The Paleface (1948) User Reviews

The Paleface Is What Made Jane Russell's Career

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 22 June 2006]

The Paleface one of the funniest films Bob Hope ever did was a godsend to the career of Jane Russell. Take a look at her film credits and see how few there were during the Forties. She did The Outlaw which kept going in and out of release every time Howard Hughes re-edited it. She did a film called The Young Widow which she hated and was a box office flop and then The Paleface.

Although Howard Hughes kept messing around with The Outlaw and kept Russell off the screen for most of the Forties, the man did know about publicity and certainly kept her name before the public. But a movie star has to make movies. So even Hughes realized that and I'm sure he exacted a good price for Russell's services to Paramount for The Paleface.

Hope of course is his usual character. A recent graduate of a dentistry college, he's gone west to seek fame and fortune, Hope the schnook gets tangled up with the notorious Calamity Jane.

Of course Russell is Calamity Jane, she's being offered a pardon in order to trap some no good outlaws selling weapons to the Indians. When her contact is killed and she nearly is also, she picks up Hope and they get married and join a wagon train.

Of course the some of the funniest stuff in The Paleface when Russell does some fancy shooting and let's Hope take the credit for it, giving him an undeserved reputation for fearlessness. One of my favorite bits is when Iron Eyes Cody gets a hold of some of Hope's laughing gas and Hope thinks he's Russell behind a barrier.

Bob Hope got to introduce his second Oscar winning song in The Paleface, Buttons and Bows by the Paramount contract song writers, Jay Livingston and Ray Evans. He sold a few records of it, but the real big hit was done by Dinah Shore. It's now become identified with Russell as well, but she sings it in Son of Paleface, not here.

This was Bob Hope's first trip to the American west in search of laughs and it was a successful expedition.

Painless Peter Potter.

[hitchcockthelegend · 8/10 · 4 March 2008]

Bob Hope is in his element in this type of role, here he plays a dopey dentist named Painless Peter Potter, he is the kind of dentist that pulls the wrong teeth and gets high on his own laughing gas. Here he manages to get involved with Calamity Jane {a positively smouldering Jane Russell} and a caper set around rouge Cowboys selling guns and dynamite to the Indians. After mistakenly being taken for a hero after repelling an Indian attack and killing a number of them during said attack, we are taken on this delightful journey as Potter the coward transforms himself into a bravado gun slinger whilst not realising it's actually Calamity pulling his strings and shooting the pistols. It's a smashing comedy that perfectly showcases Hope's immeasurable talent for delivering one liners, in fact few comedians in history can deliver a quip better than Hope could. The chemistry between Russell and Hope is as sharp as the writing, and to cap it all off we get the delightful song Buttons & Bows to hum along to, smashing uplifting comedy, 8/10.

Painless but Hopeful

[Lejink · 6/10 · 20 September 2017]

An enjoyable comedy western featuring the formidable, if different talents of its leads Bob Hope and Jane Russell. Hope plays his customary cowardy-custard character, a travelling dentist of all things named "Painless" Potter alongside Russell's mannish Calamity Jane as they seek to foil the baddies' nefarious plan to arm the Red Indians, but pay no attention to the plot just like the stars and instead enjoy the fun romp they rampage through.

Filmed in glorious Technicolor, the film makes ample room for running gags, like Russell's hammer-like kisses and Hope getting pulled out of his wagon-chair every time he gees up the horses, but is best served by Hope and his ad-libs and one-liners (sample:- Hope trying to act tough at the bar - "Give me four fingers of red-eye - and throw in a thumb too!"). The funniest extended scene is probably when Hope and a hot-shot rival stalk each other around town before their shoot-out. The humour trails off somewhat in the last third when the comedy gets too cartoony and slapsticky but there's still some compensation as Russell's glacial heart melts towards her oafish husband.

