The Paleface Blu-ray

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

Directed by Norman Z. McLeod
USA 1948

The Wild West has never been wilder or funnier than in this classic farce which introduced the Academy Award-winning song “Buttons and Bows.” In one of his most popular roles, comedy legend Bob Hope (My Favorite Brunette, Road to Morocco) plays “Painless” Peter Potter, a timid correspondence school dentist earning a shaky living in the lawless West. When “Painless” is seduced into agreeing to a quickie marriage by the voluptuous Jane Russell (The Outlaw), he thinks his luck has changed. Little does he suspect that Russell is actually sharpshooter Calamity Jane, hot on the trail of a dangerous renegade gang and that she is simply using “Painless” as her cover and unwitting dupe! This Old West burlesque, brightened by Technicolor and uproarious slapstick, went on to become one of Bob Hope’s best-loved films and his biggest box-office hit. Directed by Norman Z. McLeod (My Favorite Spy, Alias Jesse James) and co-starring Robert Armstrong (King Kong). In 1952, Hope and Russell returned for the sequel Son of Paleface, co-starring cowboy legend Roy Rogers and his trusty horse Trigger.

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Bob Hope stars in this laugh-packed wild west spoof co-starring Jane Russell as a sexy Calamity Jane, Hope is a meek frontier dentist, "Painless" Peter Potter, who finds himself gunslinging alongside the fearless Calamity as she fights off outlaws and Indians.

Posters

Theatrical Release: December 17th, 1948

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Review: Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:31:05.418
Video	1.37:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 20,624,692,837 bytes Feature: 19,365,421,056 bytes Video Bitrate: 25.04 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate Blu-ray:
Audio	DTS-HD Master Audio English 1554 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1554 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit) Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Kino 1.37:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 20,624,692,837 bytes Feature: 19,365,421,056 bytes Video Bitrate: 25.04 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian and Critic Sergio Mims • Entertaining the Troops (6:20) • Command Performance 1945 (5:05) • “Buttons & Bows" Sing-Along (2:07) • Theatrical Trailer (1:50) Blu-ray Release Date: July 14th, 2020 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters 10

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (July 2020): Kino have transferred the Bob Hope western-comedy The Paleface to Blu-ray. It is on a single-layered disc with a supportive bitrate. It looks quite pleasing in 1080P. There are some color flecks (see last screen capture) but generally is bight, with solid contrast and the Technicolor shines impressively.

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel track (16-bit) in the original English language. There are western effects - gunfire, horses etc. and a score by Victor Young (The Tall Men, Unconquered, I Walk Alone, Strategic Air Command, The Sun Shines Bright, The Accused, Johnny Guitar, China Gate etc.) - and is notable for Bob Hope singing Buttons and Bows and Iris Adrian (dubbed by Annette Warren) performing Meetcha Round The Corner. All sounds fine! Kino offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray offers a new commentary by critic Sergio Mims. He brings up many interesting factoids on Bob Hope (reconstructive surgery after an accident, early comedian, and husband of Barbara Stanwyck, Frank Fay and his influence on Hope etc.), Jane Russell, director Norman Z. McLeod, writer Frank Tashlin, political correctness and much more. It's worth a spin. There are some short videos included as supplements; Entertaining the Troops runs about 6.5 minutes, Command Performance 1945 and a “Buttons & Bows" 'Sing-Along' plus a theatrical trailer

The Paleface is one of Bob Hope's best comedy films. It has his perfect timing, facial ad-libs and is filled with fun sequences - two musical numbers and a serious but sexy Jane Russell as 'Calamity Jane'. The Kino Blu-ray looks and sounds quite good and has the Mims commentary. It's a superior comedy from the era.