Go West, Young Lady (1941) - Turner Classic Movies

Brief Synopsis

A sheriff's girlfriend tries to unearth the identity of a masked bandit chief.

Cast & Crew

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Frank R. Strayer

Penny Singleton

Belinda ["Bill"] Pendergast

Glenn Ford

Ann Miller

Charles Ruggles

Allen Jenkins

Film Details

Also Known As

Cowboy Joe, Lady Buckaroo

Genre

Comedy

Musical

Western

Release Date

Nov 27, 1941

Premiere Information

not available

Production Company

Columbia Pictures Corp.

Distribution Company

Columbia Pictures Corp.

Country

United States

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 10m

Sound

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color

Black and White

Theatrical Aspect Ratio

1.37 : 1

Film Length

6,280ft

Synopsis

The town of Headstone eagerly awaits the arrival of their new sheriff, hoping that he will vanquish the dreaded outlaw, Killer Pete, who has murdered the last four sheriffs. Meanwhile, on the stage bound for Headstone, Tex Miller, the new sheriff, is making small talk with fellow passenger and former seminary student Belinda "Bill" Pendergast when the stage is attacked by a band of Indians. Taking aim at the Indians, Bill shoots them off their horses and then calmly explains to the astonished Tex that her father always wanted a son and taught her to handle a gun. Back in town, Killer Pete and his gang strike again and rob the Crystal Palace saloon. After the outlaws abscond with the money, Judge Harmon hands saloon owner Jim Pendergast a letter from his recently deceased brother Joe, asking Jim to take care of Joe's progeny Bill. Jim insists that Bill be appointed as the new sheriff until the stage arrives and he discovers that Bill is a girl. Bill scandalizes the women of the town when she insists on living above the saloon with her uncle. Weeks later, Tex visits Bill and asks her to marry him. She sends him to her uncle to ask permission, and in Tex's absence, Killer Pete enters the saloon with guns blazing. Upset that the sound of gunfire has caused a pie baking in her oven to fall, Bill proceeds downstairs and throws the pie at the outlaw, but misses and hits Tex, who has come running into the saloon. Blinded by the pie, the sheriff is unable to pursue the bandits, who hijack a carriage that is tied up outside the saloon. Unknown to the outlaws, Judge Harmon and Hank, the deputy, are hiding in the back of the carriage. Later, Killer Pete visits his girl friend Lola, a dancer at the saloon. The outlaw then removes his disguise and becomes Tom Hannegan, a respected and wealthy rancher. Lola, who is jealous of Bill's presence in town, demands that Jim send his niece back East. When Jim broaches the topic with Bill, she insists on discussing the issue with Lola. After Bill informs Lola that she intends to remain in Headstone, Lola quits her job at the saloon, and Bill decides to take her place onstage. Embarrassed by his niece's unladylike performance, Jim orders her to return East immediately. Jim relents, however, when Tex asks for his niece's hand in marriage. Jim consents to the union and Tex rushes to tell Bill the good news, but is met by another pie in the face when Bill, unaware of Tex's presence, berates the pie for spoiling her engagement and then throws it. Soon after, Judge Harmon and Hank return from their buggy ride, having captured one of the bandits. On their way to the sheriff's office, they meet Hannegan and blurt out that they have captured bandit Dave Watson, who has revealed the location of the gang's hideout. That night, Hannegan, dressed as Killer Pete, shoots Dave and then tells Lola to contact Chief Big Thunder Cloud and arrange for his tribe to ambush the posse when they ride to the hideout. In the posse's absence, Hannegan and his gang plan to loot the town. After Tex and the others ride out of Headstone, Bill begins to pack her suitcase and goes to Lola's dressing room to retrieve her costume. When Bill's dog Waffles uncovers Hannegan's disguise there, Bill visits Lola and tricks her into revealing Hannegan's plans. The two women then begin to fight, and after Bill subdues Lola, she is greeted by the women of the town who have witnessed the fight and denounce her for being unfeminine. Bill changes their minds when she tells them of the planned robbery and ambush, and recruits Bertha, one of the wives, to warn the posse. When Hannegan and his gang stride confidently into the saloon, Bill and the women pelt them with pans and brooms. By the time the posse arrives, the women have captured the outlaws, and Bill, in her enthusiasm, flattens Tex with a frying pan.

Director

Frank R. Strayer

Cast

Penny Singleton

Belinda ["Bill"] Pendergast

Glenn Ford

Ann Miller

Charles Ruggles

Allen Jenkins

Jed Prouty

Onslow Stevens

Tom Hannegan [also known as Killer Pete]

Bob Wills

Edith Meiser

Bill Hazlet

Chief Big Thunder

Waffles

The Foursome:

Gil Mershon

Ray Johnson

Del Porter

Dwight Snyder

Stanley Brown

Kenneth Macdonald

Pony Express rider

Bud Osborne

George Chesebro

Ned Glass

Al Ferguson

Merlyn Nelson

Stagecoach driver

Edmund Cobb

Stagecoach driver

Dorothy Vaughan

Fern Emmett

Art Miles

Hank Bell

Bill Wilkerson

Crew

Lionel Banks

Abby Berlin

Assistant Director

Ed Bernds

Sammy Cahn

Saul Chaplin

Louis Da Pron

Karen Dewolf

Karen Dewolf

P. J. Faulkner

Richard Flournoy

Henry Freulich

Director of Photography

Gene Havlick

Paul Mertz

Walter Plunkett

Jerome Pycha

Robert Sparks

M. W. Stoloff

Wava White

Bob Wills

Film Details

Also Known As

Cowboy Joe, Lady Buckaroo

Genre

Comedy

Musical

Western

Release Date

Nov 27, 1941

Premiere Information

not available

Production Company

Columbia Pictures Corp.

