The Paleface
The Paleface
| 01 January 1922 (USA)
The Paleface Trailers

A butterfly collector unwittingly wanders into an Indian encampment while chasing a butterfly, but the tribe has resolved to kill the first white man who enters their encampment because white oil tycoons are trying to force them from their land.

Reviews
Btexxamar

I like Black Panther, but I didn't like this movie.

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Voxitype

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

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Lucia Ayala

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

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Taha Avalos

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

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Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de)

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.

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JoeytheBrit

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.

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Space_Mafune

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.

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ccthemovieman-1

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.

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