Way Out West (1930 film)
Encyclopedia
Way Out West is a 1930 American comedy film. It tells the story of "Windy", a con man who cheats a group of cowboys out of their money. When they discover his cheating and learn that he himself has been robbed, they force him to work on a ranch until he has paid his debt. Way Out West stars William Haines
, Leila Hyams
, Polly Moran
and Ralph Bushman
and was directed by Fred Niblo
.
deemed Way Out West "an impertinent, moderately comic affair tinctured with slapstick and romance". The film made a profit of $84,000, making it one of the least profitable of Haines's films of the period.
Gay film historians, noting the homosexuality of William Haines, suggest that Way Out West is "one of the gayest films ever made". Haines biographer William J. Mann
cites latent homoeroticism
and inside gay humor throughout the film. In one particular example, viewed in light of the Pansy Craze
that was beginning to reach Hollywood, Windy is mistaken for the cook, Pansy. When called by her name he replies, "I'm the wildest pansy you ever picked!" Richard Barrios, author of Screened Out: Playing Gay in Hollywood from Edison to Stonewall, concurs, writing, "For anyone seeking gay text or subtext in any of Haines's movies, this is the one to study."
William Haines
Charles William "Billy" Haines was an American film actor and interior designer. He was a star of the silent era until the 1930s, when Haines' career was cut short by MGM Studios due to his refusal to deny his homosexuality...
, Leila Hyams
Leila Hyams
Leila Hyams was an American film actress. Her relatively short film career began in silent films, and ended in the mid 1930s.-Early life:...
, Polly Moran
Polly Moran
Polly Moran was an American actress and comedian.Born in Chicago, Illinois, Moran started out in vaudeville, and widely toured North America, as well as various other locations that included Europe and South Africa...
and Ralph Bushman
Ralph Bushman
Ralph Everly Bushman , was an American actor. He appeared in fifty-five films between 1920 and 1943.The son of notable silent film star Francis X. Bushman and Josephine Fladine Duval, he was born in Baltimore, Maryland, USA and died in Los Angeles, California. In his early film career, he was often...
and was directed by Fred Niblo
Fred Niblo
Fred Niblo was an American pioneer film actor, director and producer.-Biography:He was born Frederick Liedtke in York, Nebraska, to a French mother and a father who had served as a captain in the American Civil War and was wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg...
.
Plot
Windy, a sideshow barker, cheats a group of cowboys out of their pay but is then robbed himself. When the cowboys discover they have been cheated they initially decide to hang him, then decide to make him work off his debt. He falls in love with ranch owner Molly and, when he saves her life after she is bitten by a snake, he wins her heart.Cast
- William HainesWilliam HainesCharles William "Billy" Haines was an American film actor and interior designer. He was a star of the silent era until the 1930s, when Haines' career was cut short by MGM Studios due to his refusal to deny his homosexuality...
as Windy - Leila HyamsLeila HyamsLeila Hyams was an American film actress. Her relatively short film career began in silent films, and ended in the mid 1930s.-Early life:...
as Molly Rankin - Polly MoranPolly MoranPolly Moran was an American actress and comedian.Born in Chicago, Illinois, Moran started out in vaudeville, and widely toured North America, as well as various other locations that included Europe and South Africa...
as Pansy - Cliff EdwardsCliff EdwardsCliff Edwards , also known as "Ukelele Ike", was an American singer and voice actor who enjoyed considerable popularity in the 1920s and early 1930s, specializing in jazzy renditions of pop standards and novelty tunes. He had a number-one hit with "Singin' in the Rain" in 1929...
as Trilby - Ralph BushmanRalph BushmanRalph Everly Bushman , was an American actor. He appeared in fifty-five films between 1920 and 1943.The son of notable silent film star Francis X. Bushman and Josephine Fladine Duval, he was born in Baltimore, Maryland, USA and died in Los Angeles, California. In his early film career, he was often...
as Steve (as Francis X. Bushman Jr.) - Vera Marshe as La Belle Rosa
- Charles MiddletonCharles B. MiddletonCharles B. Middleton was an American stage and film actor. During a film career that began at age 46 and lasted almost 30 years, Charles Middleton appeared in nearly two hundred films as well as numerous plays...
as Buck Rankin - Jack PennickJack PennickJack Pennick was an American film actor. After working as a gold miner as a young man, he appeared in over 140 films between 1926 and 1962. Pennick was a leading member of the informal John Ford Stock Company, appearing in dozens of the director's films...
as Pete - Buddy RooseveltBuddy RooseveltBuddy Roosevelt was an American film actor and stunt performer from Hollywood's early silent film years through the 1950s.-Biography:...
as Tex - Jay Wilsey as Hank
Production
Way Out West was made on a budget of $413,000, one of the most expensive William Haines vehicles.Response
The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
deemed Way Out West "an impertinent, moderately comic affair tinctured with slapstick and romance". The film made a profit of $84,000, making it one of the least profitable of Haines's films of the period.
Gay film historians, noting the homosexuality of William Haines, suggest that Way Out West is "one of the gayest films ever made". Haines biographer William J. Mann
William J. Mann
William J. Mann is an American novelist, biographer, and Hollywood historian best known for his 2006 biography of Katharine Hepburn, Kate: The Woman Who Was Hepburn...
cites latent homoeroticism
Homoeroticism
Homoeroticism refers to the erotic attraction between members of the same sex, either male–male or female–female , most especially as it is depicted or manifested in the visual arts and literature. It can also be found in performative forms; from theatre to the theatricality of uniformed movements...
and inside gay humor throughout the film. In one particular example, viewed in light of the Pansy Craze
Pansy Craze
During the Pansy Craze of 1930-1933 in Manhattan, gay clubs and performers, known as "pansy performers", experienced a surge in underground popularity.-Performance styles:...
that was beginning to reach Hollywood, Windy is mistaken for the cook, Pansy. When called by her name he replies, "I'm the wildest pansy you ever picked!" Richard Barrios, author of Screened Out: Playing Gay in Hollywood from Edison to Stonewall, concurs, writing, "For anyone seeking gay text or subtext in any of Haines's movies, this is the one to study."
External links
- Way Out West at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
- Way Out West at Turner Classic MoviesTurner Classic MoviesTurner Classic Movies is a movie-oriented cable television channel, owned by the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of Time Warner, featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...