Sure the treatment of the Red Indians is about as un-PC as you can get, but the real villains are the white guys and along the way Hope gets to sing the catchy singalong "Buttons and Bows". Popular enough to beget a sequel "Son Of Paleface" a few years, this is one of Hope's best comedies sans-Crosby and also demonstrated Russell's comedic talents at the same time.

Probably Hope's best film – his comic style in a well structured film

[bob the moo · 6 June 2003]

Gunslinger and criminal Calamity Jane is released from prison by the Governors in exchange for her help with a problem. Someone is selling guns and dynamite to the Indians and other agents have been killed trying to find out who – only someone like Jane can get close. When her partner is killed she has no-one to act as her husband and help her travel incognito. She happens across a cowardly dentist, Painless Peter Potter, and she marries him in order to get a ride to Buffalo. However, can she keep him out of trouble long enough to find the dynamite?

Bob Hope may be 100 years old as I write this but he has been out of movies for quite a few years, also he only tended to make one type of film and play the same part in each one. So the appeal of this film very much depends on whether or not you like that. Personally I love Bob Hope and enjoy him even when he is in a weak film. The Paleface is one of his best films simply because it is a good piece of all round entertainment. It has a good central plot that stops the film just being a vehicle for him to do his stuff and instead is actually going somewhere.

The songs are quite nice but also there's only really two so it doesn't slow the film down too much. I do like the odd musical number but some Hope films had 5 or more songs in a 90 minute film, which was way too many. Hope is on good form, his asides and jokes work better in a good plot and he is very funny throughout. Some routines work better than others but if you are a fan then you'll like his style even when it isn't as funny as you'd hope. Russell is a good leading lady despite being a bit serious and then softening too quickly. The support cast are all in the background and the Native American clichés can be explained by the period and not racism.

Overall this is a very enjoyable film that works well because it allows Hope to run free within a good film instead of simply letting his performance be the film. He wisecracks his way along and it is easy to see why his light comic style has made him an icon even with a generation who have found him on their television and not the big screen.

Bob Hope is hilarious in this western comedy!!!

[FelixtheCat · 7/10 · 20 May 2000]

Jane Russell plays Calamity Jane who is offered pardon on a ten year sentence if she tracks down the culprits who are selling weapons to the Indians. She hitches up with a dim-witted dentist, Bob Hope, so that she can trick the bad guys into thinking that he is the federal agent tracking them down, instead of her. Hope is conned into thinking that he has killed a dozen or so Indians, in one of the funnier scenes. Hope is extremely funny in this comedy western as he struts his stuff through the old west. Most jokes hit their mark, and Russell is as much fun as Calamity Jane as well. The catchy Oscar winning tune "Buttons and Bows" is given a voice by Hope early in the film.

The Bob Hope experience.

[johncusacksback · 7/10 · 8 August 2003]

*** out of ****

This is a comedy of endless gags and one-liners. You will either find them funny or you won't. I found most of them funny, so I liked it. The highlight is Bob Hope singing "Buttons and Bows".

nice western spoof

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 14 May 2011]

I confess a weakness for the Bob Hope of the '40s - cute, funny, and guileless. His cowardly persona played well in many films.

"The Paleface" is the story of Calamity Jane (Jane Russell) being broken out of jail and offered a full pardon by the government if she can track down who is running guns to the Indians. Unfortunately, the man who is to accompany her on the wagon train to investigate is murdered. While running from people out to get her, she ends up in the office of Painless Peter Potter, a dentist who has to use a manual when he's working on a patient. He has his own wagon; Jane recruits him to marry her and join the wagon train.

Hope and Russell are great together. She's gorgeous in color wearing a variety of costumes. Hope is very funny, and he gets to introduce the song "Buttons 'n' Bows." One of the best scenes is Painless Peter trying to pull a tooth; another is an Indian who inadvertently inhales Peter's laughing gas.

Not exactly politically correct by today's standards, but it's still fun and wonderful to see these classic film stars, whose number is dwindling with alarming speed.

