DVD Review: SON OF PALEFACE (1952). Bob Hope at his best!

There is a scene in “Son of Paleface” where Bob Hope is racing away in a car, when one of the wheels flies off. He lassos the axle and pulls on the rope to hold up the car, and says to the driver, “Hurry up! This is impossible!” Such is the absurd, outrageous humor found in this Frank Tashlin-directed comedy that some find even better than its predecessor, “The Paleface” (1948).

Kino Lorber’s Classics division recently released several top drawer Bob Hope comedies on blu ray, and has now followed up with one of the comedian’s best. The massive success of the previous movie resulted in this 1952 sequel in which Hope and Jane Russell are back from the original, and Roy Rogers and Trigger are added for good measure. One cannot overestimate the importance of Rogers and “the smartest horse in the movies” appearing here, as they were at the height of their massive popularity. It added box office clout, increased the interest of younger moviegoers, and expanded the western theme beneath the comedy.

Hope plays Junior Potter, the son of the earlier film’s Painless Peter Potter, a dentist who became an unlikely hero with the help of The Torch (Jane Russell). Junior is a Harvard-educated tenderfoot who travels out west to claim his father’s inheritance, and has Roy, Trigger, and the Torch on hand to help him when a gold shipment robbery distracts him from his intentions.

This sequel has a greater visual sense than its classic predecessor, with Tashlin’s adroit comic style giving Hope a wonderful format for his already established comic sensibility. It is one of the comedian’s best screen performances, ranking alongside the previous film, and such greats as “My Favorite Blonde,” “My Favorite Brunette,” and the Road series. Tashlin cut his teeth in the world of animation (one of his best cartoons, “The Lady Said No” (1946), is a delightful extra on this blu ray release). His visual sense comes from animation and he responded well to bumptious comedy (he also contributed to the script). Trigger and Hope sleeping in the same bed and fighting over the blankets, and hapless Bob struggling through the dessert, believing the buzzards he sees are Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, are some of the outrageous highlights. A climactic gag, which will not be spoiled here, concludes with Bob addressing the camera with, “Let’s see them do that on television.”

“Son of Paleface” is available on a sharp blu ray with vibrant colors, and is most highly recommended as one of Bob Hope’s, Roy Rogers,’ Jane Russell’s, and Frank Tashlin’s best films.

It is available here.