Daniel Bone (Eddie Albert) is a New York gunsmith. Seeking greener pastures, Bone heads to a Wild West town appropriately called Arsenic City. Along the way, he meets a woman named Lisa Crockett (Gale Storm) who is also headed west seeking her fortune. She has a map that leads to her late father's goldmine. But there are others who want Crockett's map and they will do anything to get it. Fortunately for her and whether she likes it or not, Bone saves her skin time after time. At it's absolute worst, I'd still call The Dude Goes West harmless enough and a bit of fun. At it's best, however, it's often quite funny and gives Eddie Albert a chance to shine in a leading role. His character, Bone, is a fish out-of-water and this often leads to the funnier bits. It's very reminiscent of his character, Oliver Wendell Douglas, that he'd play 20 years later. There's a scene where Bone is lecturing the townspeople about the importance of the American judicial system that sounded straight off of Green Acres. All it needed was a fife playing in the background. Albert is joined by a very able cast featuring Storm, Gilbert Roland, and Barton MacLane. The films's pacing is nice and at only 86 minutes, it never feels tired. While the plot is often predictable, it's still fun to watch the events unfold. Some of the comedy may seem corny by today's standards, but it works just fine to me. Overall, a 7/10 from me.

Eddie Albert is cast as amiable Daniel Bone, a New York City native of Brooklyn, who owns a gunsmith business in Brooklyn. He decides to pull up stakes from the Big Apple and head off westward to Arsenic City, Arizona, where everybody totes a hog-leg. Unmistakably a tenderfoot, Bone appreciates a good read and his familiarity with literary tomes helps him out of one tight spot after another. He heads west as the Horace Greeley adage goes and meets a pretty young thing, Liz Crocket (Gale Storm), who is bound for Arsenic City herself to cash in on her dead father's mining claim. Naturally, "Ellery Queen, Master Detective" director Kurt Neumann and "A Ticket to Tomahawk" scenarist Mary Loos and "White Buffalo" scribe Richard Sale pit these two young people through the standard-issue romantic wringer. No sooner do they meet at a railway depot than Liz's mother tries to turn her against all men, particularly Bone. They start out hating each other and end up in each other's arms. This lightweight but entertaining comedy doesn't demonize Native Americans. The Paiute Indians call Daniel 'Big Wind' because he fools them into liking him with parlor tricks after they escort Liz and he to their village. This lively 86 minute sagebrusher from Allied Artists is worth watching. Albert had a knack for playing upstanding citizens and rarely made a fool out of himself. Latin sensation Gilbert Roland plays The Pecos Kid and he makes a charismatic villain. Career heavy Barton MacLane plays desperado Texas Jack Barton. Although the titular hero is a tenderfoot, he has spent so much time working on firearms that he can light a wooden match with a bullet. He is a crack shot and this comes in handy when he must retire two gunslingers trying to abduct the heroine. "The Dude Goes West" is a western spoof related in flashbacks with Albert narrating the saga for his grand children. Amusing from start to finish.

Eddie Albert is in the title role of The Dude Goes West and it's a role that we've seen him in before, the mild mannered guy who somehow manages to triumph. This was years before his Oscar nominated roles in Roman Holiday and The Heartbreak Kid. And also before his incredible dramatic parts in Attack and Captain Newman, MD. Albert was always a favorite of mine, he was a player with incredible casting range who never got his due recognition.He's certainly in a trade that the west needs, he's a gunsmith who to make sure he did a proper job learned marksmanship. That's something some villains learned to regret.On the way west he runs into Gale Storm who is going west to claim a legacy, a gold mine her late father left her. She's got a map to the place for which a claim was never filed and villains Gilbert Roland and Binnie Barnes are out to steal by hook or crook. There's a third villain in the film, perennial villain Barton MacLane. But he's not so bad here as you'll see.The whole film is a great commercial for 'reading is essential' because tenderfoot Albert learns a great deal about the west from books and the knowledge he has gets him out of some tight situations. The Dude Goes West is a funny, but gentle comedy with Albert comfortable in a role he played a lot in his early film years. The rest of the cast gives him fine support and this is a most enjoyable movie.

Kind of a cross between "Destry Rides Again" and Bob Hope's "Paleface" series, this little sleeper of a film takes a good-hearted book-learned innocent whose skills with a gun (learned for his job, that of gunsmith) are no more important than his wisdom and mind.Considering this movie was made in the late 40's it's quite revolutionary in its approach to the Western traditions -- the roles of indians, women and "bad guys" being held up and examined in very interesting ways. In that respect its comedic sensibilities make it a very good time indeed.Make no mistake about it -- this isn't a very deep film. However it will make for a very enjoyable 90 minutes whether you like Westerns or not. Eddie Albert and all the supporting cast turn in very credible performances. It made me wish they had had made the sequel this was so obviously setup for (they didn't).