Buster Keaton is often characterized as an unemotional filmmaker whose face lakes expression and whose films lack heart. I call bull on this. In recent years, Keaton's nickname "The Great Stone Face" has been challenged by critics and fans who appreciate his subtle and far from heartless performances. And the idea that his films have no emotional depth has been questioned as well. If any film could answer that question, then Go West (1925) would be it.GW is the story of a lonely young man who gets a job as a farm hand and befriends a cow after she saves him from a rampaging bull. Their relationship is sweet but never cloying, and Keaton makes sure to mock plot elements meant to evoke cheap pathos (ex. Keaton goes to pet a dog and he is literally such an outcast that even the mutt walks away from him).It's not a masterpiece, but it is a very sweet movie and one that is worth the hour plus running time.

Buster Keaton's comedies seem to hold their value with film lovers precisely because the man steps away from sentiment in his movies like it was another falling house front. So I suppose one has to credit his willingness to work away from his comfort zone when he took on the notion of playing the audience's heartstrings so directly as he does here.The sentimental stuff plays very well; it's actually the crux of "Go West's" enjoyment and lasting success. Here, it is the comedy, particularly the physical comedy that was Keaton's stock-in-trade, that seems rushed and suspect.Keaton's character, called "Friendless" in the opening credits, is a poor and lonely Indianian at odds with life. "Some people travel through life making friends where ever {sic} they go," the opening card tells us, "while others just travel through life."Friendless seems on such a journey when fate lands him on a ranch where the fair-if-unsentimental owner (Howard Truesdale) readies his herd of cows for market. Friendless drifts about aimlessly, not sure how to ride a mule or get a bull into a pen, but finds his way after helping a cow named Brown Eyes who has a rock caught in her hoof. She looks after him in turn. Soon the two are inseparable, but then the slaughterhouse beckons, and Friendless must find a way to save his new pal.If you are trying to go veggie or just kick a cheeseburger habit, "Go West" is a film for you. Brown Eyes proves a perfect film companion for the Great Stone Face, having an arrestingly blank visage herself and a similar ability to be at the right place at the right time. While Buster himself is endearingly gormless, introducing himself to the ranch owner with the line: "Do you need any cowboys today?", Brown Eyes looks after him in clever ways, like moving her body in front of a bull charging at an unaware Buster's upturned butt. They are a fun pair.The comedy in this film is what leaves me less won over. I want to like this film, but the gags are too strained and frenetic for classic Keaton work. One New York sidewalk scene early on shows Friendless being run over by a stampeding throng, for no apparent reason except to give audiences some expected laughs. On a train going west, Buster hides in a barrel for some reason, and rolls down a sandbank to no real purpose except to move on to the next scene.One early ranch episode where Buster tries to milk a cow by putting a pail under her and waiting for the milk to pour out was the movie's biggest laugh-getter according to a 1925 New York Times review by Mordaunt Hall. Today, it's hard to imagine such a reaction to a long shot of Friendless adopting a "Thinker" pose while waiting for that milk.The big rally at the end of the film has Friendless leading a herd of cattle through Los Angeles, while people in the crowd react as if under zombie attack. It is forced and overbaked stuff, even if the payoff at the end manages to be quite nifty. Much better are other bits that sprinkle the movie, especially the final exchange between Friendless and the rancher that makes for "Go West's" big takeaway moment, and proof director Keaton's huge investment in the Brown Eyes storyline was worth his atypically sentimental approach.In the end, you get a decent story, some fun moments, and a rare chance to see Buster playing against his stiff on-screen persona to good comic effect. You don't have to be Chaplin to make sentiment work in comedy. Still, when it's over, you are glad it's an experiment Keaton never tried again.

Go West is a movie that you seldom hear about and even Keaton did not consider it among his best. However, every time I see it, I cannot help but think that it is one of his funniest and most touching films. In his independent work, Keaton had an amazing ability to portray very unfortunate characters and yet not seem to be pandering to the audience for its pity. In this film, Keaton plays a character referred to as Friendless. The opening scenes of the film show him bouncing around from one unfortunate (and hilarious) situation to another. Yet rather than feel pity for him, the audience can root for this character and good-naturedly laugh at how Friendless reacts to and deals with his misfortunes. It's difficult not to admire the way he overcomes all challenges. When he finds a friend in a cow named Brown Eyes, his loyalty to her and the rancher that employed him precipitates an amazing sequence of events, culminating in an unbelievable cattle stampede through the streets of LA. Although, the scene may drag on a bit, I'll never forget the image of Buster Keaton running down a city street in a red devil's outfit being pursued by a giant herd of cattle. It is one of the most hilariously absurd scenes ever committed to film. There are great gags from beginning to end and, as usual for Keaton, the final sequence is very satisfying. In addition, the Kino release has an outstanding soundtrack which enhances the film considerably. I would highly recommend Go West to anyone as an introduction to Keaton, silent films, or comedies in general.

This really is a hidden gem. For those of you familiar with Buster's technical wizardry in films like "The General" and "Sherlock Jr.", this film will be a revelation. You will be able to witness an entirely different side of Buster Keaton, that of Keaton the actor. His wary calm in this film is perfectly matched to the story of an unlucky drifter who finds himself working on a dude ranch in California. This film features one of Buster's best performances, and a most unusual leading lady. A treat for everyone, but Keaton fans especially.