Themes: Unlikely Criminals, Fish Out of Water, Down on Their Luck
Main Cast: Bob Hope, Jane Russell, Roy Rogers, Bill Williams, Lloyd Corrigan
Release Year: 1952
Country: US
Run Time: 95 minutes
Plot
A sequel to Bob Hope's 1948 box-office success The Paleface, 1952's Son of Paleface is a superior product in every way, thanks largely to the spirited, creative direction of Frank Tashlin. Hope is cast as Junior Potter, a Harvard-educated dude who heads West to claim the inheritance left him by his gunslinger father. Much to his chagrin, Junior discovers that his dad has left him nothing but debts. To stave off Potter Sr.'s angry creditors, Junior pretends that his father has salted away a fortune somewhere in the hills. This arouses the attention of curvaceous saloon owner Mike (Jane Russell), who doubles as a mysterious masked bandit known as The Torch. Meanwhile, Roy Rogers (playing a federal agent named Roy Rogers) keeps tabs on Junior, hoping that he'll lead him to The Torch and her gang. True to form, ex-cartoonist Tashlin fills the screen with a wealth of inventive sight gags and inside jokes: Cecil B. DeMille shows up as a photographer in one scene, while in another, Hope, about to embark on the film's wild climactic chase sequence, shoos away a couple of vultures wearing bibs, warning them that "You'll make the whole thing look impossible." Our favorite scenes: Hope's Wile E. Coyote-like reaction to a particularly potent drink, and his bedroom scene with Roy Rogers' wonder horse Trigger. And don't forget the film's slightly risque punch line "Let's see them top that on television," (you have to be there). Songs in Son of Paleface include "You Are My Valley of Sunshine," "Four-Legged Friend," "Wing Ding Tonight," "What A Dirty Shame," and a reprise of The Paleface's Oscar-winning "Buttons and Bows," performed by Hope, Russell and Rogers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Many consider Son of Paleface to be superior to the film to which it is a sequel -- and with good reason: whatever other differences there may or may not be, Son is funnier than the original, and funnier in a zanier way. The "wackiness" factor probably will determine whether one prefers son to its "father;" director Frank Tashlin's outlandish, quite distinctive directorial touch may not be up everyone's alley. But those who go in for the former animator's wild inventiveness will find Son a field day. Certainly, Bob Hope, Jane Russell and Roy Rogers seem to have responded to Tashlin's direction. The three stars turn in some of their "free-est" performances. Hope is a natural for this approach, and a flexible enough comedian to see how he can mold his well-defined comic persona to fit with the director's vision. But Russell and Rogers are the surprises, each of them taking to the daffy approach like ducks to water, while still remaining "true" to themselves. The gags run the gamut from inspired to groan-inducing, but they all fit into the proceedings smoothly. There are also some diverting musical numbers, a fine supporting cast and a great fade-out. Enjoy! ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Paul E. Burns - Ebeneezer Hawkins; Douglas Dumbrille - Sheriff McIntyre; Harry Von Zell - Pvt. Stoner; Iron Eyes Cody - Indian Chief; Wee Willie Davis - Blacksmith; Charles Cooley - Charley; Carl Andre - Pedra; Joan Arnold; Oliver Blake - Telegrapher; Sue Carlton; Chester Conklin - Chester; Don Dunning - Wally; Al Ferguson - Man; John George - Johnny; Jonathan Hale - Governor; Louis Lane; Rudy Lee - Boy; Hank Mann - Bartender; Leo J. McMahon - Crag; Charles Morton - Ned; Felice Richmond - Genevieve; George Russell; Robert St. Angelo - Lem; Robert L. Welch - Himself; Jean Willes - Penelope; Frank Cordell - Dade; Cecil B. DeMille - Himself; Willard Willingham - Jeb; Valerie Vernon - Girls in Bedroom Scene; Fred Zendar - Ollie; Hazel Boyne - Old Lady; Russ Conklin - Indian; Homer Dickinson - Townsman; Jane Easton - Clara; Charmienne Harker - Bessie; Howard Joslin - Sam; Lyle Moraine - Bank Clerk Weaverly; Jack Pepper - Customer in Restaurant; Rose Plummer - Townswoman; James Van Horn - Posse; Gordon Carveth - Indian; Michael A. Cirillo - Micky the Bartender; Isabel Cushin - Isabel; Anne Dore - She-Devil; Warren Earl Fisk - Trav; Charles Quirk - Zeke; Danny Sands
Credit
Roland Anderson - Art Director, Hal Pereira - Art Director, Josephine Earl - Choreography, Frank Tashlin - Director, Edna Warren - Editor, Jack Brooks - Composer (Music Score), Lyn Murray - Composer (Music Score), Harry J. Wild - Cinematographer, Robert L. Welch - Producer, Farciot Edouart - Special Effects, Gordon Jennings - Special Effects, Paul K. Lerpae - Special Effects, Robert L. Welch - Screenwriter, Frank Tashlin - Screenwriter, Joseph Quillan - Screenwriter
Son of Paleface (1952), is a westerncomedy film and sequel to The Paleface (1948), directed by Frank Tashlin and written by Tashlin, Joseph Quillan and Robert L. Welch. It is widely regarded as superior to the earlier movie[citation needed].
Son of Paleface features Bob Hope, who plays the son of the central character in the earlier film (also played by Hope), Jane Russell (also back from the first film, albeit as a different character), and Roy Rogers, who sings his song "A Four Legged Friend" to his horse Trigger. Russell plays torch singer "Mike" Delroy and her alter ego "The Torch", a masked lady bandit who has been terrorising the town of Sawbuck Pass and the local district. Rogers is the undercover agent sent to catch her, while Hope is the wise cracking easterner come west to collect his father's fortune.
