The Paleface (1922) User Reviews

cute and silly

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 24 April 2006]

I saw this on KINO Video and I was far from being impressed by the company because the film alternated from running too fast to running too slow---and the soundtrack, as a result, was really annoying. Perhaps it was a defective tape. If you can, you might want to find another brand if it's available.

Now on to the film. It's a silly and fun little film about some irate Indians and how they are about to take out their frustrations on the first White man they see--and it just happens to be Buster. However, after spending a lot of time trying to kill him, he is miraculously saved and the Indians think he's been send by the gods. Buster, being a nice guy, didn't hold any grudges for almost being roasted alive and agrees to help the Indians. It turns out that greedy oil barons are trying to take the land and so Buster leads the Indians on the attack. All in all, not the most important film Keaton ever made, but the sight gags are good and its a brisk little film sure to please anyone willing to watch a silent comedy.

Kicking Off The Indians, not on Buster's watch

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 4 July 2011]

In the early days of silent films Indians were inevitably the all purpose villains. For those who think that it was not until such post World War II films as Devil's Doorway, Broken Arrow, and Fort Apache that the Indian point of view was filmed, The Paleface, a comic short subject by Buster Keaton was the granddaddy of those other classics.

In fact the villains are really modern ones, would you believe oil company executives interested in the almighty profit at the expense of everything else. But oil was shortly to be cast in infamy with the American public in the form of the Teapot Dome Scandal which would break a couple of years later. Even then there was a stench emanating from Wyoming and people were asking questions.

The oil company has discovered oil on Indian land and has summarily ordered them off. The Indians are naturally upset and the chief Joe Roberts promises to kill the next white man who sets foot on the reservation.

Who should it be, but poor innocent butterfly collector Buster Keaton, as innocent here as his comic rivals Harry Langdon or Stan Laurel. The great stone face leads the Indians on quite the merry chase and with a little help from asbestos, survives a burning at the stake. With what we know now, one also shudders at the mesothelioma Buster acquired from that experience.

Knowing this man is something special, The Paleface becomes a leader of the tribe and they successfully battle oil company encroachment. By the way one of the vignettes in the James Stewart film The FBI Story deals with just this question, Indians being cheated out of their land by oil company speculators. Of course it was dealt with a bit more seriously than in The Paleface.

Not too much similarity between this and the Bob Hope-Jane Russell feature film classic, The Paleface. Hope also nearly got burned at the stake, but his escape was different, one classically different method from another great comedian.

The Paleface is a real good introduction to the comic art of Buster Keaton.

Saved by his magic fireproof underwear!

[weezeralfalfa · 7/10 · 17 September 2018]

I generally enjoyed this Buster Keaton comedy short, more than some others. We can think of the screenplay as going through 4 PHASES. PHASE1: The Indians regard butterfly-collecting Keaton with suspicion, and eventually hostility, since they are mad at other oil-mad whites, who stole their land deed, and ordered them to vacate within 24 hr. .After following him around, as he collected butterflies, they decided to burn him at the stake. However, the guard they left with him didn't notice that Keaton had pulled up the stake, and was moving around when the guard wasn't looking. Hence, the guard wasn't making much progress in piling up firewood around Keaton. Eventually, Keaton bent over and knocked his guard out, with a head shot with his pole(funny).. After acquiring some minimal Indian clothing plus a feather in his cap, an Indian eventually recognizes him for what he is, and the chase is on. Eventually, they capture him again, and again tie him to the well -implanted stake. They begin to roast him, and his clothes are partially burned. But, he is not materially burned because he's wearing fire-proof underwear(Yes, very silly!) The Indians conclude he must have supernatural powers, and bow down before him........ PHASE 2:: Keaton is accepted into the tribe, and given the name Little Chief Paleface. Soon, Keaton leads the Indians on a visit to the oil company headquarters. Keaton boldly enters and badgers the executives. He calls the Indians to enter and perform a war dance around the desk. This unnerves the executives, and they begin to crawl to the doors. Keaton takes some hair off one, with his tomahawk, then smacks another with his tomahawk, before the man gives him his toupee. Then, a man in formal dress, including top hat, gets on a horse, and gallops away. Keaton and the Indians chase him. Eventually, Keaton catches him, but he trains a pistol on Keaton, ordering him to swap clothes........PHASE 3: The Indians don't recognize Keaton in his new garb. Hence, they shoot at him and chase him. Cornered on one side of a gorge, Keaton goes across a rope bridge to the other side. This bridge has only a few mobile slats to crawl on . Thus, Keaton keeps moving the last to the front, thereby preventing the Indians from following him. When he gets to the other side, he finds more Indians, so he tries to go back, but the slats fall off, and he falls into the river below. Eventually, he and the Indians make it back to the village....... PHASE 4: Keaton enters a tepee and changes to his usual clothes(What?). In the jacket, he finds the deed to the Indian land, and shows this to the chief(Played by Joe Roberts),who is ecstatic. He kisses Keaton, and asks what he can do for him. Keaton replies that he would like an Indian squab? Usually, unmarried Indian women are referred to as maiden or princess. Squab usually refers to the young of pigeons. Here, it becomes an interesting play on squaw(married woman) . In any case, he immediately finds a willing squab, who looked distressed when he was being roasted.......Of course, there is the much better known 1948 film of the same title, starring Bob Hope, and Jane Russell........See it at YouTube.

