Pretty Penny for Paleface
Year of Jane Russell: Day 122
Jane’s wardrobe for The Paleface, designed by Mary Kay Dodson (pictured here with Jane), cost $4,500 to produce – approximately $53,000 in today’s dollars!
Paleface Wardrobe Test
Year of Jane Russell: Day 121
Jane’s wardrobe for The Paleface was designed by Mary Kay Dodson who started in fashion as a model for Irene and later worked briefly under Edith Head at Paramount. She later moved to New York to star her own clothing line and counted Jane among her customers.
Art Appreciation
Year of Jane Russell: Day 120
Here’s our Jane fully made up as Calamity Jane for The Paleface as she admires a set illustration piece for the film. Jane was known to dabble in painting in her spare time.
The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship
Year of Jane Russell: Day 119
The Paleface was the first time Jane worked with stand-in Carmen Nisbet Cabeen. She remained Jane’s stand-in for the bulk of the actress’ career and they became life-long friends and prayer partners.
A Saved Career
Year of Jane Russell: Day 118
Jane loved making The Paleface and considered it a highlight. After such a weird, slow start as a motion picture actress, she later said of The Paleface, “I probably would have died if I hadn’t made this picture, career wise.”
Paleface Production
Year of Jane Russell: Day 117
After experiencing the extended multi-director film shoots on The Outlaw and Young Widow, Jane was amazed by the ease of production on The Paleface. “I thought I’d died and gone to heaven,” Jane later said of making the film.
Calamity “Stoneface” Jane
Year of Jane Russell: Day 116
For the role of Calamity Jane in The Paleface, Jane was srequired to play straight to Bob Hope’s “Painless Potter.” She drew inspiration from husband Robert Waterfield whose often serious countenance earned him the nickname “Stoneface.”
Buttons and Bows
Year of Jane Russell: Day 115
The Paleface featured the hit song “Buttons and Bows,” by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans. Jane doesn’t perform it in the film, but she was invited to sing it at the 1949 Academy Awards, where it received the Oscar for Best Original Song.
Jane and Bob in “The Paleface”
Year of Jane Russell: Day 114
When Bob Hope was notified that Jane was going to be his costar in The Paleface, he reportedly quipped, “That’s like punishing a rabbit by putting him in a lettuce patch.”
Jane Lands The Paleface
Year of Jane Russell: Day 113
In 1947, Jane’s sputtering film career was passed a life preserver when she was cast opposite Bob Hope in The Paleface which was released the following year.