Typical Hope vehicle

[ctomvelu1 · 6/10 · 19 March 2011]

Never as funny as it might have been, THE PALEFACE is a Bob Hope vehicle that has the old ski-nose playing "Painless" Potter, a bumbling dentist out West who gets tangled up with Cal;amity Jane (Russell) and a bunch of gun runners. Jane is a government agent sent to stop the bad guys, and she marries Painless so she can pose as a clueless married woman. Along the way, she makes her new husband appear to be a fearless gunfighter. The film is long and just not all that funny. Obviously, writer Frank Tashlin agreed, as he made his own sequel several years later that is a real hoot. In SON OF PALEFACE, Painless' grown son teams up with Roy Rogers and Trigger to fight the bad guys. Nothing against Jane Russell, but in the case of these two movies, I'll take Trigger.

Classic Hope comedy is fun spoof of old westerns

[mlraymond · 10/10 · 23 January 2007]

There are so many wonderful moments in this gloriously silly movie, that it would be impossible to mention more than a few. Hope's timing, the verbal and sight gags combined, a fairly bawdy undercurrent,involving Painless Potter's unsuccessful attempts to bed his new bride, and probably the funniest parody of the classic showdown ever filmed, add up to a very entertaining movie.

Some of the most priceless moments go by very quickly, and may not be obvious at first. Painless Potter is smilingly massaging the bald head of a tough dental patient, and they both begin chuckling uncontrollably, due to a leak in the laughing gas machine. Painless Potter is shaving outdoors, with a small mirror hung from a tree branch. An arrow whizzes by, and he remarks that he must be shaving too close. A very obvious man ,trying to conceal himself behind a bush, comes closer, and Potter remarks with a sort of deadpan whimsy, " Must be a Virginia Creeper." When another arrow nearly hits him, he examines it curiously, and muses aloud on who it is that shoots arrows. He lists the possibilities, including Cupid and William Tell, before shrieking " Indians!" and running for the blockhouse. When he tries to get wife Jane to let him in, he hollers, " Help, help, there's a million Indians out here against one coward!"

Viewers who can let themselves get immersed in the wisecracks and sight gags, along with just about every western cliché you can think of, will have a good laugh with this delightful film.

And, the scene where Painless Potter serenades his sleepy wife with a concertina, singing " Buttons and Bows", as their covered wagon moves slowly along the trail, is absolutely charming. There's something very tender about the way the naive husband sings the funny little song to his drowsy bride.

Not exactly David Milch material but OK for a few chuckles

[mozli · 6/10 · 6 March 2008]

Bob Hope has a way with murder and mayhem. It just goes down extremely easy with the guy. Jane Russell is eye candy but is a one note actress if I've ever seen one. The villains are bowling pins to be knocked down and the movie doesn't have a racial tolerant bone in its body. Frank Tashlin understood how to stage his films with the most extreme cartoon-like aspects. Very broad but without depth. The final punch line, however, revealed a dark humor that was played out on the edges of the story. Whenever I look at a western these days I immediately try to imagine what David Milch could have done with it.

"What were you expecting? A happy ending?"

'Pales' In Comparison To Some Of Hope's Other Comedies

[ccthemovieman-1 · 4/10 · 28 June 2006]

I didn't think this was anywhere as great as some reviewers (not here on the IMDb) led me to believe, saying this was "Bob Hope's best movie," "funniest film ever," etc. I found that FAR from the truth, although humor is very subjective. I can think of two of Hope's comedies, just off the top of my head, that were much funnier: The Ghost Breakers and Sorrowful Jones.

Anyway, the first half of this film was the worst, just stupid and very few laughs. The second half is much better, after Hope begins to think he's a gunfighter. The second half has some good humor, and helps save the film. This was my first look at Jane Russell. I thought she acted woodenly and wasn't all that pretty. Like this movie, Russell's reputation, looks-wise, is better than the reality. Her chest is what made her. She would have fit better in today's films where hard-looking, tough-talking women are featured.

