Way Out West Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Way Out West Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 28, 2020

Note: This film is available as part of Laurel & Hardy: The Definitive Restorations.

Laurel and Hardy made well over one hundred films of various lengths to their combined credit as a comedy duo (spanning both the silent and “talkie” eras), but their output is still kind of woefully under recognized on Blu-ray. Two niche labels have helped that deficit at least a little, with VCI bringing out The Flying Deuces and Legend offering March of the Wooden Soldiers and then March of the Wooden Soldiers 3D, but that’s basically it for Region A consumers, perhaps unbelievably. (It does look like some other regions have their own peculiar releases, many afflicted with less than stellar technical merits, at least based on some member reviews on our site.) An amalgamation of folks including Kit Parker Films, Jeff Joseph (AKA SabuCat), Randy Skretvedt, the UCLA Film and Television Archive and (just for good measure) the Library of Congress have started to remedy that sad situation with this new collection which aggregates two of Laurel and Hardy’s best remembered “feature length” offerings (still on the short side compared to many contemporary outings) along with a glut of shorts, including a reconstructed version of The Battle of the Century, which many fans had considered the “Humpty Dumpty” of Laurel and Hardy films, unable to be “put back together again” after decades of improper curation which is detailed in the commentary track for that film.

As funny and endearing as Way Out West inarguably is, with the news being filled with certain reactions to "cultural" issues as this review is being written, I had to wonder in passing if this film, too, was going to come under scrutiny since it ends with the ebullient comedy pair belting out a song called “We’re Going to See My Home in Dixie”, a tune which outright references the more famous “Dixie” as the closing credits roll. That possible impediment aside, Way Out West transports the boys to a wild and woolly environment that would seem to be at least at home in the days of vaudeville melodramas as it would be in the time period it supposedly depicts. This is a comedy built around hoary tropes like a mining deed and mistaken identity, and while there may be no actual “mustache twirling” involved, it also has a typically nefarious villain with a rather imposing mustache in the form of a bar owner named Mickey Finn (James Finlayson).

Stan and Ollie are on their way to a backwater called Brushwood Gulch, where they've been tasked with delivering the deed to a valuable mine to a woman they've never met named Mary Roberts (Rosina Lawrence). Suffice it to say, things don't go exactly as planned (even before the boys get to their destination), with Mickey and his nefarious wife Lola Marcel (Sharon Lynne) throwing up all sorts of obstacles along the way. The film does a good job of offering the typical levels of Laurel and Hardy physical comedy chaos, while also keeping the narrative moving briskly along as the boys attempt to get the deed to Mary while Mickey and Lola scheme unrelentingly to keep them from achieving their goal.

This is another outing where the typically blustery Ollie is put through all sorts of physical pain and humiliation, often (but not always) at the hands of Stan. The film has some delightful sight gags, including one "runner" dealing with Ollie getting "all wet". This is also a semi-musical, with a charming score which includes several songs. The music actually received an Academy Award nomination for Marvin Hatley, which I believe is one of the few Laurel and Hardy efforts so feted by the Academy. Despite the song (and dance) routines, what's kind of interesting about Way Out West is how large swaths of the film could almost pass for one of the pair's silent films, since dialogue can be intermittent, and the story depends as much on visuals as anything actually being said.

Way Out West Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Way Out West is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Kit Parker Films and MVD Visual with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.32:1. This is one of the titles culled from the UCLA Film and Television Archive, and closing credits disclose a digital restoration was undertaken by SabuCat in 2014. While this is pleasingly free of any major damage, and offers solid contrast and good black levels, this doesn't have quite the same organic look as the other feature in this set, Sons of the Desert, at least in terms of its grain field and arguably in terms of its overall detail levels. While not ever really "waxy" as some DNR-phobes like to describe things, there is a noticeably softer appearance to much of this transfer, and grain, while evident in motion (even if it may look completely absent in some of the screenshots accompanying this review), can be almost subliminal at times. My score is 3.25.

Way Out West Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Way Out West features an enjoyable LPCM 2.0 Mono track that capably supports the film's dialogue, sometimes goofy effects, and its enjoyable score (that "Dixie" tune mentioned above notwithstanding). While a bit thin sounding, and probably inescapably boxy at times, fidelity here is rather good, and I noticed no major issues with regard to any age related issues like dropouts or distortion.

Way Out West Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary by Randy Skretvedt


• Galleries all feature some prefatory explanatory text which is often very interesting:

  Way Out West

  Portrait Stills (1080p; 5:58)

  
  

  Scene Stills (1080p; 6:12)

  
  

  Candid Stills (1080p; 5:31)

  
  

  Pressbook Articles and Artwork (1080p; 7:43)

  
  

  Poster and Lobby Card Artwork (1080p; 5:01)

  
  

  Original 1913 Sheet Music (1080p; 2:47)

  
  

  Script and Synopsis (1080p; 7:42)

  
  

  Dialogue Continuity, Cues and Letters (1080p; 4:02)

• Way Out West Trailer (1080p; 1:21)

Way Out West Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Way Out West offers another great set up for Laurel and Hardy's patented blend of shtick laden physical comedy and appealing character bits. This transfer has a pretty soft appearance, and my hunch is some fans may think it's too filtered looking, but some of the supplements may serve as a counterweight to such qualms. With caveats noted, Recommended.