''Go West, Young Lady'' is a 1941 American

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by

Frank R. Strayer Frank Raymond Strayer (September 21, 1891 – February 3, 1964) was an actor, film writer, director and producer. He was active from the mid-1920s until the early 1950s. He directed a series of 14 '' Blondie!'' (1938) movies as well. Biography ...

and starring

Penny Singleton Penny Singleton (born Mariana Dorothy McNulty, September 15, 1908 – November 12, 2003) was an American actress, singer, dancer and labor leader. During her 60-year career on stage, screen, radio and television, Singleton appeared as the ...

Glenn Ford Gwyllyn Samuel Newton "Glenn" Ford (May 1, 1916 – August 30, 2006) was a Canadian-American actor who often portrayed ordinary men in unusual circumstances. Ford was most prominent during Classical Hollywood cinema, Hollywood's Golden Age as ...

and

Ann Miller Ann Miller (born Johnnie Lucille Collier; April 12, 1923 – January 22, 2004) was an American retired actress and former dancer. She is best remembered for her work in the Classical Hollywood cinema musicals of the 1940s and 1950s. Her early ...

Plot

The town of Headstone eagerly awaits the arrival of their new sheriff, hoping that he will vanquish the dreaded outlaw Killer Pete, who has robbed them repeatedly and 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. 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 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 goes downstairs and throws the pie at the outlaw, but misses and hits Tex, who has come running. 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 girlfriend Lola, a singer and dancer at the saloon. The outlaw then removes his disguise and is revealed to be Tom Hannegan, a respected and wealthy rancher. Lola, jealous of Bill, demands that Jim send his niece back East. After Bill informs Lola that she intends to remain, Lola quits, so 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 berates the pie for spoiling her engagement and then throws it. That night, Judge Harmon and Hank return from their buggy ride, having captured one of the bandits. After locking him in jail, they meet Hannegan and tell that they have captured bandit Dave Watson, who revealed the location of the gang's hideout. Soon after, Hannegan shoots Dave in his jail cell. He then arranges for Chief Big Thunder Cloud and 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, 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 tricks Lola into revealing Hannegan's plans. The two women fight and after Bill subdues Lola, the women of the town denounce her for being unfeminine. Bill tells them of the planned robbery and ambush, and recruits Bertha, one of the wives, to warn the posse. When Hannegan and his gang enter 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 accidentally flattens Tex with a frying pan. Tex tells her he will just have to get used to it.

Cast

as Belinda 'Bill' Pendergast *

as Sheriff Tex Miller *

as Lola *

Charles Ruggles Charles Sherman Ruggles (February 8, 1886 – December 23, 1970) was an American comic character actor. In a career spanning six decades, Ruggles appeared in close to 100 feature films, often in mild-mannered and comic roles. He was also the e ...

as Jim Pendergast *

Allen Jenkins Allen Curtis Jenkins (born Alfred McGonegal; April 9, 1900 – July 20, 1974) was an American character actor and singer who worked on stage, film, and television. Life and career Jenkins was born on Staten Island, New York, on April 9, 190 ...

as Deputy Hank *

Onslow Stevens Onslow Stevens (born Onslow Ford Stevenson; March 29, 1902 – January 5, 1977) was an American stage, television and film actor. Early years Born in Los Angeles, California, Stevens was the son of British-born character actor Houseley Ste ...

as Tom Hannegan *

Jed Prouty Jed Prouty (born Clarence Gordon Prouty; April 6, 1879 – May 10, 1956) was an American film actor. Biography Born as Clarence Gordon Prouty in Boston, Massachusetts, Prouty was a vaudeville performer before becoming a film actor. Mostly app ...

as Judge Harmon *

Edith Meiser Edith Meiser (May 9, 1898 – September 26, 1993) was an American author and actress, who wrote mystery novels, stage plays, and numerous radio dramas. She is perhaps best known for bringing adaptations of Sherlock Holmes stories to radio in the ...

as Mrs. Hinkle *

Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys James Robert Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although S ...

Chief Many Treaties Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

as Chief Big Thunder

Sources

*''San Antonio Rose: The Life and Music of Bob Wills'' by Charles Townsend *''The motion picture guide'' by Jay Robert Nash, Stanley Ralph Ross * {{Frank R. Strayer 1941 films 1940s historical comedy films 1940s Western (genre) comedy films American historical comedy films Columbia Pictures films 1940s English-language films Films directed by Frank R. Strayer American Western (genre) comedy films American black-and-white films 1941 comedy films 1940s American films