One last thing on the positive side: there is nice, bright color in here, good to see in any 1940s film.

quite excellent in a fluffy sort of way

[garydobbs · 9/10 · 1 July 2008]

The chemistry between Jane Russel and Bob Hope is one of the many reasons that this film shines. There are several genuinely hilarious scenes - the Indian on laughing gas, Bob's big gunfight, the cowboy having his rotten tooth pulled ...the list is endless.

The only fault is that the films drags a little towards the final all action finale but other than that it's close to perfect. A great comedy and one of only a few truly great comic westerns. The currently available DVD is a great transfer but it comes on a vanilla disc. A documentary about Bob would have been welcome or even an introduction the way they have done with the John Wayne reisues would have added even greater value.

As it stands a great little movie from the Golden Age of Hollywood.

THERE'S INJUNS IN THIS HERE FILM

[mmthos · 6/10 · 11 October 2020]

Nowadays i feel i have to warn everyone who might be offended by stereotypical portrayals of American Indians, considering their ultimate fate in history.

That said, this is a 1948 comedy where every character's comic. If you're looking for sensitivity and nuance, this is the last place you'll find it. This is a classic spoof on classic westerns, and nothing's taken seriously, it's all for laughs.

Considered one of Bob Hope's best , he gets full reign to practice his personal brand of schtick. Gorgeous Jane Russell plays Jane, Calamity that is , with her typically brilliant "hard-boiled broad" routine

Oscar winning song "Buttons and Bows" is cute, but should have lost that year to Doris Day's classic "It's Magic"

Dumb Fun

Tedious fluff

[cutter-12 · 4/10 · 31 May 2005]

A couple of laughs punctuate this slapdash and brainlessly silly (even for Bob Hope standards) comedy oater. Very standard fare, though it looks great on DVD.

Was there ever a more lifeless starlet in the forties than Jane Russell? She always looks like a prostitute in the sack checking her watch every five seconds. She does absolutely nothing in this picture but look bored and full of contempt. And Hope tries and tries to be funny but mostly just falls flat. One exception is the lead-up to the gunfight when he mixes up the instructions on how to approach the killer while trying to keep them straight in his head. This routine was stolen and re-tooled to better effect a few years later for Danny Kaye in The Court Jester.

The bit with the cat made me laugh too, and Hope singing 'Buttons and Bows' is notable, but other than that I'd only recommend this film if you have insomnia

A Hope Romp

[dougdoepke · 6 November 2011]

The movie, as I recall, was a smash hit, along with the catchy "Buttons and Bows" musical number. It's also one of Hope's best roles. He's Painless Potter, dentist extraordinaire; just don't let him anywhere near your teeth, or anything else, for that matter.

As bumbler-in-chief of about everything, Painless muffs one funny challenge after another, as fashioned (in part) by the imaginative Frank Tashlin. There's also a couple of Bob's gag writers credited, so the one-liners fly as fast as Tashlin's sight gags (for example, the occasional comic strip blurbs cartoonist Tashlin was noted for). At the same time, the complicated plot is just a handy rack for Hope to hang his polished shtick on. And catch that final gag with Bob's breaking character with an aside to the audience that just about sums things up.

But instead of Crosby to pair up with, Bob has the luscious Jane Russell, and while she may not be as funny as Bing, I love it when Painless mistakes an Indian for her on their wedding night. (Note how the screenplay marries them early on, thereby avoiding censorship problems. Note too how her buxom measurements are downplayed, likely a concession to the expected family audiences.)

I don't know if there's a downside since it's a funnyman romp all the way. Maybe, for me, a downside is finding out from IMDb that Iron Eyes Cody, such a great Indian, is not an Indian at all, but was instead born in Italy. Oh well, it's all Hollywood make-believe anyway, so who cares since it's a darn amusing movie, Italian Indians or no.

Paleface- Jane Makes Bob Shoot Straight ***

[edwagreen · 7/10 · 31 December 2011]

A typical Bob Hope comedy made more interesting by the presence of the recently deceased Jane Russell.

Hope had the honor of singing Buttons and Bows, and the song went on to win the Oscar in 1948.

