Good concept, poorly executed.

Expected more

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

This 70 min. rather low budget offering from Columbia has a bit of everything. There are typical elements of westerns: Indians chasing a stagecoach, a local gang of desperados led by one of the leading citizens in disguise as 'Killer Pete', whose main goal seems to be to expand his holdings from a large ranch to businesses in town. He already has a big lean on the town saloon the Crystal Palace, which he periodically robs. As expected, Pete has a secret moll in Lola(Ann Miller), who is the chief entertainer for the Crystal Palace. Lola is contrasted with the prim classy blond Belinda or Bill for short(Penny Singleton), newly arrived from the East. She may look harmless, but she packs a mean pistol, as demonstrated in the Indian attack on the stage she and the new sheriff Tex Miller(a young Glen Ford) were riding in. Strangely, the town elders didn't seem to know about Tex, and were planning to offer 'Bill' the hazardous vacant position of sheriff. The last 4 sheriffs had been killed by Killer Pete. Bill might be a better shot than Tex, but she had no desire to take Tex's job away from him. Instead, she was satisfied keeping house for her uncle Jim, who owned the Crystal Palace, until such time that she might get married. Tex and Bill soon became romantically involved, although their initial meeting in the stage was hardly cordial, until they were forced to cooperate in fighting off the Indians. Their courtship was set back a few times when Bill accidentally hit Tex in the face with a freshly baked pie. This running gag was modified the 3rd time by Bill accidentally hitting Bill in the face with the frying pan she was using to subdue the members of Pete's gang.......The simmering relationship between Lola and Bill finally erupted into a notable cat fight, which some reviewers say was the highlight for them. ......Charles Ruggles was charismatic as Jim: Bill's uncle, reminding me of Walter Brennan, in speech and style. Onslow Stevens was tall and handsome, when his kerchief was pulled down, as Killer Bill. Allen Jenkins was appropriately humorous as the flaky deputy, who usually ran from trouble.....In the music department, Ann Miller and Penny Singleton are both decent stage singers and dancers, although their dancing styles were quite different, with Ann being a specialist in tap dancing: a skill that would be filmed many times in the future. Ann, at 18, was so young, I barely recognized her. She usually was included in films as a musical specialist or as 'the other woman', as in this film. She sings and dances to the title song, including a segment where she tap danced up and down the bar counter. Worth a second look. Later, she joins Allen Jenkins in a humorous song and dance to "I Wish I Could be a Singing Cowboy". Allen much reminded me of the dancing style of Ray Bolger(the scarecrow in "The Wizard of Oz"). Penny stepped out of her usual role, in the "Blondie" series, to participate in this film. She would lead a sing along, while on horseback, to "Dogie, Take Your Time". Later, Penny led a classy stage song and dance to "Most Gentlemen Don't Prefer a Lady", with The Foursome as backups. Unlady-like, she dropped her skirt to dance in her bloomers half way through, giving her freedom to do some more athletic maneuvers. Unfortunately, her uncle Jim was not pleased, and wanted to ship her back East, until Tex expressed a marriage interest. The Foursome did a barber shop quartet-styled sing to "Somewhere along the Trial". All of the above songs were composed by the team of Sid Chaplin and Sammy Cahn. In addition, a revised "Ida Red" was sung and played by Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys.....See it at YouTube.

Western town under the thumb of a masked bandit sends for a new sheriff, who arrives by coach along with the saloon owner's niece from back East--a young lady of proper breeding who is also quite handy with a pistol. Fresh, rather laid-back comedy-western with music interludes has perhaps too much story exposition at the beginning, yet director Frank R. Strayer keeps a spirited pace and covers nicely with help from a colorful cast. The original songs by Saul Chaplin and Sammy Cahn are terrific, as are the musical performances by The Foursome and Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys. Ann Miller (playing a shady chanteuse named Lola) sings too, and taps up a storm; her catfight scene with Penny Singleton is a definite highlight. The character actors here (including Allen Jenkins, who also gets to warble and dance to a ditty) are so strong that young Glenn Ford almost gets lost in the crowd. Very modest, but very pleasant tale that ambles along agreeably without lapsing into silliness. **1/2 from ****

