Son of Paleface

I had seen Trigger steal the scene - and the blanket - from Hope, and finally got to see the whole movie. What a cast! Bob Hope, Jane Russell, and Roy Rogers. The three stars complement each other, and I'd love to have a copy of a still with the three of them singing together! The movie is a great showcase for Trigger, and Paul E. Burns is great in a Gabby Hayes-like role! Of course, it is not a "politically correct" portrayal of American Indians, but it is typical of its period.

A terrifically funny movie. Bob Hope's wisecracking persona and writer-director Frank Tashlin's cartoon-like gags make a perfect blend. And anyone who enjoys Jane Russell has to check out her opening shot in the movie, in which the camera pans up her gorgeous legs while va-va-voom plays on the soundtrack.

Top-notch comedy in every department

Federal Agent Roy Rogers is on the trail of a mysterious bandit known as The Torch and little does he suspect at first that The Torch is that powerful piece of pulchritude, Jane Russell.

Of course gumming up his investigation is tenderfoot Bob Hope, who is the son of famous frontier scout Paleface Potter. Hope's not inherited much from his father's side. Therein lies a lot of the comedy in Son of Paleface.

The original Paleface film had the Academy Award winning song Buttons and Bows. This one has a whole load of musical numbers in it, better to utilize the talents of the three stars. One of them, Am I in Love was nominated for the Academy Award that year, but lost to Three Coins in the Fountain.

Best scenes in Son of Paleface involve the smartest horse in the west, Trigger, constantly outsmarting Hope. Well if Bing Crosby could constantly do it in every Road picture.................

This is one of Hope's best movies. Along with its precursor, PALEFACE, it would make a great part of a double feature...an evening in front of your vcr or dvd. Russell's affectionate/condescension towards Hope works like a charm. The presence of Roy Rogers in this film is a stroke of genius. He plays a perfect lampoon of his own screen image here...and it may very well be his only film appearance in a movie not strictly in the Western genre (you could argue that DARK COMMAND was not only a Western, but a civil war film, but it hardly matters). Roy has a perfect sense for his part of the chemistry of the film and he plays it to the hilt...which is so much fun to see. It was one of the last movies Roy made (as he was now focused on becoming a TV cowboy star), and (with his entire film career supporting this appearance) watching him onscreen here not only makes you laugh, but tugs at your heartstrings as well. This makes SON OF PALEFACE a special movie on many levels. My favorite scenes: Hope trying to impress Russell in the saloon in the beginning; Roy Rogers on Trigger to the rescue as Hope's jeep runs amuck without a wheel; any scene where Trigger is bothering Hope.

IMHO this is probably Bob Hope's best comedy. He is ably supported by an excellent cast, especially Jane Russell - who I think was always more gorgeous,sexier and a better actress than Monroe. Some fantastic one-liners make it a hoot from start to finish and it works on several levels. I loved this when I was a kid and still love it now 40 some odd years on. Seen it lots of times and it never gets stale. It made me a Bob Hope fan and I forgave him a lot of later rubbish because of it. A special mention for Trigger - steals several scenes - whoever trained him (Roy Rogers?) did a wonderful job. A little off the subject, but how come Kelsey Grammar has never done Bob Hope in a biopic-he is absolutely a natural for it.