# Way Out West (1937 film)
**Way Out West** is a 1937 American comedy-western starring [Stan Laurel](https://www.edgepedia.org/stan-laurel) and [Oliver Hardy](https://www.edgepedia.org/oliver-hardy), directed by James W. Horne and produced by Stan Laurel and Hal Roach for Hal Roach Studios, released by [Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer](https://www.edgepedia.org/metro-goldwyn-mayer) on 16 April 1937 with a running time of 64 minutes.[1](https://www.bfi.org.uk/film/1b442a18-890d-5b90-8ec2-10236996161e/way-out-west) The team travels to the frontier town of Brushwood Gulch to deliver a gold mine deed to an heiress, and are duped by a crooked saloon owner and his wife. The film is frequently ranked among the duo's best features, and Stan Laurel most often cited it as his favorite of the films he made with Hardy.[2](https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/UCLA_Festival_of_Preservation_2006_Web3.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 16 April 1937, released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer; 64 minutes[1](https://www.bfi.org.uk/film/1b442a18-890d-5b90-8ec2-10236996161e/way-out-west) |
| Production | A Stan Laurel Production for Hal Roach Studios; filmed August 27 to early November 1936[3](https://www.lordheath.com/menu1_153.html) |
| Principal cast | Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Sharon Lynne (Lola Marcel), James Finlayson (Mickey Finn), Rosina Lawrence (Mary Roberts), Stanley Fields (the sheriff)[4](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/7704-WAY-OUT-WEST) |
| Music | Score by Marvin Hatley, nominated for an Academy Award for Best Music Scoring[4](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/7704-WAY-OUT-WEST) |
| Signature numbers | Soft-shoe dance to "At the Ball, That's All" and the song "The Trail of the Lonesome Pine"[5](https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/laurel-hardy-12-essential-films) |
| Commercial record | Domestic gross of $362,828; treated by M-G-M as a "B" picture[6](https://www.laurel-and-hardy.com/films/features/west-music-bkg.html) |
| Afterlife | "The Trail of the Lonesome Pine" reached number two in the UK singles charts in 1975[5](https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/laurel-hardy-12-essential-films) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Stan and Ollie arrive in the western town of Brushwood Gulch carrying a deed to a gold mine, left by their late partner to his daughter Mary Roberts (Rosina Lawrence), who has never met them.[7](https://torontofilmsociety.com/film-notes/way-out-west-1937-2/) The town centers on the saloon run by Mickey Finn (James Finlayson) and his wife, the singer Lola Marcel (Sharon Lynne); Mary has worked in their charge since childhood.[7](https://torontofilmsociety.com/film-notes/way-out-west-1937-2/) Seeing an opportunity, Finn passes Lola off as the heiress, and the boys hand over the deed before realizing the deception when they meet the real Mary.[7](https://torontofilmsociety.com/film-notes/way-out-west-1937-2/)
By then Mary has been tricked into signing the deed over to the Finns, and the pair's attempts to retrieve it are complicated by the town sheriff (Stanley Fields), who had ordered them out of town earlier that day.[7](https://torontofilmsociety.com/film-notes/way-out-west-1937-2/) In the night-time recovery sequence they break into the saloon, wreck the place, end up with their mule on the roof, and tie Finn up in a chandelier with bedsheets before succeeding in their mission.[8](https://www.laurelandhardycentral.com/waywest.html)
## Production
The screenplay is credited to Charles Rogers, Felix Adler, and James Parrott, from a story by Jack Jevne and Charles Rogers, with cinematography by Art Lloyd and Walter Lundin and editing by Bert Jordan.[3](https://www.lordheath.com/menu1_153.html) Filming ran from August 27 to early November 1936.[3](https://www.lordheath.com/menu1_153.html) Working titles included *They Done It Wrong*, *Tonight's the Night*, *In the Money*, and *You'd Be Surprised*.[4](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/7704-WAY-OUT-WEST)
The river into which Ollie falls was man-made just above Sherwood Lake, about forty miles from Los Angeles, according to M-G-M publicity sheets.[4](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/7704-WAY-OUT-WEST) Stanley "Tiny" Sandford was originally listed for the sheriff role but was replaced by Stanley Fields.[4](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/7704-WAY-OUT-WEST) The role of Mary Roberts was originally slated for Jacqueline Wells.[4](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/7704-WAY-OUT-WEST)
**Producer credit.** The film was the first time studio overseer [Hal Roach](https://www.edgepedia.org/hal-roach) credited Laurel as a producer; according to IMDb trivia, the "A Stan Laurel Production" billing was a gesture from Roach after one of their squabbles rather than a reflection of actual production duties.[9](https://www.tcm.com/articles/92511/way-out-west) • [10](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029747/) It was one of the team's two "Stan Laurel Productions" features.[7](https://torontofilmsociety.com/film-notes/way-out-west-1937-2/)
## Music and songs
Marvin Hatley's score received an Academy Award nomination for Best Music Scoring.[4](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/7704-WAY-OUT-WEST) The film contains three musical numbers involving the team, including the soft-shoe dance to "At the Ball, That's All", performed with The Avalon Boys on the saloon steps and much prized by impersonators, and "The Trail of the Lonesome Pine".[7](https://torontofilmsociety.com/film-notes/way-out-west-1937-2/)
