The Court Jester (1955)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Directors:

Melvin Frank
Norman Panama

Writers:

Norman Panama (written by) and
Melvin Frank (written by)

Release Date:

27 January 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Family | Musical

Tagline:

SONGS! Where Walks My True Love -- Baby Let Me Take You Dreaming -- Life Could Not Better Be -- The Maladjusted Jester -- My Heart Knows A Lovely Song! -- Outfox The Fox

Plot:

A hapless carnival performer masquerades as the court jester as part of a plot against an evil ruler who has overthrown the rightful king.

Plot Keywords:

King | Jester | Fox | Key | England

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 win

Cast

Danny Kaye	...	Hubert Hawkins
Glynis Johns	...	Maid Jean
Basil Rathbone	...	Sir Ravenhurst
Angela Lansbury	...	Princess Gwendolyn
Cecil Parker	...	King Roderick I
Mildred Natwick	...	Griselda
Robert Middleton	...	Sir Griswold
Michael Pate	...	Sir Locksley
Herbert Rudley	...	Captain of the Guard
Noel Drayton	...	Fergus
John Carradine	...	Giacomo
Edward Ashley	...	Black Fox
Alan Napier	...	Sir Brockhurst
Lewis Martin	...	Sir Finsdale
Patrick Aherne	...	Sir Pertwee

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

UK:U | USA:Approved (PCA #17501) | New Zealand:G | Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Company:

Dena Enterprises

Trivia:

The "Now I can shoot and toot" speech during "The Maladjusted Jester" was previously said by Danny Kaye in his first feature role in Up in Arms (1944)

Goofs:

Continuity: When Hawkins and Ravenhurst are fighting at the end of the movie, Griselda and Gwendolyn appear in a doorway facing them. But when Hawkins and Ravenhurst are on the battlements, they've disappeared. When Hawkins falls off the battlements, they're still not there, but in all the subsequent shots, they are.

Quotes:

Hawkins: [on training to become a jester] I'm proud to recall that at no time at all and with no other recourses but my own resources, with firm application and determination... I made a fool of myself!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure (1977)

Soundtrack:

The Maladjusted Jester

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

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.