The Paleface (1948 film)

The Paleface
File:Poster - Paleface, The (1948) 01.jpg Theatrical poster
Directed by	Norman Z. McLeod
Produced by	Robert L. Welch
Written by	Jack Rose Melville Shavelson
Screenplay by	Edmund Hartmann Frank Tashlin
Starring	Bob Hope Jane Russell Robert Armstrong
Music by	Victor Young
Cinematography	Ray Rennahan
Edited by	Ellsworth Hoagland
Production company	Paramount Pictures
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release dates	December 24, 1948 (1948-12-24)
Running time	91 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$2 million
Box office	$4.5 million (US/ Canada rentals)

The Paleface is a 1948 Technicolor comedy Western directed by Norman Z. McLeod, starring Bob Hope as "Painless Potter" and Jane Russell as Calamity Jane. In the film, Hope sings the song "Buttons and Bows" (by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans). The song won the Academy Award for Best Song that year.

The film had a sequel, Son of Paleface, in 1952. In 1968, Don Knotts remade the film as The Shakiest Gun in the West.

Plot

Peter "Painless" Potter (Bob Hope) is a dentist of doubtful competence. Out west, after the partner of Calamity Jane (Jane Russell) is killed while trying to discover who's been illegally selling guns to Indians, the cowardly Painless ends up married to Jane, who needs to keep her true identity a secret.

One day while protecting everyone during a hold-up, Jane gives all the credit to Painless, who becomes the townsfolk's "brave" new hero.

Cast

• Bob Hope as Painless Potter
• Jane Russell as Calamity Jane
• Robert Armstrong as Terris
• Iris Adrian as Pepper (singing voice dubbed by Annette Warren)
• Bobby Watson as Toby Preston (as Robert Watson)
• Jackie Searl as Jasper Martin (as Jack Searl)
• Joseph Vitale as Indian Scout
• Charles Trowbridge as Gov. Johnson
• Clem Bevans as Hank Billings
• Jeff York as Big Joe
• Stanley Andrews as Commissioner Emerson
• Wade Crosby as Jeb
• Chief Yowlachie as Chief Yellow Feather
• Iron Eyes Cody as Chief Iron Eyes
• John Maxwell as Village gossip
• Tom Kennedy as Bartender
• Henry Brandon as Wapato (Medicine Man)
• Francis McDonald as Lance
• Frank Hagney as Greg
• Skelton Knaggs as Pete
• Olin Howland as Undertaker
• George Chandler as First Patient
• Nestor Paiva as Second Patient

Reception

The film earned $3.5 million in rentals in the US in 1948.

Radio adaptations

The Paleface was presented on Stars in the Air March 6, 1952. The 30-minute adaptation starred Bob Hope and Jane Russell recreating the roles they had in the film. Hope and Russell also starred in a March 3, 1950, adaptation on Screen Directors Playhouse.

External links

• The Paleface at IMDb
• The Paleface at AllMovie
• The Paleface at the TCM Movie Database
• The Paleface at the American Film Institute Catalog