The Paleface

While some of the humour could be regared as out of vogue, this fun romp remains a top-notch skit on the most popular genre of its era. Bob Hope gave us many overtly humorous movies and he was made for this type of farce, there are not many others who could have injected so many laugh-out-loud belly chuckles into the situations generated by this material. Jane Russel is just right as undercover agent Calamity Jane and her exit scene is a lot of fun. Most of the jokes are spot on and those that may not hold up (for some) are still worthy of a smile. The three strip (IB) Technicolor is remarkable and it’s so good to see it given a near-to-the-original-look transfer. In fact, this Universal Archive release is quite exceptional in all aspects of DVD presentation (better than many of the current W.B. M.O.D. efforts) Standout sequences have Mr Hope being given instructions on how to outsmart a mean gunslinger, only to get all the helpful suggestion back to front - then, encountering a black cat in the undertaker’s preparation room. This is LOL comedic writing for those who enjoy clever slapstick type farce. It’s quite removed from much of today’s overindulged PC asides, and any who might take offence at the pretend Indians bodies that pile up during some farcical scenes, need to realise that white eyes are dropping off at the same rate. It’s all too comical to get too carried away with reality. There’s a fine Victor Young music score with an Award-winning song (although it’s worthy of a better rendition than the comical one given here by Bob) Fun, fun. fun.

(In Color) It's a comedy film from 1948 with Native Americans making a deal to purchase illicit guns/dynamite with this movie's "bad guys" so... they're not represented in the best way. The most surprising thing I found was how empowered they made Jane Russell's character (Calamity Jane) for the time. She presented as a tough, smart, and highly skilled female gunslinger. WOW! I didn't see that coming. Anyhow, Bob Hope plays the buffoon really well and the song "Buttons and Bows" is fantastic.

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