Go West (1940) starring the Marx Brothers – Groucho, Chico, and Harpo
Synopsis of Go West
The Marx Brothers — Groucho, Chico, and Harpo — end up in the American Old West, where Chico and Harpo are unsuccessful prospectors, who befriend a desert rat who gives them the deed to some property for only ten dollars. Groucho tries to sell that land to the railroad company at an inflated price …. Only to have it stolen by the villain of the picture. Without that land sale, the movie’s romantic couple will be kept apart by the girl’s grandfather. Who’s the desert rat that Chico and Harpo befriended!
Movie review of Go West starring the Marx Brothers
First off, I want to make it clear that I truly enjoyed Go West—it’s a very funny Marx Brothers movie, quickly paced, with excellent comic bits. The romance between the romantic leads is sweet and doesn’t detract from the movie. Likewise, there are several musical numbers that fit in nicely, never going overlong. They fit in with both the overall movie and the Marx Brothers’ respective talents such as:
- Groucho’s comments during Lulubelle’s song
- Chico’s piano routine
- And a wonderful segment where Harpo takes an Indian (i.e. Native American) weaving loom and turning it into an impromptu harp).
The film begins …
The movie begins with S. Quentin Quale (played by Groucho Marx), a shyster lawyer and embezzler, who’s ten dollars short of the fare needed for a train ticket to go “Out West.” He meets Joseph Panello (Chico Marx) and his brother Pinky (Harpo Marx), who proceed to fleece Groucho out of his money, while Groucho tries unsuccessfully to fleece them. It’s a hilariously funny scene, and one of the best examples of the three brothers interacting.
Later, Harpo and Chico are luckless gold prospectors, digging in the desert for gold, and not finding any. Their friend, an old prospector, needs ten dollars to stake a new claim. And they give him some of the money that they stole from Groucho. The prospector, however, won’t take charity and insists that they take the deed for some worthless property in exchange for the money. Unknown to the prospector, his granddaughter’s suitor has convinced the railroad company to purchase that same “worthless” land to build the railroad through. He’s done this to try and undo the bad feelings between their two families. So that the happy couple can get married.
Selling the land?
Soon, Chico and Harpo are meeting with a representative from the railroad aboard a stagecoach to sell the land, which would have worked—except that Groucho is aboard the stagecoach, and after raising the price time and again, he convinces them not to sell after all. Groucho intends to sell the land to the villain of the picture, who has his own land that he wants the railroad to purchase. The Marx Brothers make their way to the western town, where Groucho “helps” Lulubelle, a saloon singer, sing one of her songs, and then proceeds to meet with the villain—only to lose the deed to the villain, with nothing to show for it. This is followed by a very funny bit between Harpo and the villain, where they act out a “high noon” gun battle, where Harpo finally draws a feather duster!
Later that night, the Marx Brothers try to sneak into the villain’s office to steal the deed back—with Harpo trying a variety of increasingly silly attempts at breaking into the safe, while Chico and Groucho “entertaining” some of the saloon’s dancing girls in the outer office—who, in turn, are trying to get them drunk (on mint juleps) until the villain can arrive and take care of them. After a very funny drinking scene, the villain does arrive. He takes them prisoner at gunpoint — only to be taken prisoner at gunpoint himself. And then another person takes them all at gunpoint, and another, finally ending with our heroes escaping.
Indian village & train ride
All that remains is to get the deed to the railroad people—so they hide that night at a friendly Indian village, which gives much room for comic mayhem, ending with a funny routine where Harpo plays a harp duet with the Indian chief—if the chief can ever get a note in! The following day, they try to get to their goal on a train. But the villains haven’t given up yet, and try several things to stop the train.
It’s an extended, very funny scene, ending with the Marx Brothers tearing the train itself up as fuel for the engine’s boiler—a scene reminiscent of a similar situation in Around the World in Eighty Days, frankly. It’s very funny, very frenetic, and very madcap …. Including the train going off the tracks, hitting a farm house, pushing it along, etc. All ends well, with a very funny bit as Harpo pounds the final “spike” for the railroad.
In all, I enjoyed Go West very much, as did my children, and hope that you do as well. I rate it 4 stars out of a possible 5.
Be sure to check out the funny movie quotes from Go West as well.
Songs
- As If I Didn’t Know (1940) Music by Bronislau Kaper, Lyrics by Gus Kahn
- Ridin’ the Range (1940) Music by Roger Edens, Lyrics by Gus Kahn. Sung by John Carroll, Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, with Harpo Marx on harmonica
- You Can’t Argue with Love (1940) Music by Bronislau Kaper, Lyrics by Gus Kahn. Performed by June MacCloy and Groucho Marx in the saloon
- From the Land of the Sky-Blue Water (1909) Music by Charles Wakefield Cadman, Performed by Harpo Marx on a harp disguised as a loom, and unidentified Indian Chief
- The Woodpecker Song (1939) Music by Eldo Di Lazzaro. Played by Chico Marx on piano in the Saloon
- Beautiful Dreamer (1862) Written by Stephen Foster, Sung by Diana Lewis
- Oh! Susanna (1848) Written by Stephen Foster, Sung by Groucho Marx and others
- She’ll Be Comin’ ‘Round the Mountain When She Comes, Traditional, Played on piano offscreen in the Saloon
- Buffalo Gals (Won’t You Come Out Tonight) (1844) Written by William Cool White. Played on piano offscreen in the Saloon
- For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow, Traditional, Sung a cappella by Groucho Marx
- My Bonnie (Lies Over the Ocean) (1881) Written by H.J. Fuller. Sung a cappella by Groucho Marx
- Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush
Cast
- Groucho Marx … S. Quentin Quale
- Chico Marx Chico Marx … Joe Panello
- Harpo Marx … ‘Rusty’ Panello
- John Carroll (Rio Rita) … Terry Turner
- Diana Lewis (It’s a Gift) … Eve Wilson
- Walter Woolf King (Swiss Miss) … Beecher
- Robert Barrat (Road to Rio) … ‘Red’ Baxter
- June MacCloy … Lulubelle
- George Lessey (Roxie Hart) … Railroad President
Trivia about Go West starring the Marx Brothers
- The name of Groucho Marx’s character, “S. Quentin Quayle”, caused a stir when the film was first released. Due to the subtle but clear joke: the use of the term “San Quentin quail”, which means “jail bait”.
- The film opens with Horace Greely’s famous quotation: “Go West, Young Man, go west.” Groucho’s first solo appearance in a film was “Copacabana“. There, he puts on the old mustache and tails again and performs a number called “Go West, Young Man.”
- The elaborate chase climax was going to be deleted before filming because MGM execs thought it was too expensive.
Updated December 7, 2021