IMDb > The Court Jester (1955)
The Court Jester
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The Court Jester (1955) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
7.7/10   5,190 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 3% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Writers:
Norman Panama (written by) and
Melvin Frank (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Court Jester on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
27 January 1956 (USA) more
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 more
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. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 win more
NewsDesk:
Film School 101: Protagonists
 (From Atomic Popcorn. 1 November 2009, 4:57 AM, PST)

User Comments:
"What Begins As A Scary Tale, Ends As A Fairy Tale, That's Why Life Couldn't Possibly Better Be" more (93 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

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
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Additional Details

Runtime:
101 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Fun Stuff

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) more
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. more
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! more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure (1977) more
Soundtrack:
The Maladjusted Jester more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
9 out of 10 people found the following comment useful.
"What Begins As A Scary Tale, Ends As A Fairy Tale, That's Why Life Couldn't Possibly Better Be", 24 September 2007
9/10
Author: bkoganbing from Buffalo, New York

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.

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