Pretty Good Short Comedy

[Snow Leopard · 31 July 2001]

While this is only an average comedy by Keaton's standards, it's still pretty good by most other measures. It does not have the vast wealth of inventive material found in Keaton's best short features, but it has plenty of slapstick and good gags, with some chases thrown in.

The story concerns Buster encountering a tribe of Indians who have been swindled out of their land by an oil company, and who are ready to take it out on the first outsider to enter their village. The Indians are portrayed in an occasionally silly but definitely sympathetic light. The funniest moments probably come in the earliest confrontations between Buster and the Indians.

This one is probably of interest primarily to those who are already Keaton fans, but at that it's pretty good.

Keaton short foray into West, Just OK.

[Mike-764 · 6/10 · 7 May 2003]

An Indian tribe is being forced off their land by an oil drilling company. Hearing this, the Indian chief swears revenge, ordering death to the first white man who passes onto their land. It wouldn't be much of a short, if Buster wasn't the one who passed through. After surviving a burning at the stake (thanks to a handy sheet of asbestos), the tribe takes in Buster as one of their own, and through accidental luck, the land is recovered. Not really as funny as some of Buster's other shorts, but there are some nice sight gags and a very dangerous stunt (Buster falling some 60 feet off a cliff, actually filmed in two parts.) Rating, based on shorts- 6.

Not one of Buster's Best

[JoeytheBrit · 6/10 · 7 October 2009]

Buster Keaton plays a butterfly collector who is unlucky enough to stumble into an Indian reservation moments after it's chief has issued an order that the first white man they see is to be scalped after the tribe is duped out of their land. Of course, Keaton is initially blissfully unaware of the danger he's in. His sudden sprint for the reservation gates isn't because of a sudden realisation of the peril he's in but because he's just spotted a butterfly for his collection. The first half of this film, in which Keaton tries to elude the Indians, is the funniest, although the scene near the end in which he evades capture from another tribe of Indians by crossing a bridge that only has a dozen or so slats is pretty good. The film features some typical Keaton stunts and some good solid laughs but, in my opinion, this isn't quite one of his best.

Early reference to land-grabbing oil barons

[robinakaaly · 6/10 · 13 November 2010]

