The Court Jester (1955) User Reviews

The review that is true

[BrandtSponseller · 9/10 · 8 July 2005]

Set in an era similar to Arthurian England, The Court Jester features a questionable king, Roderick I (Cecil Parker), who has taken over by killing off all of his opposition. He's working on building alliances between the most important, powerful and aristocratic families in his kingdom, including Sir Ravenhurst (Basil Rathbone); this will help build a trustworthy legitimizing base. His plans include trying to marry his off his daughter, Princess Gwendolyn (Angela Lansbury), to the gruff Sir Griswold (Robert Middleton)--a scheme she firmly opposes. However, Roderick's men overlooked an infant of the otherwise massacred competing royal family. The infant, whom many in the kingdom would believe to be the rightful heir to the throne, is being looked after by the "Black Fox" (Edward Ashley). The Black Fox leads a motley crew; they live in the forest and bear some similarity to Robin Hood and his merry men. One of the Black Fox's men is Hubert Hawkins (Danny Kaye). After running into a court jester named Giacomo (John Carradine), Hawkins and Maid Jean (Glynis Johns) end up in a scheme to infiltrate Roderick's castle and give the Black Fox's men access for a coup.

Although you cannot tell from my accounting of the premise above, The Court Jester is a comedy, and a very funny one at that. However, it does have a fairly complex plot in its early stages--all of the above is relayed within the first 10 – 15 minutes. This is a slow burner, but as such, the last hour at least is a very solid 10. It's unfortunate that a few minor flaws in the earlier sections of the film (including the complicated plot) caused me to rate The Court Jester as a 9 instead. The last half is so incredible that I wanted to give the film a 10 instead; perhaps on subsequent viewings (this is only the second time I've seen the film; the first was many years ago) the opening sections will work better for me.

As one of the earliest "VistaVision" films, The Court Jester looks gorgeous. It is full of lush, extremely saturated color. The few panoramic landscape shots are stunning and almost surreal. Most of the film is set within Roderick's castle, however, which is no less attractive visually. Producers/directors/writers Melvin Frank and Norman Panama and their crew certainly got the period setting right. The Court Jester is just as authentic feeling as Knights of the Round Table (1953) or The Black Knight (1954), both part of a popular trend of the era of Arthurian and related films, leading to this satire.

The cast is excellent, even if some members such severely underused, such as Carradine and to an extent Rathbone. Of course, The Court Jester is really a showcase for Kaye's considerable and diverse talents. Kaye was adept at quickly changing characters, as in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947), and gets to put that skill to great use here, first in disguises, then as the jester, and most importantly, as a hypnotized pawn in a number of "games". Princess Gwendolyn's matron, Griselda (Mildred Natwick), finds cause to put Hawkins under a spell to make him fall in love with the Princess, making a finger snap the cue for his hypnotic transitions. This leads to a hilarious extended sequence where different characters are interacting with Hawkins for different covert ends--some fueled by mistaken identity--and continually snapping their fingers. Kaye as Hawkins as Giacomo has to keep toggling back and forth between two personalities, neither of which knows about the other. Meanwhile, complicated plans are being made which he is expected to follow. Even funnier is that despite himself, he basically manages to follow the plans.

It's a bit silly, but the humor in The Court Jester is all about silliness--it's appropriate for the titular role and more importantly, it's just plain funny. From the finger snapping sequence through the end of the film is one long build up with increasingly outrageous situations, until we finally arrive at pandemonium, complete with tens of acrobatic midgets battling a cadre of knights in a scene remarkably prescient of the anarchic screwball comedies of the latter half of the 1960s.

Kaye's vocal talents are also put to considerable use, both in songs and in rapid-fire, sometimes nonsensical alliterative rhymes. There are a number of very famous--and rightfully so--instances of the latter throughout the film including the "vessel with the pestle/chalice from the palace/flagon with the dragon/brew that is true" bit, which has oddly taken on a life of its own outside of the film, and which like all of the comedy throughout the film slowly builds up to a hilarious climax.

Kaye also does a lot of physical comedy, including my favorite bit--the super-fast knighting ceremony, and he even does a bit of mostly serious fencing with Rathbone. Watching The Court Jester can only make one lament that Kaye was not featured in even more films; he was extremely talented and very unique.

The Court Jester has influenced many later films, including such diverse works as Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) (and by extension Jabberwocky, 1977) and A Kid in King Arthur's Court (1995). But influence or not, this is a masterpiece despite its flaws, and should be viewed at least once by any cinephile worth his or her weight in purple pimpernels.

Never Outfoxed

[skallisjr · 9/10 · 24 April 2005]

IMHO, one of the top funny films. I saw it when it first came out, and we enjoyed it so much, we nearly bought tickets to see it again, right away.

There are so many high points in the film that listing them would put me over quota. A close relative who's nearly humorless to this day says, "Get it? Got it. Good," when she wants to underscore a point she's made. Once in a while, I'll mutter "The vessel with the pestle..." when things seem to be getting a tad complicated. The film has impacted me significantly.

The lyrics of some of the sings are really good. "The Malajusted Jester" seems like something out of a Gilbert & Sullivan operetta.

This is doubtless Danny Kaye's comedic magnum opus. It isn't a "must see" (what is?) but if you haven't seen it, you're missing a lot.