The premise of the movie is quite humorous. To get pardoned for her transgressions, Russell must find out who is smuggling guns to the Indians. When the agent assigned to be her husband is killed, she finds unlikely candidate Hope as an eastern-correspondent school dentist and quickly marries him.

Whoever made the costumes for Russell deserved some kind of award. In many scenes, she was made to look frumpy, far out of her usual realm.

The picture goes down in quality once she and Hope are captured by the Indians. Some real good straight shooting by Russell makes Hope look like the town hero. This is always good for a laugh.

Come on now, hitch those horses to that wagon.

[weezeralfalfa · 7/10 · 10 August 2017]

Twice, Bob Hope's character('Painless' Peter Potter),forgets to hitch the horses to the wagon before cracking the whip, resulting in a 'drag race' for the person holding the reins.

Jane Russell, as Calamity Jane, is busted out of jail by some agents of the governor, to hopefully round up some renegades who are selling rifles and explosives to the hostile Indians. If she succeeds, she will receive a full parson of her 10 year sentence. She's supposed to acquire a male partner, but finds him shot dead in his office. So, she runs into Hope, as a quack dentist, who makes merry with his patients: one of the comedic highlights. They soon marry and join a wagon train(not clear why?).Jane tries to make it look like Hope, not she, is a federal agent. She establishes his reputation as a dead eye gunslinger by secretly killing eleven Indians in a row, attributed to Hope, hiding behind a barrel. Also,secretly killed his opponent in a formal duel. I will stop here in my summary.

Although it can hardly be considered a musical comedy, there are 2 notable songs. Hope sings "Buttons and Bows" while supposedly driving a wagon. It actually won the Academy Award for best original song! Then,

saloon girl Iris Adrian sings "Meetcha 'Round the Corner". The sequel to this film: "Son of Paleface", is much more of a musical farce. It's generally rated as a more interesting film, and includes Roy Rogers and Trigger, as well as Hope and Jane.

It's available at YouTube, in Technicolor.

"If I were a chicken bone I could make a wish."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 16 June 2012]

It's never a good thing when I have to struggle to come up with a film review. I'm a pretty big fan of Bob Hope but this one left me a bit flat, perhaps because I watched it out of sequence with the follow up film "Son of Paleface" with Hope and Russell on hand once more, but as different characters. The sequel also featured my favorite movie cowboy Roy Rogers, along with Trigger giving a career performance that might have upstaged the nominal stars of the picture.

The team up of Hope and Russell seems like a natural but it wouldn't have hurt for Mariska Hargitay's mom to crack a smile every now and then. There's no pretense at all that this is a parody Western, so why not lighten up and have a little fun with it? Russell seemed to be taking this a lot more seriously than she needed to, and if I noticed it I think the director should have too.

Perhaps the biggest plus here is the film's vibrant Technicolor format, especially when it showcases the Indians in their brightly colored tribal gear. Hope's no slouch either in his gaudy Western outfit, which only goes to emphasize how out of place he is in the Old West scheme of things. Once again though, I'm of a mind that Russell's reputation is greater than the reality, and her full figured look isn't as exceptional as one might be led to believe. Nothing she wore in this picture managed to flatter, so if that's what you're expecting, you'll have to catch her in the sequel doing that sexy singing number at the Dirty Shame Saloon.

Surprisingly high death toll for a comedy

[JamesHitchcock · 6/10 · 11 October 2013]

Martha Jane Canary-Burke and Ernestine Jane Russell not only had the same middle name but also preferred to be known by it. It was therefore perhaps appropriate that one of them should have played the other in this comedy Western. Ms Canary-Burke was also portrayed in (among other films) "Calamity Jane" where she was played by Doris Day, but Ms Russell's interpretation is very different. Although the script of "Calamity Jane" tells us that the heroine is a tough frontierswoman she is played by the ultra-feminine Day (in a deliberate piece of miscasting for comic effect) as a sweet young thing who looks far more at home in a pretty dress than in her buckskins. Here she is certainly physically attractive (what character played by the fair Ernestine could ever be anything else?), but also rough and hard-bitten.