Any spoilers are in references to Buster's sight gags. The inventive genius of Buster Keaton never ceases to amaze. Though not one of his greats, this short is full of some brilliantly observed gags, many of which are cleverly set up during the film: (a) being chased by the Indians and all stopping while he inspects a wasp which stings him; and the gag with the butterfly net and the chief; (b) moving the stake while the firewood is being piled up to the consternation of the wood gatherer who eventually gets knocked out by the stake when Buster bends over; (c) the rope bridge across the canyon which Buster crosses by moving the few slats one at a time; (d) when Buster is caught by the oil executive who wants to change clothes with him, Buster produces a small leafless tree to provide no privacy; (e) whilst doing the war dance in the oil company office, stopping to explain to an Indian how the dance should be done; (f) crawling after an escaping executive and about to scalp him, when the exec lifts off his toupee. Buster takes it to the chief who is mightily impressed; (g) when he jumps out of the tree, the Indians suddenly produce a firemen's mat for him to land in (as used by Eric von Stroheim in Foolish Wives); (h) the gates to the Indian encampment, knocking out pursuers by swinging the locking bar up then down. Many of the sight gags done for real, and hardly ever bettered, will, as one reviewer notes, turn up later as staples for everybody's cartoons. For example all the ones on the mountains. Also, the film is certainly not racist: it is clearly on the side of the Indians, and Buster takes an Indian girl and kisses her for two years(!) at a time when he couldn't have done that with a black girl. (The reference to the scantily clad tribe having lost their clothes in a game of strip poker is not racist.)

Another Good Keaton Short

[ccthemovieman-1 · 9/10 · 3 October 2006]

This Buster Keaton short didn't have a ton of laughs but it had enough to suit me. The gist of the story is an Indian tribe getting their land taken from them by corrupt oil men and Buster getting it back for them.

Along the way, he proves himself to be a superhuman "god" by surviving being burned at the stake. (A fire-proof asbestos suit did the trick!) Later, he's involved in warring tribes. Through a decent portion of the film, he is being chased by either of the tribes. Chase scenes are always funny and these in this movie are no exception. Some of these sight gags elicit hardy laughs. In the end, Buster not only saves the Indians' land but gets a pretty "squab," too!

This is good slapstick and another example of why some people - me included - think Keaton's short movies, generally speaking, were better than his feature films. Some reviewers here label this one "cute and silly" and I would agree with that.

A slapstick western

[Red-Barracuda · 6/10 · 16 June 2012]

A tribe of Red Indians are cheated out of their land by unscrupulous white oil speculators. Their chief makes a vow that the next white man they see shall be scalped. In walks a blissfully unaware butterfly collector played by Buster Keaton.

This comic western is full of elaborate chase sequences and funny moments where Keaton tries to outwit the Indians. There are several scenes where he shows his gift for physical comedy and some like the bridge scene where he undertakes some of his customary dangerous stunt work. The film is notable too for its sympathetic portrayal of the Indians. They are clearly shown to be the innocent victims of corrupt white men. This was fairly unusual in a film so old.

Nice Keaton short

[rbverhoef · 9/10 · 13 December 2004]

I have not seen many Buster Keaton shorts yet, but I think I really like this guy. Where Chaplin makes me smile a lot, Keaton really makes me laugh. With 'The Paleface' I kept laughing from start to finish, a little less in the middle though. In the middle part no one tries to catch Keaton, and that is exactly when he is at his best.

At first he is chased by Indians. They are mad because they are cheated and have to leave their land. They swear to kill the first white man that enters their property and of course Keaton enters, trying to catch a butterfly. When the Indians have caught him the best moments of this short arrive. They tie him to a pole and he lifts the pole from the ground and changes his position from time to time. It's hilarious. Then he befriends the same Indians and he is not chased. I have to admit the short becomes a little less funny here. But soon enough he finds himself into trouble again when they all go to the authorities to claim their land. A new chase, that also includes another Indian tribe, is what follows.

Like I said, the chases and the parts where he is caught are hilarious. Maybe the middle part less funny, that does not make it boring. Overall this short is terrific with a Buster Keaton who makes sure his shorts still work today.

The Big Pale Chief

[SendiTolver · 6/10 · 14 September 2018]

I can't help it, but 'The Paleface' is kind of boring Buster Keaton movie. It's definitely not bad film, but it was hard to stay interested throughout. The first part, where Indians have been robbed their land, and their chief issues an order to kill the first white man to enter the gates. Unaware of the danger, Buster Keaton who is on the hunt for the butterflies walks blissfully onto the Indian camp site and starts looking for the butterflies. He struts around like nothing is wrong, and when he suddenly sprints towards the gates, it's not because he finally realized the situation, he walked into, but he noticed another butterfly.

The other great scene is where he escapes from rivaling tribe over the bridge that has only dozen or so slats. Otherwise, pretty mediocre Keaton short, but it's worth to catch it if you have the chance, as it contains some nice and interesting moments.