More Than Classic Satire; Perhaps Kaye's Best; a Perennial Favorite

[silverscreen888 · 7/10 · 17 June 2005]

If this satire of the Middle Ages and hereditary monarchs is not the most hilarious film ever made, in most viewers' books it stands right next to their favorite. The inspired casting of Danny Kaye as a performer who wants to be a patriotic fighter, gorgeous Glynis Johns as his stern captain, Angela Lansbury as a love-prone princess, Cecil Parker as her lascivious and bumbling evil father (a usurper of course), Basil Rathbone and Michael Pate as his co-conspirators and Robert Middleton and Mildred Natwick as roadblocks to the restoring of a baby as the rightful king of the realm guaranteed a film filled with well-acted fun. The script and direction of this colorful, vivid and side-splitting film were delivered by Norman Panama and Melvin Frank. Mention should also be made of the gorgeous Edith Head costumes, the art direction, sets makeup, hairstyling and blocking and the songs by Sylvia Fine, Sammy Cahn and others. Other stalwarts in the cast who do very well also include Alan Napier, Herbert Rudley, Noel Drayton, Edwin Astley as The Black Fox (Kaye's boss), John Carradine and more. Millions to this day are still laughing about: the "An Unemployed Jester" song; the switches from hypnotized bumbler to dashing super-swordsman that afflict Kaye in the course of his penetration of the royal stronghold; the classic duel Kaye fights with with the Gruesome Griswold (Middleton); the switching of poisoned drinks that occurs just before the duel with everyone repeating "The poison is in the vessel with the pestle, etc."; and the high-speed knighting of Kaye that precedes both these scenes. The climax of the film features a battle between midgets and foresters doing combats against the usurper's misguided loyalists, and Kaye's exhibiting the royal birthmark on the baby king's bottom to prove his right to lie on the throne. What ends with a song called "Life Couldn't Possibly Better Be" and begins with "You'll Never Outfox the Fox" has by that scene traversed areas of hilarity few have ever ventured upon, or even dreamed to reach. A key to the film lies in the comedic use of Mildred Natwick as a spell-casting Svengali exercising power over the Princess (lansbury) who is besotted with the idea of romantic love; half the goings on are due to her machinations that complicate an already astonishing situation. The rest is made possible by Kaye's impersonating the jester Giacomo (Carradine) who has been sent for by the bad men to do in the opposition. The colors are gorgeous in this film, the acting far above average, and Kaye is at his absolute best whether doing faked accents, signing a lullaby to the boy king or proving that courage is not a matter of muscles at all. This is a movie to fetch out of the vault on any holiday, or for any other excuse. With a bit more care at cutting down Sylvia Fine's vaudeville- type material for Kaye, the movie might have been as appreciated when it was first released as it is now.

It Could Not Possibly Better Be

[jhclues · 10/10 · 16 December 2001]

Yea, verily, yea; in days of old when knights were bold, and intrigue was a staple of the Royal Court, there were Utopias usurped, kings killed, querulous queens, knights knighted, dukes daily doing whatever it is dukes do and ladies forever in waiting. And in every court there was also a fool; a merrymaker, an entertainer, one with access to the royal ear and often a doer of different kinds of deeds, such as the one portrayed in `The Court Jester,' directed by Norman Panama and Melvin Frank. Danny Kaye stars as Hubert Hawkins, an entertainer by trade, who due to circumstances within his control becomes jester to the court of King Roderick I (Cecil Parker). Roderick, however, is a false king, sitting upon the throne in the stead of the real heir to the throne, still a baby, who bears the undisputable truth of his birthright in a birthmark of a scarlet pimpernel upon his backside. And yea, verily, yea, the intrigue mounts as Sir Ravenhurst (Basil Rathbone) jostles for position within the court, while a rebel known as the `Black Fox' (Edward Ashley), along with his beautiful daughter, the Maid Jean (Glynis Johns), and his band of merry men attempt to install the true king to the throne. While in the midst of it all, there is Hawkins, now known as `Giacomo, king of jesters, and jester of kings,' proving beyond the shadow of a doubt that in the end, it is laughter that is, indeed, the Ruler of any court.

Co-directors Frank and Panama deliver a real gem with this delightful comedy, bringing the story to life with humor, music and song, and creating some truly memorable moments along the way. From the `Initiation of Knighthood' sequence, to the famous tongue-twisting `The vessel with the pestle has the pellet with the poison, the chalice from the palace has the brew that is true' scene, to Kaye crooning a lullaby to a baby, this film is rich with humor and song that has an innocence and purity about it that makes it readily accessible to any audience. This is humor that runs deep; humor with a heart and soul you'll want to embrace. Simply put, this is terrific stuff; the timing-- especially by Kaye-- is impeccable, the delivery is perfect and the jokes work.

The real key to the success of this movie is, of course, the multi-talented Danny Kaye, who sings, dances, jokes and mugs his way through one of his best performances ever. And what makes Kaye so good, and so special, is the `spirit' of his performance, the sense of joy he emanates while proffering his talents. He gives so completely of himself, so entirely and so honestly, that he's just an absolute joy to watch. You'll never find a false moment in his performance either, and that's something that is discernible in his eyes; it's that twinkle of laughter and love in his eyes that separates and elevates him from so many other performers, in whom you will often find a pretentiousness upon close scrutiny. That's something you will never find in Danny Kaye, a consummate entertainer who obviously loved what he was doing, and was able to successfully convey it to his audience. He was unquestionably unique; a true one-of-a-kind.

The lovely Glynis Johns brings beauty and vitality to her role of Jean, acquitting herself quite nicely alongside Kaye's abundant antics. Though not a part that stretched the limits of her considerable talents, she creates a credible character and most importantly, she makes a nice fit with her co-star and lends a beguiling presence to the film. A nice bit of work by Johns, who some eight years later would create one of her most memorable roles, that of Mrs. Banks in `Mary Poppins.'

