain friendless for long. In this new world he soon finds female company. No, not a love interest, although there is some potential for a future romance between Friendless and the ranch owner's daughter (Kathleen Myers). The ending of the film teases us with the prospect of a marriage, but this is neatly subverted when Friendless chooses an unusual but endearing alternative.
I am talking about Brown Eyes, a rather fetching cow who lives on the ranch. Friendless sees Brown Eyes limping, and removes a stone from between her hooves. She returns the favour by rescuing him from a charging bull. To this, Friendless responds by doffing his hat to her, a gesture that establishes her as the film's leading lady.
However this is a ranch, and Friendless is unable to prevent the owner from adding Brown Eyes to the carriages of cattle being sent to slaughter. Fortunately for Friendless and Brown Eyes, a rival rancher arranges for the train to be ambushed, and it is left to Friendless to retrieve the cattle and obtain a reprieve for Brown Eyes.
As with most of Keaton's feature-length movies, he has a curious relationship with conventional society. Keaton promotes the little man, the quirky individualist who does not fit in with those around him, and he does not make the regular norms of that society seem desirable.
Nonetheless Keaton ultimately comes down on the side of conformity. While never losing his idiosyncrasies, the Keaton hero is obligated to ‘man up' in order to fit in with the world around him, rather than allowed to follow his own path.
Go West is no exception here. Keaton may mock the conventions of western heroism, and most of the cow hands seem obnoxious rather than hardy and tough. Nonetheless, Friendless must prove that he is worthy to be a member of the ranch by performing acts of heroism. The film will not end when they not accept him for who he is. He must become more like them.
Still the Keaton hero is always true to himself in a way. He has a certain persona that is consistent in every film. Indeed Keaton has fun making jokes about his own image. In the late part of this film Friendless is forced to don a fancy dress costume in the guise of the devil for certain complicated reasons. Here he finds that the horns on the outfit prevent him from wearing his conventional porkpie hat, giving him several moments of anxiety before he reluctantly agrees to discard the hat.
In another scene, a cow hand pulls a gun on Friendless, and insists that he smile. It is a trademark of Keaton, known affectionately as ‘The Great Stone Face' that he never smiles in his movies, since his actions seem more comical when he has a serious expression. Friendless is therefore forced to use his fingers to create a smile.
We might make the mistake of imagining that Keaton was a director of slapstick comedy, or that this is the only kind of comedy we could expect to see in silent cinema.
It is certainly true that Keaton includes much physical comedy, some of which is basic slapstick – pratfalls, incompetent police officers who carry a distinct hint of the Keystone Cops, citizens being accidentally sprayed with a hose etc.
However Keaton's humour transcends mere slapstick. He uses visuals to establish character-based humour when setting up his hero as the underdog. There are also moments in Keaton's comedies that approach surrealism.
Towards the end of Go West, Friendless drives the herd of cattle across the middle of a busy town centre and this leads to some bizarre and incongruous imagery. The cows are seen running around the railway station. Later they invade a barber shop, a department store, several shops and a Turkish Bath.
The urban world in which Friendless once felt displaced is suddenly thrown into disorder. Everyday street life descends into a chaos of crashing cars, blundering police officers, and men wearing roller skates or riding on the backs of cattle ,while Friendless runs down the street dressed as the devil.
This was a film close to Buster Keaton's heart. He named it as his personal favourite, and he even claimed a directorial credit for once. As ever Keaton performed his own stunts. He even trained Brown Eyes for her part, so that he could achieve a personal bond with his co-star.
While Go West is perhaps not quite on a par with the very best Buster Keaton films, it is very good indeed. Once more Keaton showed his fine grasp of humour, both subtle and brash, and his mastery of major action set-pieces which allow the momentum to build up and end the film on a high note.
I wrote a longer appreciation of Go West on my blog page if you would like to read more: https://themoviescreenscene.wordpress.com/2022/07/10/go-west-1925/
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
08/24/23
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Audience Member
Keaton delivers in "Go West", by maximizing his eccentric comedy in this wonderful picture of the wild west, in this rough and tough tale.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/06/23
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Audience Member
good comedy silent also directed by buster
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/21/23
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s r
One of busters best! His cow was my favorite part.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
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Audience Member
While not Buster Keaton's best work, Go West offers some hilarious laughs throughout in this fun filled western comedy
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/25/23
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Audience Member
in which Buster falls in love with a cow and turns the city topsy-turvy in his quest to save her from the slaughter-house. Hilarious hijinks ensue in this extremely endearing 68 M film. One of Buster's masterpieces. Buster's favorite Buster film !!
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/14/23
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