The film opens with Calamity in jail, charged with some unspecified offence. She is offered her freedom if she can perform a task for the government, namely to discover who's been illegally selling guns to Indians. In this task she has the assistance of Peter "Painless" Potter who has been trying to earn a living out west as a dentist, despite an almost total lack of aptitude for that profession. (His self-awarded nickname is far from appropriate). Painless's professional incompetence is only equalled by his cowardice and general ineptitude, so he is perhaps not the most suitable companion for Jane in her mission. Nevertheless, Painless acquires the reputation of a crack shot and brave hero because Jane (who needs to keep her identity a secret) allows him to take the credit for her own deeds. For reasons too complex to go into here, Jane and Painless end up married to one another and (in the best romantic comedy tradition) they of course fall in love.

As with most comedy Westerns, this one relies for a lot of its humour on its ability to send up classic Western situations. That duel between Painless and a local ruffian is a comic version of every Western in which a fearless lawman cleans up a lawless town, such as "Dodge City" and "My Darling Clementine" which had come out two years earlier. I am not particularly familiar with Bob Hope's work in the cinema, having previously seen only a handful of his films, but he was clearly a talented comic actor, and his sense of timing and his facial expressions both contribute a lot to the humour, making lines or scenes seem funny even when they would not seem very amusing on the printed page. He also receives good support from the lovely Jane Russell in only her third film.

The film was made in Technicolor, but unlike many colour Westerns from this period and the following decade (such as, for example, "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon") it was not filmed on location but in a studio. As a comedy it has stood the test of time fairly well, except in one important respect. For a humorous film there is a surprisingly high death toll as Calamity ruthlessly guns down her enemies, with Painless taking the credit. With a few exceptions such as the aforementioned ruffian, most of the dead are Native Americans or, as they would have been referred to in 1948, Indians, who are mocked as comically savage villains, (and who can therefore safely be shot dead even in a comedy without anyone worrying). To say this is not anachronistic political correctness. By the late forties Hollywood's attitude towards Indians was starting to change, they were being portrayed with more respect and dignity (again "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" is a good example) and "Broken Arrow", that great pro-Indian Western, was only two years away. The way they are shown in this film is, to say the least, regrettable and the main reason I feel unable, despite some genuinely funny scenes, to give it a higher mark. 6/10

Hilarious western spoof

[HotToastyRag · 8/10 · 17 September 2018]

I'm not sure if it was intentionally spoofing The Paleface, or it was a rip-off, but The Court Jester borrowed plenty of gags and most of the storyline from Bob Hope's hilarious western. It also payed homage to plenty of other films, like The Adventures of Robin Hood, but look at the similarities to The Paleface: A hapless fool gets accidentally mistaken for an assassin and a spy, his brunette female companion is much tougher than him, and during a scene when he has to fight in a duel, he gets different pieces of advice and gets them all mixed up. Yes, that's right. Bob Hope gets, "He draws from the left, so lean to the right," mixed up with, "The wind's from the east so aim to the west," and, "He crouches when he shoots,so stand on your toes," in a hilarious build-up to the duel. Needless to say, if you love Danny Kaye's "pellet with the poison" scene, you need to rent The Paleface.

In addition to Bob Hope's hilarious antics and endless jokes about not getting any alone time with his lady love, Jane Russell stars as Calamity Jane in this western spoof. She's tough, pretty, and a master sharpshooter. I'll never understand why two years later, when the leading lady dropped out of the picture, Jane Russell wasn't cast in Annie Get Your Gun. And I'll certainly never understand why she wasn't cast in 1953's Calamity Jane. She could have easily been in both of those musicals!

You're going to have to get past some politically incorrect jokes, and the fact that "Buttons and Bows" won Best Song at the Oscars, but this is a very funny movie that will keep you laughing from start to finish.