Basil Rathbone is a delight, as well, in a role that is essentially a parody of others he's played, specifically his Sir Guy of Gisbourne in `The Adventures of Robin Hood,' opposite Errol Flynn. The success of his Ravenhurst, however, lies in the fact that he plays him straight, without a hint of the humor or parody inherent in the character as presented within the context of this story. It goes without saying that he is perfectly cast here, and his swashbuckling duel with a bewitched Giacomo is a lark.

Also turning in a notable performance, in a role that is minor, yet integral to the story, is Angela Lansbury, as the king's daughter, Princess Gwendolyn. It's a part that demands little more of her than being beautiful and charming, and she succeeds on both accounts. Her screen time is fairly limited, but it's enough to leave an impression, and a good one at that.

The supporting cast includes Mildred Natwick (Griselda), Robert Middleton (Sir Griswold), Michael Pate (Sir Locksley), Herbert Rudley (Captain of the Guard), Noel Drayton (Fergus), John Carradine (Giacomo), Alan Napier (Sir Brockhurst), Lewis Martin (Sir Finsdale) and Patrick Aherne (Sir Pertwee). A fun, feel-good film, `The Court Jester' is a virtual showcase for the versatile Danny Kaye, and he responds with an unforgettable performance. This is true comedy at it's best, and proves overwhelmingly that a movie doesn't have to be hip, crude, rude or vulgar to inspire real laughter. Most of the `comedies' produced in the past decade or so wouldn't even make it to the bottom of the chart this one tops. For some real laughs, just call for a Kaye comedy: Completely conducive to contemporary conviviality. Get it? Got it. Good. Yea, verily, yea. It's the magic of the movies. I rate this one 10/10

A comedy classic – Get it? Got it. Good.

[bob the moo · 14 September 2001]

Danny Kaye is excellent in this old fashioned family comedy mixed some musical numbers, slapstick humour with wonderful wit and wordplay. The story moves along regardless of the fact that some events occur just to set up some of the jokes, and also some of the editing effects in one scene are really dated! But you're laughing so much that it doesn't matter.

This is a wonderfully old fashioned family comedy that despite it's age still feels freshly funny and acts to show us how crude and ham-fisted comedies such as American Pie etc really are.

Go and find this and watch it today!…..Get it? Got it! Good!

Charming medieval comedy of errors

[dfranzen70 · 9/10 · 1 March 2000]

Not much goes wrong with this movie, a delightful spoof of action-costumer movies. Danny Kaye is an absolute delight as the young rebel impersonating a jester in the court of an evil king (although in this film, his evil is blunted) but mistaken for a hit man. There have been few performers who could light up an entire scene by their mere presence, and Kaye is one of them. Who in this day could do what he did? He could sing, he could dance, and he could make you laugh so hard you could only take liquids the next day. And in this movie he gets a chance to do all three, plus do some swashbuckling! Also along for the ride are the elegant Glynis Johns, who plays his superior in the slight rebel force trying to return the throne to its rightful owner, and Basil Rathbone, who could play the clever, suave cad as good as anyone in movies. Film buffs may remember Rathbone's turn as the Sheriff of Nottingham in 1939's "The Adventures of Robin Hood," which starred the eminent Errol Flynn. In that movie, Rathbone has a memorable sword-fighting scene with Flynn; here, that scene is copied, with Kaye a hilarious stand-in for Errol. This movie is a true delight, a must-see for all ages.

"Get it?" "Got it!" "Good!"

[theowinthrop · 10/10 · 1 May 2006]

This film was Danny Kaye's biggest success as a musical comedy. Set in Medieval England, it followed the career of would-be "Robin Hood" type, Hubert Hawkins, who is one of the peasants determined to overturn the tyrannical regime of King Roderick (Cecil Parker) and Lord Ravenhurst (Basil Rathbone). Hubert is a master (?) of disguise - witness his impersonation of "Fotheringay, the wine merchant" who has an annoying catarrh. He replaces a visiting court jester from Italy named Giacomo (John Carridine, regretfully in a cameo performance only). Using this role he invades the castle of King Roderick, not realizing that Giacomo is not only Italy's greatest jester, but it's leading hired assassin - and that Ravenhurst has sent for him to get rid of his competition to solidify his political power and to aim at marrying the Princess Gwendolyn (Angela Lansbury). Hubert's girlfriend Maid Jean (Glynis Johns) is on hand to try to assist, only to watch as Princess Gwendolyn finds the "jester" attractive - and when Hubert is hypnotized by Gwendolyn's sorceress maid Griselda (Mildred Natwick) he becomes - well a dashing swordsman and adventurer, like the real Giacomo...so long as he does not snap his fingers! Kaye had some delightful dialog, particularly with Rathbone as straight man - such as the alliteration in the "Summary Line" between them, and in their mad duel scene, where a briefly arrogant Hubert calls Ravenhurst a "Ratcatcher". Of course the best bits are the description of the (apparently) mutually fatal confrontation of the Doge of Venice, the Duke, and the Dutchess, and the business of the pellet with the poison in the various goblet, flagons, and chalices (which eventually Kaye shares with an equally tongue tied Sir Griswold (Robert Middleton). Parker, a usurper who seems ruthless like Richard III but is far more easily befuddled (watch how Johns handles him when he makes a play for her), is quite amusing. The film never flags (a problem with some of Kaye's comedies at times), and deserves it's position as his best work.

Danny Kaye showcase has "the brew that is true"...