Distribution Company

Columbia Pictures Corp.

Country

United States

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 10m

Sound

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color

Black and White

Theatrical Aspect Ratio

1.37 : 1

Film Length

6,280ft

Articles

Go West, Young Lady

April 17, 2007

Go West, Young Lady (1941) is a comedy-western that features Penny Singleton as Belinda "Bill" Pendergast, a young woman fresh from an Eastern ladies' seminary. The naïve but spirited Bill moves out West to live with her uncle (Charlie Ruggles) in Headstone, a rugged town still ruled by guns and outlaws. Glenn Ford, in an appealing turn, plays Tex, the latest in a series of sheriffs sent to Headstone to tame the lawless gun slinging and put an end to the reign of notorious criminal Killer Pete. Between Tex's fists and Bill's pie throwing, the two just might be able to restore law and order to the town once and for all.

Go West, Young Lady provided a rare break for actress Penny Singleton from her title role in the popular Blondie series that made her famous. The film marked the only non-Blondie film that Singleton made while at Columbia Pictures. Many of the same personnel that usually worked on the Blondie films also worked on Go West including writers Richard Flournoy and Karen DeWolf, director Frank R. Strayer, and producer Robert Sparks, who married Penny Singleton that same year.

The chemistry between Singleton and Ford brings charm to this delightful "B" picture, while plenty of action keeps the plot moving at the pace of a speeding bullet. Numbers from Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys, Penny Singleton and Ann Miller (who shines in an early role as saloon girl Lola) provide plenty of good music throughout. Some of the tunes include "Somewhere Along the Trail," "I Wish I Could Be a Singing Cowboy", and "Gentlemen Don't Prefer a Lady".

Producer: Robert Sparks
Director: Frank R. Strayer
Screenplay: Karen DeWolf, Richard Flournoy
Cinematography: Henry Freulich
Film Editing: Gene Havlick
Art Direction: Lionel Banks
Music: Sammy Cahn, Saul Shaplin, Morris Stoloff
Cast: Penny Singleton (Belinda Pendergast), Glenn Ford (Sheriff Tex Miller), Ann Miller (Lola), Charles Ruggles (Jim Pendergast), Allen Jenkins (Deputy Hank), Jed Prouty (Judge Harmon).
BW-70m.

by Andrea Passafiume

Go West, Young Lady

Go West, Young Lady

Go West, Young Lady (1941) is a comedy-western that features Penny Singleton as Belinda "Bill" Pendergast, a young woman fresh from an Eastern ladies' seminary. The naïve but spirited Bill moves out West to live with her uncle (Charlie Ruggles) in Headstone, a rugged town still ruled by guns and outlaws. Glenn Ford, in an appealing turn, plays Tex, the latest in a series of sheriffs sent to Headstone to tame the lawless gun slinging and put an end to the reign of notorious criminal Killer Pete. Between Tex's fists and Bill's pie throwing, the two just might be able to restore law and order to the town once and for all. Go West, Young Lady provided a rare break for actress Penny Singleton from her title role in the popular Blondie series that made her famous. The film marked the only non-Blondie film that Singleton made while at Columbia Pictures. Many of the same personnel that usually worked on the Blondie films also worked on Go West including writers Richard Flournoy and Karen DeWolf, director Frank R. Strayer, and producer Robert Sparks, who married Penny Singleton that same year. The chemistry between Singleton and Ford brings charm to this delightful "B" picture, while plenty of action keeps the plot moving at the pace of a speeding bullet. Numbers from Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys, Penny Singleton and Ann Miller (who shines in an early role as saloon girl Lola) provide plenty of good music throughout. Some of the tunes include "Somewhere Along the Trail," "I Wish I Could Be a Singing Cowboy", and "Gentlemen Don't Prefer a Lady". Producer: Robert Sparks Director: Frank R. Strayer Screenplay: Karen DeWolf, Richard Flournoy Cinematography: Henry Freulich Film Editing: Gene Havlick Art Direction: Lionel Banks Music: Sammy Cahn, Saul Shaplin, Morris Stoloff Cast: Penny Singleton (Belinda Pendergast), Glenn Ford (Sheriff Tex Miller), Ann Miller (Lola), Charles Ruggles (Jim Pendergast), Allen Jenkins (Deputy Hank), Jed Prouty (Judge Harmon). BW-70m. by Andrea Passafiume

Quotes

Trivia

Notes

The working titles of this film were Cowboy Joe and Lady Buckaroo. Hollywood Reporter news items provide the following information about this production: Charlie Ruggles was initially cast in the role of "Judge Harmon" and Edgar Buchanan was to play "Jim Pendergast." When Buchanan was unable to complete his part in the film You Belong to Me (see below) in time to join this production, Ruggles stepped into the role of Jim Pendergast and Jed Prouty took over the part of Judge Harmon. Director Frank Strayer, producer Robert Sparks, star Penny Singleton and writers Richard Flournoy and Karen DeWolf had previously worked together on many of the films in Columbia's "Blondie" series. This was the only non-Blondie film that Singleton made while at Columbia.

Miscellaneous Notes

Released in United States 1941

Released in United States 1941

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