Excellent Short Film

[Bernadette_P · 10/10 · 12 May 2012]

This Keaton short has hilarity, acrobatics, and true silliness of course. But also a type of transfigured social justice. That is elevated justice found out west even in the 19th Century. Keaton knew about evil oil barons and so on from his private experience. I hold him to be higher than Lloyd or Chaplin.

It's prognostication of the future of Oklahoma Cherokees which came true long after this so-called silly film short was released. How do I know? My now-deceased parents worked as chief-cooks-and-bottle-washers for a man who did cheat the Cherokees and found himself in terror of revenge in Oklahoma in the early '30s. Also I witnessed children where I live receive the benefits due them as Cherokees. Friends of mine. What the silliness in this short does is warn its fans that bad things happen to good people. And they still do as seen in this short silly film. Keaton acts as a willing peacemaker and is made a blood brother as later occurs in other films and even a classic '50s TV show which I watched as a kid. What about empathy here? There were no Indian reservations anywhere when Keaton was born, but he saw what was happening around him. Yes,folks here in so-cal now want to be known as Indians instead of PC crap. OK?

Keaton Amongst the Indians.

[Space_Mafune · 6/10 · 26 January 2008]

After having their land unscrupulously stolen from them by greedy oil sharks, a tribe of Native American Indians vows to kill the next white man who comes into their presence. Said white man turns out to be an unknowing Buster Keaton seeking butterflies for his collection.

This movie is basically a live-action cartoon. It features the type of chase and stunt sequences one more expects from Looney Tunes only here its accomplished in live action via a series of daring stunts and surprisingly well accomplished special effects sequences. These are pulled off much better than I though would be even possible for the time and era.

Overall this short may not be as humorous as many of Keaton's other efforts but it sure doesn't lack in terms of its overall entertainment value due to the above mentioned dangerous stunt sequences that seem more fitting for a cartoon than live action, the best of which involves Buster being thrown over a cliff and creating a makeshift bridge across a gorge.

Not All of Keaton's Experiments Bear Fruit

[drqshadow-reviews · 5/10 · 27 July 2021]

An absent-minded Buster Keaton abruptly shifts from collecting butterflies to dodging tomahawks, as his innocent meanderings lead him straight into a conflict between a shady office full of oil tycoons and a persecuted tribe of Native American landowners. First mistaken for one of the naughty opportunists, he escapes stake, fire, arrow and spear alike before joining the natives and helping to right their wrongs.

Even given the era, this story's pretty loose; a pale shade of color to decorate the silly physical exploits that we've really come to see. In that respect, this film serves as a milestone, as Keaton has obviously employed a number of cinematic tricks and rudimentary special effects to amplify his riskier stunts. Unlike 1921's The Playhouse, where such effects were crafty and well-conceived, shockingly effective a hundred years later, the wilder stunts seen in The Paleface are transparent enough to disrupt the scene. We may not see the wires lifting Buster off the ground, but we know where they are. Rather than enhancing his infamous daredevil act, they've broken the illusion. As such, this film represents something of a growing pain in the heart of Keaton's two-reel prime.

Mr. Keaton Brings Home The Wampum

[Ron Oliver · 10/10 · 27 August 2002]

A BUSTER KEATON Silent Short.

Cheated of their land grant by unscrupulous white men, the members of an Indian tribe vow to murder THE PALEFACE who next enters their village - and here comes butterfly collecting Buster...

Keaton delivers more elaborate chase sequences in this slightly racist, but still very funny, little film. Once again, some of Buster's stunts make the viewer wonder what kept him from busting his neck. Big Joe Roberts plays the beefy Indian Chief.

Born into a family of Vaudevillian acrobats, Buster Keaton (1895-1966) mastered physical comedy at a very early age. An association with Fatty Arbuckle led to a series of highly imaginative short subjects and classic, silent feature-length films - all from 1920 to 1928. Writer, director, star & stuntman - Buster could do it all and his intuitive genius gave him almost miraculous knowledge as to the intricacies of film making and of what it took to please an audience. More akin to Fairbanks than Chaplin, Buster's films were full of splendid adventure, exciting derring-do and the most dangerous physical stunts imaginable. His theme of a little man against the world, who triumphs through bravery & ingenuity, dominates his films. Through every calamity & disaster, Buster remained the Great Stone Face, a stoic survivor in a universe gone mad.

