Join or Sign In

Continue with Facebook Continue with email

By joining TV Guide, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy.

Paleface Reviews

1921
0 hr 33 mins
Comedy

Watchlist
Where to Watch

Buster Keaton stars in this two-reel comedy as the captive of hostile Indians. His captors tie him to a stake and prepare him for death by fire. Keaton moves with the stake as the Indians try frantically to place the firewood around him. When he survives the flames due to his fire-resistant clothes, Keaton is made a member of the tribe and named Little Chief Paleface. He then foils the scheme of unsavory oil speculators to steal the land from his Indian companions.

Reviewed By: Richard Gilliam

The Paleface was one of the transitional films in Buster Keaton's career, made just before he switched from two-reel comedies to features. It displays Keaton's trademark intricate physical comedy -- for example, Keaton's hopping around while tied to a stake. From a cultural standpoint, it's notable among films of the early 1920s for presenting its Indian characters with some sympathy; the white oil barons are clearly the bad guys. Everyone, however, gets treated as a comic foil, sometimes in ways that might not appeal to current-day audiences. This is one of several highly regarded comedy collaborations between Keaton and writer/director Eddie Cline. In the late 1930s and early 1940s, when Keaton's career was in decline, Cline would go on to direct W. C. Fields in some of his best films, including The Bank Dick.