Jane Russell as Calamity Jane and Bob Hope as a dentist, hero, cowboy, shooter, and Indian in a hilarious western spoof.

[SAMTHEBESTEST · 7/10 · 18 February 2024]

The Paleface (1948) : Brief Review -

Jane Russell as a Calamity Jane and Bobe as a dentist, hero, cowboy, shooter, and Indian in a hilarious western spoof. The Paleface has remained paleface for sure. I haven't seen many people talking about it on the internet, but thanks to the "1001 movies you must watch before you die" list to introduce me to this movie (well, this is the list I sometimes hate). Bob Hope had done many good comedies by then, be it horror comedies like "The Cat and the Canary" (1939), "The Ghost Breakers" (1040), hysterical "Nothing But the Truth" (1941), "My Favorite Blonde" (1942) and his "Road to.. " franchise, but if I tell you that The Paleface is actually one of his best. What would your reaction be? I'd like to see it because I am not joking. The Paleface is a fun riot, a great spoof of Western, and a fantastic rom-com. We begin with Russell Jane as Calamity Jane, who is given a job by the sheriff in return for "pardon." She is supposed to marry and go on a mission with a secret agent, who gets killed, so she marries a coward and a little stupid dentist. Her gun shooting skills make the dentist a hero, a cowboy, and he later turns in to an Indian to save his wife. The romance was half-baked, but fun. I didn't really find those moments logical. When did she fall in love with her husband and all that? But it brought some bright gags, for sure. Russell got a few scenes to stand out as her own. "I don't want anyone foolin' with my man" was hilarious. Bob Hope was set loose, and he ran a riot. From a cowardly dentist to the hero in the west, what a transformation! The voice modulation and attitude spilled so many huge gags. That Indian stuff was hilarious too, but that duel scene stands out as the best. Also, the 11 Indians (12, 13, 14 and 15 as he wishes) shooting scene was top-notch. I know Norman Z. McLeod for many good comedies, and I will remember this one too. Yes, it's that good. Don't know why it wasn't hyped enough.

RATING - 7.5/10*

By - #samthebestest.

Low-Key And Amusing, With Decent If Not Overwhelming Stars

[sddavis63 · 5/10 · 17 January 2012]

I've always been a little bit underwhelmed by Bob Hope. I grew up in a home that watched all of his TV specials with family who thought he was the greatest and funniest comedian ever. I never quite got it. I find him low-key in the extreme; sometimes amusing in a mild, quiet sort of way but nothing to write home about. That also sums up my reaction to "The Paleface." It's OK. Sometimes amusing, and if it's mild and quiet it has some good writing - I'm thinking of Painless Peter Potter (Hope) trying to keep all the advice he had received about his gunfight with the local quick draw artist straight ("he leans to the right so shoot to the left," and so on) as well as the fun song "Buttons and Bows" (sung by Hope.)

Potter is a hopeless dentist trying to make his way in the Old West when he gets caught up with Calamity Jane (Jane Russell) - who's been recruited to work as a government agent trying to find out who's getting guns to the Indians. She hooks up with Potter, tricks him into marriage and manages to turn him into the gunfighting hero so that no one would notice her. Russell was fine in the role, but like Hope she didn't overwhelm me.

I would say that this was better than the 1960's movie "The Shakiest Gun In The West," which had essentially the same sort of plot with Don Knotts in the role as the dentist. Hope played the role straighter than Knotts would do 20 years later, and that perhaps made it a little easier to take the movie seriously - as comedies go, of course. (5/10)

One of Bob Hope's best...

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 19 April 2010]

Of all of Bob Hope's films, this is among his best. In fact, the film was so well received when it debuted that the song "Buttons and Bows" went on to be a bit and a sequel came out four years later. In the sequel, of sorts, Jane Russell and Bob Hope return--but as different people (Hope plays the son of the man from this film). Why is this film so good? Well, part of it is that the music (which they seemed to always shove into 1940s comedies) isn't bad, the script quite good and the characters quite enjoyable.

