The Paleface | |
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Theatrical poster
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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
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Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date
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Running time
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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.
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.
The film earned $3.5 million in rentals in the US in 1948.
The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:
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.