In the "Lonesome Pine" number, Stan takes over the chorus in a robust bass, annoying Ollie, who hits him over the head with a wooden mallet; Stan's voice then switches to high soprano.[7](https://torontofilmsociety.com/film-notes/way-out-west-1937-2/) The bass voice was dubbed by [Chill Wills](https://www.edgepedia.org/chill-wills), a member of The Avalon Boys, and the soprano by Rosina Lawrence, the film's heroine.[4](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/7704-WAY-OUT-WEST)
The song had a long afterlife: when issued as a 45 rpm record late in 1975, it reached number two in the UK charts, at a time when [Laurel and Hardy](https://www.edgepedia.org/laurel-and-hardy) dominated holiday television schedules.[7](https://torontofilmsociety.com/film-notes/way-out-west-1937-2/)
## Reception and commercial performance
Contemporary reviews were mostly positive but not unanimous. Box Office called it "a hilarious comedy, probably the best the team has made", while Variety was harsh, stating the film "just about extinguishes the good results achieved in Our Relations (1936)" and attributing its stumbles to "formula directing and scripting".[2](https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/UCLA_Festival_of_Preservation_2006_Web3.pdf) • [9](https://www.tcm.com/articles/92511/way-out-west)
Commercially the film was modest. It ran about 65 minutes, cost roughly one-fourth of what Metro spent on the [Marx Brothers](https://www.edgepedia.org/marx-brothers)' *Go West*, and grossed $362,828 domestically; M-G-M handled it as a "B" picture, seldom selling Laurel and Hardy features as top-bracket releases.[6](https://www.laurel-and-hardy.com/films/features/west-music-bkg.html) European prints were slightly longer so the picture could appear at the top of the bill, reflecting the duo's overseas popularity.[9](https://www.tcm.com/articles/92511/way-out-west)
## Standing in the team's work
The film is a regular fixture in assessments of the duo's best features, often named alongside *Sons of the Desert* as their finest feature-length work.[7](https://torontofilmsociety.com/film-notes/way-out-west-1937-2/) Laurel and Hardy themselves often cited it as their most consistent picture, and it is regarded as a benchmark of Laurel's career as a gag writer and comedy constructor; Laurel had been a director before teaming with Hardy and shaped the team's films, which were usually shot in sequence so comedy could build naturally.[9](https://www.tcm.com/articles/92511/way-out-west) • [11](https://torontofilmsociety.com/film-notes/way-out-west-1937/) The BFI lists it among the duo's essential films, calling it a "deftly parodic western" in which the boys dismantle the signifiers of movie Westerns.[5](https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/laurel-hardy-12-essential-films) • [9](https://www.tcm.com/articles/92511/way-out-west) James Finlayson's turn as Mickey Finn is often described as his greatest role in a Laurel and Hardy film.[8](https://www.laurelandhardycentral.com/waywest.html)
The film was also the subject of a plagiarism claim: in August 1939, Hal Roach, M-G-M, and Loews, Inc. were sued by Isabella Knotter, who claimed *Way Out West* and *Swiss Miss* were plagiarized from her book *So zwei pechvogel*; the outcome of the case has not been determined.[4](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/7704-WAY-OUT-WEST)
## References
1. [Way Out West (1937), BFI](https://www.bfi.org.uk/film/1b442a18-890d-5b90-8ec2-10236996161e/way-out-west)
2. [UCLA Festival of Preservation 2006 program notes](https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/UCLA_Festival_of_Preservation_2006_Web3.pdf)
3. [Way Out West, Lord Heath](https://www.lordheath.com/menu1_153.html)
4. [Way Out West (1937), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/7704-WAY-OUT-WEST)
5. [Laurel and Hardy: 12 essential films, BFI](https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/laurel-hardy-12-essential-films)
6. [Way Out West music background, laurel-and-hardy.com](https://www.laurel-and-hardy.com/films/features/west-music-bkg.html)
7. [Way Out West (1937) film notes, Toronto Film Society](https://torontofilmsociety.com/film-notes/way-out-west-1937-2/)
8. [Way Out West, Laurel and Hardy Central](https://www.laurelandhardycentral.com/waywest.html)
9. [Way Out West, Turner Classic Movies article by Paul Tatara](https://www.tcm.com/articles/92511/way-out-west)
10. [Way Out West (1937), IMDb trivia](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029747/)
11. [Way Out West (1937) film notes, Toronto Film Society (1967 program)](https://torontofilmsociety.com/film-notes/way-out-west-1937/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of the 1940s*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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