The Paleface

This Buster Keaton short didn't have a ton of laughs but it had enough to suit me. The gist of the story is an Indian tribe getting their land taken from them by corrupt oil men and Buster getting it back for them.

Along the way, he proves himself to be a superhuman "god" by surviving being burned at the stake. (A fire-proof asbestos suit did the trick!) Later, he's involved in warring tribes. Through a decent portion of the film, he is being chased by either of the tribes. Chase scenes are always funny and these in this movie are no exception. Some of these sight gags elicit hardy laughs. In the end, Buster not only saves the Indians' land but gets a pretty "squab," too!

This is good slapstick and another example of why some people - me included - think Keaton's short movies, generally speaking, were better than his feature films. Some reviewers here label this one "cute and silly" and I would agree with that.

Buster inadvertently wanders onto Indian land, chasing butterflies. What he doesn't know is that the tribe has vowed to kill the first white man who shows up, since they have just been cheated out of their land. Buster frustrates every attempt at his demise, including fashioning asbestos underwear so he cannot be burned at the stake. The tribe make him an honorary member, and then he fights to get their land back. When Buster threatens to scalp one of the swindlers, the man offers up his toupee instead.

There are plenty of funny and incredible stunts, which leaves me wondering if there was anything Keaton would not attempt.

After having their land unscrupulously stolen from them by greedy oil sharks, a tribe of Native American Indians vows to kill the next white man who comes into their presence. Said white man turns out to be an unknowing Buster Keaton seeking butterflies for his collection.

This movie is basically a live-action cartoon. It features the type of chase and stunt sequences one more expects from Looney Tunes only here its accomplished in live action via a series of daring stunts and surprisingly well accomplished special effects sequences. These are pulled off much better than I though would be even possible for the time and era.

Overall this short may not be as humorous as many of Keaton's other efforts but it sure doesn't lack in terms of its overall entertainment value due to the above mentioned dangerous stunt sequences that seem more fitting for a cartoon than live action, the best of which involves Buster being thrown over a cliff and creating a makeshift bridge across a gorge.

An absent-minded Buster Keaton abruptly shifts from collecting butterflies to dodging tomahawks, as his innocent meanderings lead him straight into a conflict between a shady office full of oil tycoons and a persecuted tribe of Native American landowners. First mistaken for one of the naughty opportunists, he escapes stake, fire, arrow and spear alike before joining the natives and helping to right their wrongs.

Even given the era, this story's pretty loose; a pale shade of color to decorate the silly physical exploits that we've really come to see. In that respect, this film serves as a milestone, as Keaton has obviously employed a number of cinematic tricks and rudimentary special effects to amplify his riskier stunts. Unlike 1921's The Playhouse, where such effects were crafty and well-conceived, shockingly effective a hundred years later, the wilder stunts seen in The Paleface are transparent enough to disrupt the scene. We may not see the wires lifting Buster off the ground, but we know where they are. Rather than enhancing his infamous daredevil act, they've broken the illusion. As such, this film represents something of a growing pain in the heart of Keaton's two-reel prime.

In the early days of silent films Indians were inevitably the all purpose villains. For those who think that it was not until such post World War II films as Devil's Doorway, Broken Arrow, and Fort Apache that the Indian point of view was filmed, The Paleface, a comic short subject by Buster Keaton was the granddaddy of those other classics.

In fact the villains are really modern ones, would you believe oil company executives interested in the almighty profit at the expense of everything else. But oil was shortly to be cast in infamy with the American public in the form of the Teapot Dome Scandal which would break a couple of years later. Even then there was a stench emanating from Wyoming and people were asking questions.

The oil company has discovered oil on Indian land and has summarily ordered them off. The Indians are naturally upset and the chief Joe Roberts promises to kill the next white man who sets foot on the reservation.

Who should it be, but poor innocent butterfly collector Buster Keaton, as innocent here as his comic rivals Harry Langdon or Stan Laurel. The great stone face leads the Indians on quite the merry chase and with a little help from asbestos, survives a burning at the stake. With what we know now, one also shudders at the mesothelioma Buster acquired from that experience.

Knowing this man is something special, The Paleface becomes a leader of the tribe and they successfully battle oil company encroachment. By the way one of the vignettes in the James Stewart film The FBI Story deals with just this question, Indians being cheated out of their land by oil company speculators. Of course it was dealt with a bit more seriously than in The Paleface.

Not too much similarity between this and the Bob Hope-Jane Russell feature film classic, The Paleface. Hope also nearly got burned at the stake, but his escape was different, one classically different method from another great comedian.

The Paleface is a real good introduction to the comic art of Buster Keaton.