The Paleface

Director: Norman Z. McLeod Norman Z. McLeod

Overview

Bob Hope's Technicolor western spoof The Paleface was one of the comedian's biggest box-office hits. Hope plays Painless Potter, a hopelessly inept dentist who heads west to seek his fortune. Meanwhile, buxom female outlaw Calamity Jane (Jane Russell) is engaged in undercover work on behalf of the government, in the hopes of earning a pardon for her past crimes. Jane is on the lookout for notorious gun-runner Robert Armstrong. To put up an innocent front, Jane marries the befuddled Potter, then keeps the criminals at bay by convincing everyone that Potter is a rootin'-tootin' gunslinger (actually, it's Jane who's been doing all the shooting). Armstrong, who has been selling guns to the Indians, arranges for Jane to be captured by the scalp-hungry tribesmen, but Potter comes to the rescue. Somewhere along the way, Bob Hope and Jane Russell get to sing the Oscar-winning Jay Livingston/Ray Evans tune "Buttons and Bows." There are many hilarious moments in The Paleface, but screenwriter Frank Tashlin felt that director Norman Z. McLeod failed to get the full comic value out of his material. To prove his point, Tashlin directed the side-splitting sequel, Son of Paleface (1952), which once more teamed Hope and Russell.

Product Details

Release Date:	07/14/2020
UPC:	0738329248055
Original Release:	1948
Rating:	NR
Source:	Kl Studio Classics
Sound:	[DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound]

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Bob Hope	Painless Peter Potter
Jane Russell	Calamity Jane
Donald Smith	Terris
Iris Adrian	Pepper
Robert "Bobby" Watson	Toby Preston
Jackie Searl	Jasper Martin
Joseph Vitale	Indian Scout
Charles Trowbridge	Gov.Johnson
Clem Bevans	Hank Billings
Jeff York	Big Joe
Stanley Andrews	Commissioner Emerson
Wade Crosby	Jeb
Iron Eyes Cody	Chief Iron Eyes
John Maxwell	Village Gossip
Tom Kennedy	Bartender
Henry Brandon	Wapato, Medicine Man
Francis McDonald	Lance
Frank S. Hagney	Greg
Skelton Knaggs	Pete
Olin Howland	Undertaker
George Chandler	First Patient
Nestor Paiva	Patient
Carl Andre	Actor
Trevor Bardette	Actor
Al Bridge	Horseman
Billy Engle	Actor
Margaret Field	Actor
Charmienne Harker	Actor
Al Hill	Pioneer
Ethan Laidlaw	Henchman
Babe London	Woman on Wagon Train
Ted Mapes	Actor
Kermit Maynard	Horseman
John Miller	Bellhop
Houseley Stevenson	Actor
Maria Tavares	Actor
Loyal Underwood	Bearded Character
Duke York	Actor
Betty Hannon	Actor
Marilyn Gladstone	Actor
June Glory	B-Girl
Edgar Dearing	Sheriff
Arthur Space	Zach
Charles Cooley	Mr X
Dorothy Granger	Bath House Attendant
Eric Alden	Bob
Jo Gilbert	Woman in Bath House
Hall Bartlett	Handsome Cowboy
Stanley Blystone	Spectator
Bob Kortman	Spectator
Chief Yowlachie	Chief Yellow Feather
Oliver Blake	Spectator
Lane Chandler	Tough-Looking Galoot
Paul E. Burns	Justice of the Peace
Dick Elliott	Mayor
Sharon McManus	Girl
Earl Hodgins	Clem
Harry Harvey	Justice of the Peace
Sid Saylor	Cowboy

Technical Credits

Edmund L. Hartmann

Jack Rose

Frank Tashlin

Norman Z. McLeod	Director
Sam Comer	Set Decoration/Design
Billy Daniel	Choreography
Mary Kay Dodson	Costumes/Costume Designer
Hans Dreier	Art Director
Farciot Edouart	Special Effects
Ray Evans	Score Composer
Bertram Granger	Production Designer,Set Decoration/Design
Edmund L. Hartmann	Screenwriter
Earl Hedrick	Art Director
Ellsworth Hoagland	Editor
Gordon Jennings	Special Effects
Jay Livingston	Score Composer
Ray Rennahan	Cinematographer
Jack Rose	Screenwriter
Frank Tashlin	Screenwriter
Robert L. Welch	Producer
Victor Young	Score Composer

Editorial Reviews

The great civic historian Otto Friedrich, in his study of Los Angeles in the 1940's, made a stunningly accurate analysis on the films of Bob Hope. All of Hope's movies, he wrote, revolve around the same three basic gags: the size of his nose, his innate cowardliness, and his complete ineptitude with women. With the exception of the ski beak, these truths are self-evident in The Paleface. Featuring an extremely attractive Jane Russell as Calamity Jane, the thin plot revolves around an undercover operation to discover who is selling guns to Indians. Jane agrees to pose as the wife of a government agent in exchange for a pardon, but through a series of mishaps must dupe Hope's eastern dentist into marrying her so she can secretly prop him up as an agent. All that is really besides the point, since the plot allows Hope to essentially play his typical role and provides all sorts of instances where he can be a coward and a frustrated lover. The major plot points are as predictable as they come, but it doesn't really matter. The jokes are for the most part typically funny material, especially the climax in the Indian camp where Hope disguises himself as the medicine man, and Russell has probably not looked better on screen with perhaps one or two exceptions. The script was co-written by Frank Tashlin, who would go on to become a well-known director and, in fact, directed the sequel Son of Paleface when he felt the director Norman Z. McLeod had not handled the original to his liking.

All Movie Guide - Dan Friedman