This is one of Hope's best movies. Along with its precursor, PALEFACE, it would make a great part of a double feature...an evening in front of your vcr or dvd. Russell's affectionate/condescension towards Hope works like a charm. The presence of Roy Rogers in this film is a stroke of genius. He plays a perfect lampoon of his own screen image here...and it may very well be his only film appearance in a movie not strictly in the Western genre (you could argue that DARK COMMAND was not only a Western, but a civil war film, but it hardly matters). Roy has a perfect sense for his part of the chemistry of the film and he plays it to the hilt...which is so much fun to see. It was one of the last movies Roy made (as he was now focused on becoming a TV cowboy star), and (with his entire film career supporting this appearance) watching him onscreen here not only makes you laugh, but tugs at your heartstrings as well. This makes SON OF PALEFACE a special movie on many levels. My favorite scenes: Hope trying to impress Russell in the saloon in the beginning; Roy Rogers on Trigger to the rescue as Hope's jeep runs amuck without a wheel; any scene where Trigger is bothering Hope.
Review of Son of Paleface
