Son of Paleface **** (1952, Bob Hope, Jane Russell, Roy Rogers) – Classic Movie Review 4657

Bob Hope and Jane Russell reconvene for this even more enjoyable 1952 sequel to their 1948 hit The Paleface, in which they play timid Harvard alumnus Peter ‘Junior’ Potter Jr and the sharpshootin’ outlaw Mike ‘The Torch’ Delroy, luscious female boss of a gang of thieves.

Hope (as the son of his dentist character in The Paleface) joins forces with the real Roy Rogers and his horse Trigger to trap gold-bullion thief Russell.

Hope and Russell deliver more bulls-eye zany Western spoofing, with lots of funny gags from co-writer Frank Tashlin in his debut as director. The highly agreeable, perfectly paired stars are again on their best form.

And there is a sharp satirical edge to the comedy thanks to Tashlin’s acute and quirky sense of humour and the appearance of real cowboy Roy Rogers (as Roy Barton) and his horse Trigger (the Smartest Horse in the Movies). The former plays the federal marshal hot on Mike’s trail. The latter gets to share a bed with Hope in the film’s funniest scene. Hope, Russell and Rogers even reprise Paleface’s hit song ‘Buttons and Bows’, with different words. Rogers sings his hit ‘Four-Legged Friend’. Cecil B DeMille and Hope’s real-life pal and movie co-star Bing Crosby appear in cameos.

Also in the cast are Douglass Dumbrille, Harry Von Zell, Bill Williams, Lloyd Corrigan, Paul E Burns. Iron Eyes Cody, Wee Willie Davis, Charley Cooley, Charles Morton, Don Dunning, Jane Easton, Hank Mann, Chester Conklin, Frank Cordell, Al Ferguson, Jonathan Hale and Jean Willes.

Tashlin wrote the script for The Paleface but wanted to direct the sequel because he disliked Norman Z McLeod’s direction of the 1948 original.

Peter Potter Jr: ‘My Daddy spent a whole week [at Niagara Falls] on his honeymoon, laughing, loving, drinking champagne. He had so much fun, he kinda wished Mother had been with him.’

© Derek Winnert 2016 Classic Movie Review 4657

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