The Paleface (1948)
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100% of critics liked it
(8 reviews) -
64% of users liked it
(2,611 ratings)
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… More 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. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Norman Z. McLeod
- Genres
- Western, Classics, Comedy
- In Theaters
- Dec 24, 1948 Wide
- On DVD
- Mar 5, 2002
Critic Reviews
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Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
The plot is slender and silly, but Bob Hope and Jane Russell have some good moments in a comedy that was very popualar and led to an equally popular sequel.
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Steve Crum, Kansas City Kansan
Funny Hope western farce, but inferior to its sequel "Son of Paleface."
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Bob Bloom, Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)
Hope at his peak; Russell in top form; a winner.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
This Technicolor western spoof is probably Bob Hope's finest film role.
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Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Hope at his best, but he went it one better with SON OF PALEFACE
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Cast
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Bob Hope
as Painless Peter Potter
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Jane Russell
as Calamity Jane
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Robert Armstrong
as Terris
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Iris Adrian
as Pepper
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Robert "Bobby" Watson
as Toby Preston
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Jackie Searl
as Jasper Martin
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Joseph Vitale
as Indian Scout
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Charles Trowbridge
as Gov.Johnson
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Clem Bevans
as Hank Billings
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Jeff York
as Big Joe
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Stanley Andrews
as Commissioner Emerson
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Wade Crosby
as Jeb
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Iron Eyes Cody
as Chief Iron Eyes
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John Maxwell
as Village Gossip
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Tom Kennedy
as Bartender
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Henry Brandon
as Wapato Medicine Man
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Francis McDonald
as Lance
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Frank S. Hagney
as Greg
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Skelton Knaggs
as Pete
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Olin Howland
as Undertaker
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George Chandler
as First Patient
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Nestor Paiva
as Patient
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Eric Alden
as Bob
- Carl Andre
- Trevor Bardette
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Oliver Blake
as Spectator
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Stanley Blystone
as Spectator
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Al Bridge
as Horseman
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Paul E. Burns
as Justice of the Peace
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Lane Chandler
as Tough-Looking Galoot
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Charles Cooley
as Mr X
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Edgar Dearing
as Sheriff
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Dick Elliott
as Mayor
- Billy Engle
- Margaret Field
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Jo Gilbert
as Woman in Bath House
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Dorothy Granger
as Bath House Attendant
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Harry Harvey
as Justice of the Peace
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Al Hill
as Pioneer
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Earl Hodgins
as Clem
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Bob Kortman
as Spectator
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Ethan Laidlaw
as Henchman
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Babe London
as Woman on Wagon Train
- Ted Mapes
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Kermit Maynard
as Horseman
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Sharon McManus
as Girl
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John Miller
as Bellhop
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Sid Saylor
as Cowboy
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Arthur Space
as Zach
- Houseley Stevenson Sr.
- Maria Tavares
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Loyal Underwood
as Bearded Character
- Duke York
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Chief Yowlachie
as Chief Yellow Feather
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Hall Bartlett
as Handsome Cowboy
- Charmienne Harker
- Marilyn Gladstone
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June Glory
as B-Girl
- Betty Hannon