GO WEST, YOUNG LADY (Columbia, 1941), directed by Frank R. Strayer, is a western spoof starring the one and only Penny Singleton, in a rare opportunity taking time off from her then popular "Blondie" movie series, also then directed by Frank R. Strayer, which played in theaters from 1938 and ending after 28 theatrical episodes in 1950. As with the "Blondie" series, GO WEST, YOUNG LADY is a 70 minute "B" movie that concentrates on comedy, whether it be physical or verbal. It also reunites Singleton with the up-and-coming Glenn Ford, who earlier appeared in one of her "Blondie" comedies, BLONDIE PLAYS CUPID (Columbia, 1940).Set in a frontier town of Headstone, Jim Pendergast (Charles Ruggles), owner of the Crystal Palace saloon, learns that his nephew, Bill, is arriving on the next stagecoach. Since Headstone is in need of law and order, considering it is being terrorized by a masked bandit named "Pecos Pete," Pendergast believes Bill will become the town's new sheriff. After the stagecoach arrives, Pendergast mistakes Tex Miller (Glenn Ford) as his nephew, and is stunned to learn that Bill is actually an attractive young gal named Belinda Pendergast (Penny Singleton). In spite of her being a female, she is quick on the draw and can do anything a cowboy can do, even better. Later Belinda encounters Lola (Ann Miller), entertainer of the Crystal Palace, who becomes jealous over her encounter with Tex, whom she loves. Eventually with Belinda's help, she succeeds in taming the west.GO WEST, YOUNG LADY may seem overly familiar in plot mainly because portions of it borrows from other westerns, such as DESTRY RIDES AGAIN (Universal, 1939), starring Marlene Dietrich and James Stewart, where the central character is mistaken for a stronger and more forceful hero, unaware that the least likely individual turns out to be otherwise, along with a knockout fight between the two women (Singleton and Miller), but not as memorable as when Dietrich battled wits with Una Merkel; and MY LITTLE CHICKADEE (Universal, 1940), starring Mae West and WC Fields, where the hero, beingBelinda, riding in a stagecoach with a rugged hero named Tex, becomes part of an Indian massacre where the Redskins riding on their horses are attacking the stagecoach with bows and arrows. As Tex tries to shoot them off, he becomes very much surprised to find Belinda with her pistols disposing the Indians shooting gallery style from their horses one by one (as did Mae West in the earlier film). Another borrowed element from MY LITTLE CHICKADEE is a masked man terrorizing the town, who becomes the least likely suspect from the citizens but known only to dance hall girl Lola and the movie audience.Besides its broad comedy, and a couple of pies that are accidentally tossed at Glenn Ford's face, compliments of Penny Singleton (in a role that might have gone to other slapstick queens as Joan Davis, Judy Canova or even Lucille Ball), the movie takes time off for some musical numbers, songs by Sammy Cahn and Saul Chaplin, including: "Go West, Young Lady" (sung and tap danced by Ann Miller); "Somewhere Along the Trail," "Little Doggie, Take Your Time," "I Wish I Could Be a Singing Cowboy" (sung and performed by Allen Jenkins and Ann Miller); "Gentlemen Don't Prefer a Lady" (sung by Penny Singleton); and "Ida Red" performed by Bob Wills and his Texas Cowboys.Featured in the supporting cast are: Jed Prouty as Judge Harmon; Edith Meiser as Mrs. Hinkle; Bill Hazlet as Chief Big Thunder; and Waffles, the dog (filling in for the Blondie pooch, Daisy), among others.Watching GO WEST, YOUNG LADY, makes one wonder how this movie in a similar situation would have played as a "Blondie" episode, possibly titled BLONDIE OUT WEST, with Penny Singleton as Blondie, along with series regulars Arthur Lake as her husband, Dagwood Bumstead, and Larry Simms as their son, Baby Dumpling (Larry Simms), going west on vacation where Dagwood is elected sheriff to fight off cattle rustlers, shooting 'em up with cowboy villains, etc. Anyway, that never happened, but it was just a thought.GO WEST, YOUNG LADY, which was once a frequently revived movie that could be found on any given afternoon on commercial television back in the 1960s and '70s, is a very hard movie to find these days. However, it is not lost and gone forever, for it has been revived on cable television's The Westerns Channel (2003) and Turner Classic Movies (August 22, 2007). Other than watching Penny Singleton in a non-Blondie performance, providing her comedic and vocalizing talents, GO WEST YOUNG LADY does have its quota of laughs to make this one an enjoyable outing and a worthy time filler for classic movie fans. (**1/2)

A pleasant, diverting, fast-paced, unpretentious musical Western. Shown frequently on commercial TV in the late '50s and '60s, it seems to have disappeared. Will someone at Columbia Pictures please stop promoting their 2001 mega-budget stinkers and instead preserve and re-release their past glorious unsung treasures (such as "Go West, Young Lady") and make them available on cable-TV and videotape.This "B"-unit film is an unalloyed delight. A precursor of such later films as "Calamity Jane" & "7 Brides for 7 Brothers". Penny Singleton is adorably ditzy as the heroine, Glenn Ford honed his comic skills as "the tenderfoot" and sparkling Ann Miller as the tart-tongued saloon-singer steals the show. The Sammy Cahn score is a treat, and Annie's tip-tapping with Allen Jenkins singing "I Wish That I could Be a Singing Cowboy" is one of the many highlights of this unique lark of a film.Good, rousing, old-fashioned fun--packed into a tight 70 minutes!