Down on his luck and unable to find work in the city, a lonely man (played by Buster Keaton) hops aboard a freight train, thinking it's bound for New York. Instead, it’s heading to the wild American West. After a rough start, he ends up on a cattle ranch, landing a job despite having zero ranching experience. There, he befriends a neglected cow named Brown Eyes, who has stopped giving milk and is set to be slaughtered—unless Buster can save her.

Go West stands out as one of Keaton’s most emotionally tender and unconventional films. Released in 1925, it shifts away from his typical urban-industrial settings to explore the mythos of the American frontier through a quiet, almost melancholic lens. This is not a story of heroism or high-stakes action, but a minimalist tale of friendship, alienation, and unexpected loyalty.

Keaton’s character, simply called "Friendless", is a stark contrast to the rugged cowboys around him. Clad in his city clothes and clueless about ranch life, he survives through sheer empathy and gentle awkwardness. His bond with Brown Eyes—a cow no one cares about—is the emotional center of the film. Keaton’s ability to build a genuine, moving relationship with an animal is what makes Go West unique in his oeuvre.

To create believable chemistry between man and bovine, Keaton personally trained Brown Eyes. When she went into heat during shooting, the production was halted for two full weeks. Despite the delay, Keaton insisted on using her in every scene, refusing any substitutes.

The film’s grand finale is a surreal and chaotic stampede: hundreds of cows storm through downtown Los Angeles, with Buster desperately trying to protect Brown Eyes. Shot on location using real cattle, the scene required major city street closures, a logistical nightmare but a cinematic triumph.

While Go West was not as acclaimed as Keaton’s bigger hits upon release, it has since earned recognition for its atypical tone, emotional depth, and soft satire of the Western genre.

To create believable chemistry between man and bovine, Keaton personally trained Brown Eyes.

Trivia

• Brown Eyes earned $13 a week and was credited in the film, an extremely rare honor for an animal actor at the time.

• Keaton wears the same black suit throughout the film, creating a constant visual gag of a misplaced city man in the Wild West.

• The epic stampede finale was shot with real cows in downtown L.A., causing major disruptions and requiring extensive permits.

• The department store woman seen in long shot was played by Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, using a pseudonym due to his controversial status at the time.

• Go West inspired later films and cartoons that featured “out-of-place” city folk in rural settings, from City Slickers to Looney Tunes episodes.

The Soundtrack

Caspervek's soundtrack for "Go West" tries to evoke the music of the Wild West and American rodeos while mixing it with the typical sonorities of swing and classic jazz. The score was premiered by Laura Lorenzo, Brais González and Blas Castañer in November 2021.