[Doylenf · 8/10 · 23 October 2005]

If you're a DANNY KAYE fan, you can't afford to miss this one.

The highlight for me is the "vessel with the pestle" tongue-twisting routine that he carries off to perfection in his own inimitable way. That is, until it switches to "the flagon with the dragon", at which point everyone is rightfully confused.

So much plotting, I won't begin to describe this medieval romp. Just sit back and enjoy while Angela Lansbury (looking very radiant and beautiful) as Gwendolyn, Mildred Natwick as Griselda and Basil Rathbone as Ravenhurst (reprising his role as Sir Guy of Gisbourne in THE ADV. OF ROBIN HOOD) all try to play it straight as Kaye goes into one dizzy sequence after another.

The technicolor photography is gorgeous to behold, the sets are jaw-droppingly expensive and thoroughly believable, and the lilting songs performed in clever style by Kaye and others more than compensate for any weaknesses. The final duel between Rathbone and Kaye, involving a spell that transforms Kaye into a super-swashbuckler at the snap of a finger, is extremely well staged for both comedy and excitement. Kaye proves his natural athletic grace and ability while Rathbone makes us yearn for the days when he was dueling Errol Flynn at Nottingham castle.

All in all, a thorough delight from beginning to end. Glynis Johns is charming as Kaye's sweetheart but the real surprise is seeing a youthful Angela Lansbury looking like a storybook heroine with her flowing blond hair and blue eyes radiant in technicolor.

The whole family should enjoy this one!

Danny Kaye Jests and Jousts

[evanston_dad · 7/10 · 17 March 2008]

A supremely wacky and delightful Danny Kaye comedy.

Kaye plays a court jester impostor who infiltrates a king's court in order to put in motion a plan hatched by a scrappy band of Robin Hoodesque rebels who want to depose the tyrant and put the rightful heir on the throne. Unfortunately for Kaye, but fortunately for us, the plot is not as simple as it sounds, not when a traitor in the king's court (Basil Rathbone) has formulated his own plan to have the jester assassinate the king, and especially not when the king's saucy daughter (Angela Lansbury) has set her sights on marrying the jester as a way to avoid having to marry a rival king with whom her father wants to forge an alliance.

Kaye is absolutely hysterical, whether he's singing and dancing a big production number with a band of midgets or jousting with a rival knight while wearing a magnetized suit of armor. Glynis Johns plays a member of Kaye's merry band with whom Kaye has fallen in love, and Mildred Natwick plays the witch Griselda, who at one point tries to help Kaye poison a rival by explaining that the pellet with the poison is in the vessel with the pestle while the chalice with the palace has the brew that is true.

Grade: A-

One of my top 5 favourite movies of all time. 10/10

[lizziebeth-1 · 10/10 · 20 September 2002]

The Court Jester (1956) is a superlative, priceless treasure of the 20th Century. This classic tale combines several grand legends such as Robin Hood, Giacomo Casanova, and Dartagnan's Daughter with the baser nobility of a little baby's royal birthmark. (Once seen, it is impossible to forget the repetitive flipping scene used to obtain more converts.)

Everyone should by now know the plot: once the hapless carnival entertainer Hubert Hawkins (Danny Kaye) assumes the identity of the new court jester Giacomo (who happens to well deserve his reputation as a skillful assassin), Hawkins is thrown into one court intrigue after another, each beyond his control or understanding.

As the socially powerless court jester, Hawkins has to survive not only accidents and royal petulance, but deliberate attempts at his execution as part of court intrigue.

So I won't waste time recapping all that.

Instead, I'd like to mention the still potent generation gap politics and gender politics that routinely consumed the weakest of medieval society, sometimes court jesters, or often just women.

King Roderick has a rather cynical and self-possessed daughter in Princess Gwendolyn (a shockingly young and beautiful Angela Lansbury), whom he nastily views as more a threat than a loved one, and their war of wills is hilarious. But he needs her alive because he has no male heir, so Gwendolyn habitually threatens suicide whenever she doesn't want to do something: "Harm one hair on her head, and I throw myself from the highest turret", she declares when her father tries to get rid of Gwendolyn's nanny ("the witch").

King Roderick schemes to get his daughter out of the castle by marrying her off "way up North" to the "grim and grizzly, gruesome Griswold". Of course, she has no intention of going.

"I am the King. If it pleases me, you will marry Griswold!", he tries to command her. " --If it pleases you so much, you marry Griswold!" retorts his witty daughter.

Gwendolyn has a nanny/personal confidant in Grizelda (Mildred Natwick), the "witch", who has raised the Princess to believe in more girlish romance, partly to soften up Gwendolyn's belligerent cynicism. Unfortunately, with such a brutal horse-trade as her proposed marriage to Sir Griswold of Macklewein, girlish fancies of romance are starting to fly out the window of Gwendolyn's heart and she matter-of-factly threatens Grizelda with a dirk (a small dagger) if Grizelda can't arrange something better.

Desperate to save both their lives, Grizelda (look, she ain't no witch. She has pills and potions. That makes her a chemist) pulls out every trick in the book. She first proffers the court jester as a romantic alternative to the princess, and then mesmerizes him to make sure he courts the princess as ardently as the princess wants. Grizelda's hypnosis of "Giacomo" imbues him with super-confidence, so he can fight for his life as well as Gwendolyn's hand.

Mildred Natwick obviously had a terrific time pretend-hypnotizing Danny Kaye. "Master, you can snap me in and snap me out", he drools at her. Later, Kaye's impeccable talents at physical comedy have him jerking to every unconscious snap of everyone's fingers.

