"After seeing the preview of it I could have shot Norman McLeod. I'd written it as a satire on The Virginian, and it was completely botched. I could have killed that guy. And I realized then that I must direct my own stuff."
--Frank Tashlin on The Paleface.
Once upon a time there were those who thought Bob Hope was funny but I was never among them. I always found him bland and unappealing; he always played it safe and even in his movies he never worked with major directors, fearing that they would not want to use any of the lines his well-paid writers provided for him. Frank Tashlin wrote Paleface and ended up directing two of Hope's best movies -- Son of Paleface (1948) and The Private Navy of Sgt. O'Farrell (1968) --that were successful because there were fewer of Hope's unfunny wisecracks and more physical comedy. McLeod directed a couple of the Marx brothers anarchic comedies (Monkey Business in 1931 and Horse Feathers in 1932) but even those films were lacking in subtlety and visual style. The most successful part of The Paleface is Jane Russell's straightforward performance as Calamity Jane, shooting Indians and bad guys and letting Hope think he did it. The portrayal of Native Americans is insensitive and offensive, with bodies stacked up like cordwood and it being unclear whether McLeod thought he was making some kind of parody. Kudos to Ray Rennahan for his color cinematography, Mary Kay Dodson for her marvelous period costumes, and Victor Young for his low-key musical score.
No comments:
Post a Comment