The Paleface (1948)

Director:

Norman Z. McLeod

Writers:

Edmund L. Hartmann (original screenplay) and
Frank Tashlin (original screenplay) ...

Release Date:

24 December 1948 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Western

Tagline:

She can shoot a gun almost as fast as BOB can run !

Plot:

Calamity Jane is despatched to find out who's smuggling rifles to the Indians, and winds up married to a hapless correspondence school dentist as part of her cover.

Plot Keywords:

Dentist | Calamity Jane | Wagon Train | Secret Agent | Undercover

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Bob Hope	...	'Painless' Peter Potter
Jane Russell	...	Calamity Jane
Robert Armstrong	...	Terris
Iris Adrian	...	Pepper
Bobby Watson	...	Toby Preston (as Robert Watson)
Jackie Searl	...	Jasper Martin (as Jack Searl)
Joseph Vitale	...	Indian Scout
Charles Trowbridge	...	Gov. Johnson
Clem Bevans	...	Hank Billings
Jeff York	...	Big Joe
Stanley Andrews	...	Commissioner Emerson
Wade Crosby	...	Jeb
Chief Yowlachie	...	Chief Yellow Feather
Iron Eyes Cody	...	Chief Iron Eyes
John Maxwell	...	Village gossip

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:S | Sweden:15 | UK:U | Canada:G (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Paramount Ranch - 2813 Cornell Road, Agoura, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Annette Warren, who sang for Ava Gardner in Show Boat (1951) and Lucille Ball in Fancy Pants (1950) was also the singing voice for Iris Adrian in The Paleface (1948).

Quotes:

Potter: [draws his guns] I hope they're loaded. I wish I was, too.

Movie Connections:

Featured in 100 Years of Comedy (1997) (V)

Soundtrack:

Meetcha Round The Corner

Not exactly David Milch material but OK for a few chuckles

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?"