However, Hawkins is already in love with the only woman from their guerilla group back in the forest, Capt. Jean aka Maid Jean (Glynis Johns), who is, of course, beautiful and smart, and could whip his narrow butt in a heartbeat, if only she didn't LIKE him so much. Before they both arrived through different routes at King Roderick's castle, they had one romantic night together in an emergency hut as they sheltered the true heir to the throne. As they talk of politics and regret about the loss of the throne in the hut, she ends up seducing herself (nice to see how that works) as she reflects that "my father made me everything I am". To his credit, Hawkins reassures her that her father "does beautiful work", in a very satisfying gender role reversal for 1956. Sadly there is not enough chemistry between them, and there should've been, because the rest of the scene is very honest.

The homage scenes to The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), the Errol Flynn classic with the much younger Basil Rathbone, are real gifts. They include the procession of robed monks secreting reinforcements, and Rathbone doing himself in the earlier role.

But my personal favourite is the spoof scene of Errol Flynn accidentally cutting through one humungous candle in the 1938 film. In The Court Jester (1956), Danny Kaye, fencing *far too well* against Rathbone in his hypnosis-fortified guise, deliberately cuts a swath through an entire row of candles without any apparent effect-until he breathes on the candles, and they all drop off their candlesticks on cue. This Court Jester scene has stuck in my mind from childhood.

The entire supporting cast is terrific. Cecil Parker's King Roderick eventually becomes quite personable as he relaxes into his regal position and quips with "Giacomo", and he's very funny with Maid Jean as a lecherous royal repelled by her clever claim to having an STD! WOW, very contemporary for 1956!

I really love all the musical numbers as well. They are so organic (well integrated) that they provide a deeper understanding of the plot. Kaye's incredible, once-in-a-lifetime-find wordsmith-wife Sylvia Fine crafted all his tongue-twisters, including these songs. Kaye just flips them off as if they were nothing.

It's a shame we don't see more jester's hard knocks to establish the jester milieu. Nevertheless, I always get blown away by the final lyrics of The Maladjusted Jester: "...For a jester's chief employment is to kill himself for your enjoyment/ And a jester unemployed is nobody's fool!"

There is a lot of political commentary in this alleged piece of fluff.

Addictively quotable. No more quibbling: 10/10.

An absolutely delightful movie for all ages

[viswanat-1 · 6/10 · 30 December 2006]

I saw this movie when it was released in a large air conditioned movie theatre(cinema house) in India. I was about 15 years of age and was a big time Hollywood fan. When most of my class mates went to see dance and song numbers produced by Bollywood, I would wait till Sunday to see one show presentations of Hollywood hits. The Court Jester was one of these and I rented it and viewed it with my wife last night; after nearly 50 years. I remembered the extraordinary skill Danny Kaye showed as a swashbuckler and wanted to see it again. I have seen Basil Rathbone in the Adventures of Robin Hood, and knew Basil was the best swordsman in cinema history but Danny made the fencing sequence more thrilling with his constant switch from a klutz to an adroit at the twinkling of an eye.I especially like the one minute sequence when Danny fences Basil while sipping wine with his left hand. What a delight. Those who like to see fencing skills of old Hollywood movie stars should see The Prisnoner of Zenda and Scaramouche, where Stewart Granger did wonders with the foil fence. He was trained by an Olympic fencing champ and practiced so hard for these films, he wore out several pairs of fencing shoes.

"What Begins As A Scary Tale, Ends As A Fairy Tale, That's Why Life Couldn't Possibly Better Be"

[bkoganbing · 9/10 · 24 September 2007]

The Court Jester finds Danny Kaye in Merry Old England fighting in his own small way the usurpation of the throne by Cecil Parker. The real king is an infant who can only be identified by the royal birthmark that is on all the royal family. It's the purple pimpernel and it's on a spot where the sun doesn't normally shine.

His contribution is small, as small as that group of traveling midget acrobats Kaye travels with. But the leader of the resistance the Black Fox played by Edward Ashley needs entertainment for the troops. Kaye and the small tumblers provide a kind of medieval USO show for them.

But through a bizarre set of circumstances Kaye, his true love Glynis Johns and the royal babe find themselves in Parker's well guarded palace.

It'a a good thing there were a lot of conflicting agendas working at that time. Cecil Parker who likes being king, especially for the perks it provides like Glynis Johns if he can seduce her. There's prime minister Basil Rathbone who's hired the real Giacomo the Jester more for his ability as an assassin. Giacomo, played by John Carradine had the misfortune to be waylaid by Kaye and Johns on the way to the palace.

And we can't forget Parker's daughter Angela Lansbury who does not want to marry roughneck knight Robert Middleton who really does want to marry her. And of course sorceress Mildred Natwick who keeps the bumbling Kaye alive with hypnotism at critical moments.

With all that to consider The Court Jester turns into one of Danny Kaye's funniest comedies. It borrows from a lot of films, The Adventures of Robin Hood being one, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court being another. And that famous Danny Kaye routine about the poisonous vessel with that elusive pestle was taken from Bob Hope's 1939 movie Never Say Die.

Well no one claimed The Court Jester was original, it's just very funny. As the song says it does end like a fairy tale, though I do wonder just what became of Angela Lansbury. You might wonder that too, when you see the film.

Kiss the Royal Rump!

