This is the third of the Mae West movies on the 5-film, 2-disc collection I just watched and I just found out, the first made after the Production Code became a bit more strict. It's a bit of a mess, to tell the truth what with the change in locales from the Wild West to South America to Southampton. And some of the plot points confused me. But as long as Ms. West manages to keep her zingers at the ready and get some good songs in, to boot, this is still a pretty enjoyable outing for her. And it's always fun to see her give it to the snobbish society ladies, that's for sure! The men, for the most part, are pretty interchangeable but really, there's still plenty to enjoy in Going' to Town.

"Goin' to Town" begins with Mae West in the rootin', tootin' West. A local rich rancher asks her to marry him and she agrees. However, he's killed and she inherits his fortune. Now what would any girl do in a situation like this? Yep, run to Buenos Aires to hang with the rich set in order to hook an Englishman she met in the West(?). In the process, she naturally has trouble fitting in and it's thanks to a particularly snooty lady...and the fact that Mae is a tacky dame.

Later, Mae marries the snooty lady's nephew--a very odd thing considering she's doing all this to win the English man's heart. When the new husband is murdered during a plot orchestrated by the snooty lady, Mae is accused of the crime. Can she extricate herself from all this and STILL win the man of her dream? Well, it's all very quickly and conveniently wrapped up in the last two minutes--that's for sure!

This is an enjoyable film thanks to Mae's dialog. Otherwise, the plot often makes little sense. Not only do you wonder what man would be desperate enough to want her, but it's a confusing film. Why did she go to such elaborate lengths to get the English guy? Why did she marry another man in the process? Why would the audience care, as it's supposed to be a comedy--and a lot of this isn't super funny. Still, it's agreeable enough and a decent time-passer...but not a lot more.

By the way, one of the things that REALLY made no sense was Mae's producing and starring in an opera for her new society friends! Huh?!

In Going' To Town Mae West enacts her own version of the Horatio Alger story. She rises from dance hall queen, to millionaire, to high society, and finally to a title. Mae starts this rise by being a 'good woman to a bad man'.

The bad man is Fred Kohler who mixed cattle rustling with a lot of legitimate money and pays the ultimate price. He leaves everything to his fiancé Mae West. It's the beginning of her rise.

All the time she's got her eye fixed on Englishman Paul Cavanaugh who she knows as the engineer drilling for oil on Kohler's and now her property. She doesn't know at first he's an heir to a title, but she finds out soon enough.

Mae really comes into her own in this film. In previous films she had George Raft and Cary Grant twice as leading men. Going' To Town is a film she carries all by herself.

Cavanaugh is the film's weakness. Not a strong enough personality to be a lead, one can't figure out why Mae's so set on him. Someone like Leslie Howard would have really given that part some character. And what a team that would have been.

Still this film is all Mae West. And that's all you need.