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Go West, Young Man (1936 film)

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Go West, Young Man
Theatrical release poster
Directed byHenry Hathaway
Screenplay byMae West
Based onPersonal Appearance (play)
by Lawrence Riley
Produced byEmanuel Cohen
Starring
CinematographyKarl Struss
Edited byRay Curtiss
Music byArthur Johnston
Production
company
Emanuel Cohen Productions
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • November 13, 1936 (1936-11-13) (USA)
[1]
Running time
82 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Go West, Young Man is a 1936 American comedy film directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Mae West, Warren William and Randolph Scott.[2] Released by Paramount Pictures and based on the 1934 play Personal Appearance by Lawrence Riley, the film is about a movie star who is stranded in the country and trifles with a young man's affections. The phrase "Go West, young man" is often attributed to New York Tribune founder Horace Greeley, and sometimes misattributed to Indiana journalist John B. L. Soule, but the latest research shows it to be a paraphrase.[3]

Plot

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Mavis Arden is a movie star who becomes romantically involved with a politician. She plans to meet him at her next tour stop, but her Rolls-Royce malfunctions and she is left stranded in a rural town. Her manager arranges for her to stay at a local boarding house. She sets her eyes on the young mechanic fixing her car, Bud Norton.

Cast

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Reception

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The New York Times wrote that the film had "lost little" from the play and called the supporting cast "uniformly excellent."[5] Variety wrote that "Miss West, in her own way, is excellent" even though her persona "tires a bit and no longer is quite the novelty it once was."[6] "Excellent Mae West vehicle filled with laughs", reported Film Daily.[7] Motion Picture Daily wrote that "the film is basically farce comedy and, while noticeably different from previous West features, it does not fail to deliver all that is expected."[8] "The play was funny and tough; and the movie is funny, and perhaps tough too", wrote John Mosher in The New Yorker. "We mustn't, of course, ever allow anything to curb Mae West, so it is with relief that we find her in this film no more shy than before."[9] Writing for The Spectator, Graham Greene gave the film a poor review, characterizing it as "quite incredibly tedious", and "as slow and wobbling in its pace as Miss West's famous walk".[10]

References

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  1. ^ Hanson, Patricia King, ed. (1993). The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States: Feature Films, 1931–1940. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. p. 785. ISBN 0-520-07908-6.
  2. ^ "Go West, Young Man". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
  3. ^ Who Said, "Go West, Young Man" – Quote Detective Debunks Myths.
  4. ^ "Full cast and crew for Go West, Young Man". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
  5. ^ "Movie Review – Go West, Young Man". The New York Times. November 19, 1936. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  6. ^ "Go West, Young Man". Variety. New York: 14. November 25, 1936.
  7. ^ "Reviews of the New Films". Film Daily. New York: 13. November 6, 1936.
  8. ^ "Motion Picture Daily's Hollywood Preview". Motion Picture Daily: 8. November 4, 1936.
  9. ^ Mosher, John (November 21, 1936). "The Current Cinema". The New Yorker: 101.
  10. ^ Greene, Graham (18 December 1936). "Girls' Dormitory/Go West, Young Man/Hortobagy". The Spectator. (reprinted in: Taylor, John Russell, ed. (1980). The Pleasure Dome. Oxford University Press. pp. 124-125. ISBN 0192812866.)
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