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 26 January 2013]

It's the one with the purple pimpernel on it. Yes, this is the musical spoof of swashbuckling epics with totally tongue twisting lyrics that will have you in stitches. An evil usurper to the throne has killed off all of the members of a royal family-all except one, a baby boy who can only be identified by a birthmark on his derrière, and this has all the King's horses and all the King's men pulling down the diapers of every tot in the kingdom trying to find him. With them all on a rampage, a mysterious hero named the black fox makes it his duty to protect the little boy and conquer the king so the rightful heir can take over. A carnival entertainer (Danny Kaye) poses as a famous court jester to get inside the palace in order to assist the fox and attracts the attention of the usurper's princess daughter (Angela Lansbury) even though he is in love with the right-hand man (oops, woman) of the black fox.

Thanks to the wacky mind of Kaye's real-life wife Sylvia Fine, Kaye gets a series of patter songs and rhythmic dialog that will have you in stitches. Lovely Glynis Johns plays the black fox's captain that poses as a lady in waiting to assist Kaye in his quest while Lansbury keeps threatening her witch-like companion (Mildred Natwick) with death unless she can prevent Kaye from being killed by her evil father. Other memorable character actors in this include Basil Rathbone as the main villain, John Carradine as the real jester, and Edward Ashley as the black fox. The tongue-in-cheek attitude of its players make this a pleasing family film that both children and adults can enjoy, even those who find swashbuckler movies to be predictable and pedestrian.

Danny Kaye is most of the show here, his over-the-top performance totally appropriate. Every member of the cast has moments to shine, particularly Natwick with her famous "pessle with the vessel/Chalice with the palace/flagon with the dragon" speech that twists the tongue of practically everybody trying to repeat it. Something tells me that little kiddies watching this will trip over their tongues as well in trying to repeat the hysterical limerick.

Glynis Johns, best remembered for "Mary Poppins" and Broadway's "A Little Night Music" (and much later prickly old ladies of imperious natures) is a lovely heroine, her lemon-puckered voice a pleasure to the ear. Lansbury ("Murder She Wrote", "Bednobs and Broomsticks", and ironically, Broadway's "A Little Night Music") isn't given an opportunity to shine with rather ordinary material, but it is obvious that she is having fun with this part that could have become a one-dimensional villainess had she not infused the character with a romantic nature. Rathbone isn't playing his typical villain; There's a lot of humor to be found in his cad determined to take over the country once he rids the kingdom of the usurper's enemies. Kaye takes over where Errol Flynn fought Rathbone in "The Adventures of Robin Hood" in a hysterically funny fencing sequence.

The songs are not anything remarkable, but a dance number at the beginning featuring a group of little people billed Hermine's Midgets is well choreographed. This is a film that can be seen over and over again with each tongue-twisting line of the screenplay tempting the viewer to rewind so they too can remember where the pellet with the poison has been placed.

For dungeon dwellers

[onepotato2 · 1/10 · 15 March 2009]

This film looks crisp. The sets are beautiful. The matte work that allows the castle set to appear like it's sitting over Pacific Coast cliffs are nice. The film definitely cost money. And I was charmed by the clever "Outfox the Fox" number which I originally saw on YouTube. People's raves made me check it out.

But those things are all it has going for it. The characters have nothing to do, and the script is a half-effort. The comedy is extremely weak, composed of fleeting gags that are bloodlessly run through their paces without having been mined for any potential. It's like a first draft with place-holders for the jokes. "The chalice from palace" shtick isn't funny even once and just pointlessly kills time until even the characters reject it, so they can move on. I can see why you might enjoy it with your kids, but it's pretty poor for mature viewers.

My father absolutely hated Danny Kaye, and his whole generation responded with no more than tepid interest. Which meant there was no trick to missing his entire output as I was growing up. T.C.J. is not godawful. It doesn't make me wince in pain, but this is a lot of foolishness with little or no comic substance. There's a dumb finger-snapping gag. There's Kaye acting like a putz. There's 300 dumb repetitions of "Get it?" "Got it!" "Good!" This is not comedy gold, more like comedy tin. I may have laughed twice.

I love this movie!

[ShariRN3 · 26 March 2004]

I have seen this movie literally hundreds of times but everytime it is on TV, I sit and watch it again. This is a sweet, funny, light-hearted movie that the entire family can watch--no gratuitous sex, no four-letter words--just fun. They don't make them like this anymore. I still laugh about the "pistol with the poison is in the flagon with the dragon, the chalice from the palace has the brew that is true". Danny Kaye is a genius, no one can utter tongue twisters like he can. This movie also features a very young and beautiful Angela Lansbury (for you "Murder, She Wrote" fans). Of course there is Basil Rathbone, who is of course, suave and dashing. What more could you ask of a movie? Watch this movie--you'll be glad you did.

Such a delightful medieval spoof and film, featuring Danny Kaye in one of his best performances

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 23 August 2015]

Danny Kaye fans will be absolutely blown away by his performance here in The Court Jester. It is one of his all-time best, and showcases all the skills that he excelled at so well and better than most of his other roles, and this is coming from an actor who was versatile and enormously talented. He has a lovely controlled voice, he is very light on his feet as a dancer and has impeccable comic timing while making his character endearing rather than making him a total clown.

He is wonderfully supported by an elegant, suave and suitably repellent Basil Rathbone as the film's villain (who plays it straight, which despite the film's silly nature contrasts very well), a hilarious Mildred Natwick and Glynnis Johns and Angela Lansbury who both have seldom looked more luminous and like Rathbone play it straight too while also being very charming and bagging just as many laughs as Kaye. John Carradine is underused but is effective too in his role, and Cecil Parker fares the same as Johns and Lansbury in that he manages to get a lot of great lines and humour while not getting over-silly or goofy. They are advantaged hugely by a deliciously witty and hysterically funny script, that is a non-stop laugh riot and filled with inspired wordplay and endearingly written characters that are essentially spoofs of pre-existing characters (Rathbone is like a Guy of Gisborne sort of character) and with every ounce of charm and spark.