In the late 1920's Buster was betrayed by his manager/brother-in-law and his contract was sold to MGM, which proceeded to nearly destroy his career. Teamed initially with Jimmy Durante and eventually allowed small roles in mediocre comedies, Buster was for 35 years consistently given work far beneath his talent. Finally, before lung cancer took him at age 70, he had the satisfaction of knowing that his classic films were being rediscovered. Now, well past his centenary, Buster Keaton is routinely recognized & appreciated as one of cinema's true authentic geniuses. And he knew how to make people laugh...

HIlarious Keaton film, great stunts

[scsu1975 · 8/10 · 3 December 2022]

Buster inadvertently wanders onto Indian land, chasing butterflies. What he doesn't know is that the tribe has vowed to kill the first white man who shows up, since they have just been cheated out of their land. Buster frustrates every attempt at his demise, including fashioning asbestos underwear so he cannot be burned at the stake. The tribe make him an honorary member, and then he fights to get their land back. When Buster threatens to scalp one of the swindlers, the man offers up his toupee instead.

There are plenty of funny and incredible stunts, which leaves me wondering if there was anything Keaton would not attempt.

Buster and the Indians

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 21 February 2020]

Buster Keaton was a comedy genius, well a genius for anything really, and a true original. Not many quite like him in his day or now. At his very best his comic timing was hilarious, he took jaw dropping risks not seen from many other people at the time and without equal in comedy nearly a century on and he was one of the very few that was able to make deadpan interesting and endearing. His films were never to be seen for their stories, but for sheer entertainment value and daring it doesn't get a lot better.

'The Paleface' is not Keaton at his best. It is not him at his most hilarious, though it is the complete opposite of unfunny. It is not him at his most daring, the sequence that comes closest to that level still being classic Keaton but not something that makes the jaw drop quite in the same way as some of his other work. Other sequences in other films of his stick in the mind a little more, though there are memorable moments here in 'The Paleface' for sure. That may sound like it is not worth seeing, but actually it very much is. Just not quite essential Keaton.

Story-wise, 'The Paleface' is pretty slight which on occasion affects the pace in the early portions.

Keaton on the other hand is charisma and athleticism personified, he performs the physical comedy like it came so easily to him when so many people would be intimidated and he portrays an endearing and amusing character. Deadpan was seldom this or more nuanced or telling than with Keaton and to this day he is still one of the masters at it. Really appreciated the surprisingly sympathetic and not too stereotyped portrayal of the Indians, stereotyped in a not so flattering light frequently.

It holds up well visually and although not quite hilarious standard the gags and physical humour is never less than very amusing. The sequence with Keaton tied to a stake is a classic, and just as good are the sequence with the bridge and that embrace with the two years later title card. The latter parts move at a crisp pace and there is a good deal of charm here.

Concluding, very entertaining indeed and while not a Keaton essential it is a very good representation of him regardless. 8/10

Weaker effort from the silent pioneer

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 30 September 2013]

I am actually a bit surprised this 20-minute short film from 1922 is among Buster Keaton's more famous works. Here, over 90 years ago, he was in his mid-20s directing, writing and starring in this one. The problem with him is that his character rarely manages the levels of charm, humor and sweet love stories from Chaplin's movies, although he's probably at least as talented as his fellow silent film pioneer. So it's usually the story that has to save Keaton's films from mediocrity. And when it does not, like here, the overall result is rather disappointing. I assume the popularity of this one mostly comes from the fact that it's as historically significant as it's a bit of guilt processing of how Native Americans were mistreated by Indians in the past.

In any case, Buster runs in the middle of a conflict between oil barons and Indians and soon finds himself at the stake. However, his will of survival and one of the Indian squaws manage to save him and he soon joins the Indian's side. Chase sequences and the final confrontation between the two parties are the core of the film, but I wouldn't recommend it to people willing to get into Keaton's work. There's better choices out there.