The film begins with Calamity Jane (Jane Russell) being broken out of jail. However, this is no ordinary prison break--it was organized by the government because they wanted Jane to do some undercover work. But, they staged it so that her partners in crime wouldn't suspect she'd made a deal to help out in exchange for a pardon.

Soon after agreeing, she meets up with Bob Hope--who is a rather addled dentist. She pretends to fall in love with him and marries him to create a cover for herself--not because she has any interest in being married. And, considering that Hope is annoying and a wimp, you'd think he's realize he's being used. But, he's pretty dumb and has no idea his wife is a special agent or that they aren't making love. Every time she kisses him, she whomps him over the head--and he thinks she's so hot that is why he passes out! Eventually, the trail of the baddies leads to an Indian camp and Hope's prowess as an Indian fighter will lead to his dying a horrible death. That's because Jane has, on the sly, done all the trick shooting that everyone thinks Hope has been doing--and taking credit for throughout the film! Will they get out of it alive? Will love bloom for real? Will Bing Crosby make a cameo? Tune in to see.

Overall, while the film ain't exactly subtle, it's pleasant fun from start to finish. Nothing brilliant here, but it is quite good and the sequel is also quite nice as well--plus it co-stars Roy Rogers in addition to Hope and Russell.

The Paleface

[jboothmillard · 5/10 · 8 July 2014]

I found this film in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, the title did not suggest anything to me when I first read it, but it made sense when I found out it was set in the Wild West, I was certainly hoping it would be worthy of a recommendation. Basically out west someone in town has been illegally selling guns to the Indians, frontiers woman Calamity Jane (Jane Russell) is hired to find the culprit, and she is to be partnered with a secret agent, they will go undercover and pose as husband and wife. When the secret agent is killed Jane is forced to recruit a new husband, and she finds innocent, inept and cowardly dentist 'Painless' Peter Potter (Bob Hope), he wants to the leave the barbaric west all together. On their investigative journey their wagon train is attacked by Indians, and while Jane is sharpshooting from inside an empty shack witnesses spot Potter presumably firing and defeating them, when in fact he is useless with a weapon. Upon return the townspeople praise Potter as a hero, and this means he will be a target for both the Indians and the gunrunners, but as time passes he may in fact be learning bravery and to defend himself better, and of course he and Jane cannot help having affection for each other. Also starring Robert Armstrong as Terris, Iris Adrian as Pepper, Bobby Watson as Toby Preston, Jackie Searl as Jasper Martin, Joseph Vitale as Indian Scout, Charles Trowbridge as Governor Johnson, Clem Bevans as Hank Billings and Jeff York as Big Joe. The most memorable Calamity Jane for me will always be Doris Day, however Russell, a short time after The Outlaw, proves a great choice for this film as she looks beautiful and is brassy when she needs to be, I have not seen much of Bob Hope as a stand up comedian (perhaps because I know all his material was written for him by others), and he too is a good choice being the wisecracking and for a good while lily-livered dupe. I have read various reviews by critics saying that the sequel, Son of Paleface, is much better than this is, as for this original I found it funny enough, it had a good amount of good old fashioned slapstick, this was apparently a big box office hit, and it is entertaining for its action as well, so it's not a bad comedy western. It won the Oscar for Best Song for "Buttons and Bows". Worth watching!

A fun & light film romp.

[oscar-35 · 25 May 2017]

*Spoiler/plot- Paleface, 1948. In the Western USA Territories, Calamity Jane goes under cover with a traveling dentist to find badmen selling dangerous contraband guns & liquor to the Indians that leads them on the warpath against wagon train settlers.

*Special Stars- Bob Hope, Jane Russell.

*Theme- Hope and Russell have great screen chemistry.

*Trivia/location/goofs- Comedy film. Some outdoor parts filmed in Chatsworth CA "Iverson Movie Ranch". Paramount Pictures made film.

*Emotion- A fun & light film romp with two funny comedians post WW2.

*Based On- US western pioneer lore.