The story could have easily been tired (comedy of errors is not a new concept, and has had variable results when executed on film) and admittedly it's a bit sketchy, but that doesn't matter because the time just flies by, the spoofs are so much fun to spot and very cleverly incorporated and it's just so greatly entertaining, good-natured and warm-hearted. The Court Jester's most memorable scenes have to be the sword fight duel which is so professionally choreographed, on par with the likes of The Adventures of Robin Hood as one of the greatest and brilliantly wild (how Kaye and Rathbone managed to keep a straight face when doing that particular take is amazing, reportedly Rathbone kept getting convulsed with laughter before) and most notably the classic "vessel-with-the-pestle" routine, which is one the funniest things Kaye ever did and is reason alone to see The Court Jester.

The Court Jester looks absolutely beautiful, with ravishing colours, lavish costumes and sets that give off a real sense of the medieval period and meticulously loving colour photography, while the film is superbly directed. The small number of songs, eight in total, fare memorably and have sweet melodies and extremely clever and witty lyrics (the same quality as the script-writing), Life Could Not Better Be and Outfox the Fox set up the characters nicely too without being heavy in exposition.

In conclusion, The Court Jester is simply a delightful film which will be of no disappointment whatsoever to Danny Kaye fans. 10/10 Bethany Cox

This is one of, if not the, all time best comedy films ever made!

[jim-burleigh · 10/10 · 23 November 2005]

This is, in my opinion, the best comedy film ever made. Yes that is saying a lot, but this film has everything. A GREAT cast! Danny Kaye is at his best in this movie and his physical comedy is unmatched in American cinema. You have a young Angela Landbury in a truly great role and she plays it perfectly. Glynis Johns, who later played Mrs. Banks in "Mary Poppins", is delightful. Basil Rathbone is wonderful in the role of the "heavy" and plays the role as a perfect counter to the comedic talents of Kaye. Alan Napier - who later played Alfred, the butler in the 1960's television show "Batman" is another example of the amazing talent that was assembled for this picture. High comedy for the entire family and not one thing that I was uncomfortable with my 6 year old daughter seeing or hearing. An example of the kind of family friendly comedic adventure that would probably never get made in today's Hollywood.

I don't give out a lot of 10s, but this is a great film

[A-Ron-2 · 10/10 · 2 August 2001]

What a fantastic spoof... a spoof that does not forget how great the

material is that it is spoofing. I love The Court Jester, BECAUSE it

takes itself (and its source material) so seriously. This film is an

often overlooked gem that skewers Robin Hood and the conventions of the adventure film in a way that few other movies

are able to do (perhaps Blazing Saddles)... and it does it with such

earnestness that one cannot help but to laugh...

Not only is a great spoof, it is a great film in its own right... and a

great family movie. Danny Kaye and Basil Rathbone turn in

fantastic performances... and the midget fight at the end is

fantastic...

Also, where many spoofs fail, it maintained the quality of it source

material... whereas The Adventures of Robin Hood had the best

sword-fight, the Court Jester spared no expense and gave us the

funniest.

Not anybodys fool

[kosmasp · 9/10 · 26 December 2020]

Danny Kaye - if you don't know him, now you do! What a tour de force - what a powerhouse performance! And the comedy works as fine as it did back then. Sometimes I hoped for a bit more breathing room on some jokes, but that's what you get here: rapid fire dialog and a lot of silliness. Don't be fooled though (no pun intended), because it can and does go dark at times. The "buy flowers for the widows" exchange is both funny and powerful at the same time.

The plot is easy to follow, the dialog sometimes not so much. And not just because of the mentioned breathing room, but with a joke that has wordplay in it ... chastice in the malice .. it's probably something different, but that was quite the tongue twisting thing to watch. I can only imagine how fun that must have been in the rehearsals or maybe even some outtakes? A very fine movie overall that may play in the middle ages, has songs in it (not as too many, so I wouldn't qualify it as a musical) and is overall just mad in all the good ways there are

Funny Danny Kaye.

[rmax304823 · 6/10 · 10 February 2008]

Danny Kaye made a couple of amusing comedies in the 1940s. He always played himself, the bumbling, stuttering coward. He's the same here, although the setting is now Medieval England and his character is mistaken for a court jester or, at times, for a Robin Hood figure called The Black Fox. The plot is too complicated and dumb to be detailed, but the story is successful because of isolated, almost incidental, comic moments.

The writers -- Panama and Frank -- must have had a good time dreaming up some of the gags. They don't stem organically from the plot or the characters. Let me put it this way. "Some Like It Hot" is a comedy from beginning to end. It has continuity. What's funny about it grows out of situations that, seen in context, look inevitable. "The Court Jester" has, instead, amusing scenes that aren't really anything much more than skits.

There's no particular reason to introduce the hypnotic trance that transforms Kaye from a phony and a coward into a confidant warrior and passionate lover except that it's good for laughs. Ditto with the scenes of combat mortal. And WITHIN the combat scene, Kaye's armor happens to be struck by lightning and magnetized, leading to a few ludic incidents that are quickly thrown away when used up.

That doesn't mean it's not a funny movie, because it really is just about the equal of Kaye's best, although it comes late in his oeuvre. He's ten years older than he was at his peak but it hasn't affected his playing or his appearance. (There are several songs, but no gibberish.) Basil Rathbone, as Lord Ravenhurst, looks considerably more aged that he had when he played the same role with Errol Flynn on the other end of the swords. He's a less robust figure, and a comic movie wouldn't suit him if he weren't the hammy heavy, yet he's fit and dances around convincingly in his swordplay. Cecil Parker does well with his usual dithering persona. Glynnis Johns is magnificent, a tiny buxom girl with the biggest blue eyes in the business. Angela Lansbury tosses off her part with panache, as always. She's an extremely good actress.

If there are any clichés in the genre of medieval movies, you'll probably find them here. The battle between knights on horseback, with mace and chain; the good guys disguised as hooded monks; the desperate struggle to lower the drawbridge; the castle overrun by attacking midgets. Wait a minute. The castle overrun by attacking MIDGETS? Well, okay -- that's not exactly a perfect cliché, but if you've seen "Robin Hood" or "The Flame and the Arrow," you'll know what I mean.

Some of the scenes are quite amusing. The hurried marching of Kaye through the ceremony in which he is knighted. The chalice with the palace is the brew that is true. The kids ought to get a kick out of it, as mine did.

In days of yore when humour was literate...

[ianlouisiana · 9/10 · 6 November 2005]

Mr Kaye has disappeared off the radar to a large extent here in the U.K.,which is very sad because he had a huge following in the forties and fifties.Perhaps his humour does not appeal to today's audiences whose idea of subtlety is to wear FCUK sweatshirts. I find "The Court Jester a delight.Unlike some Danny Kaye movies it is an ensemble piece with other actors making vital contributions rather than just making up the numbers.And it is so wonderfully well written. "Art for Art's sake - money for Christ's sake" may have been a Hollywood motto in the fifties,but so was "Do you want it good or do you want it Wednesday?" and the producers of "The Court Jester obviously wanted it good. Today's comedies?"Meet the Fockers"?Subtle title or what? "An unemployed jester is nobody's fool".Genius. "Kiss my ass you sad mother******"We all fall about laughing at this? If somebody could rewrite "The Court Jester" as a comedy about an illiterate foul-mouthed crack addict with baggy trousers and his hat on back to front spitting homophobic gynophobic rap in mediaeval England they would clean up at the box office.Oh God,now I suppose somebody will.

Undeniably silly showcase of Danny Kaye's talents

[cricketbat · 7/10 · 5 November 2020]

The Court Jester is a fabulous showcase for Danny Kaye's talents, with witty dialogue, entertaining songs, and plenty of physical comedy. In addition, Glynis Johns & Angela Lansbury do a fantastic job making the ridiculous plot feel more believable. This movie is undeniably silly, but if you're in the mood for silly, this will definitely hit the spot.

Flagon with a Dragon

[wes-connors · 9/10 · 16 March 2008]

"The Court Jester" is an obvious film - it's witty, colorful, and adventurous. It not only works as fine example of the Medieval era film, but is also a spoof of the genre. Norman Panama and Melvin Frank wrote, produced, and directed; with brilliant style, and cohesiveness. Danny Kaye fits the title role like a glove; and, additional archetypal characterizations are highlighted by Basil Rathbone (as Sir Ravenhurst) and Mildred Natwick (as Griselda). The latter provides Mr. Kaye with the unforgettable advice: "The pellet with the poison's in the flagon with the dragon; the vessel with the pestle has the brew that is true." Just remember that.

********* The Court Jester (12/25/55) Norman Panama, Melvin Frank ~ Danny Kaye, Glynis Johns, Basil Rathbone

Fun 50s musical adventure

[parkerbcn · 7/10 · 2 July 2021]

A 50s musical adventure inscribed in the popular Swashbuckler subgenre, made with a big budget (photographed in Technicolor and in the expensive VistaVision format), that was a bomb at the box office at the time, but is now regarded as a classic. It starts with some excellent sung opening credits and it's quite fun all around; with some famous actors in the proceedings, like Basil Rathbone or Angela Lansbury, even when it's clearly a comedy vehicle for Danny Kaye.

I wanted to like it more than I did.

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 7 January 2020]

"The Court Jester" is a film that you'll love or you'll dislike--and it really all depends on what you think about Danny Kaye and his verbal humor. What I mean by verbal humor is his tongue-twisting patter...something you really cannot describe and which you need to hear for yourself to understand.

The story appears set in England, but they never say where the story is set and the names are not historical names from this country. When the tale begins, you learn that some time ago some usurper killed off the royal family and grabbed the throne for himself. However, somehow a baby escaped and the resistance want to return the baby to the throne. How did they know the baby was royalty? It has a weird birthmark. Now that is an excellent way to determine who should be king!

Hubert (Danny Kaye) is a part of this resistance. He and his friend (Glynis Johns) hatch a plan--Hubert will impersonate a famous jester who is en route to the kingdom from Italy. Then, he'll kill the king! But in the process the plan keeps changing. First, the royal baby falls into their hands and they must hide it. Second, the princess' maid hypnotizes Hubert and makes him think he's a great hero. What's to come of all this? See the film.

I didn't particularly love the film. Part of it was Kaye's shtick. Much of it was how plastic everything looked. Instead of medieval England, it looked like a Hollywood sound stage complete with colors and costumes that looked like costumes. Perhaps you'll enjoy it...it just seemed a bit shrill and unfunny....and Kaye's done better work. So, your loyalty belongs to the one with a purple mark on his rear. Now THAT'S a great way to run a country!