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Is 'The Court Jester' the Best Classic Movie Comedy?.Movie-TV Connection Game (February 2019).In Search of the Castaways.and an Escaped Tiger!.The Snubbed By the Oscars Awards.The Results Are.

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Stream Classic Movies and TV for Free on Hoopla.It's the fourth most-watched clip (out of over 100) on the Cafe's YouTube channel. This review is part of the Adoring Angela Lansbury Blogathon hosted by Realweegiemidget Reviews.īelow is the scene where a hypnotized Hawkins is sent to woo Princess Gwendolyn. So is it the best classic movie comedy? I honestly can't think of a better one, so I'll say yes! Get it? Got it. And I must say that my wife and I have never shown The Court Jester to anyone who didn't have a grand time. From that point on, it may produce the most laughs per minute of any comedy (only A Shot in the Dark comes close). (Still, it serves the purpose of introducing Hawkins' acrobatic friends, which become important later.) Once Hawkins assumes the guise of Giacomo, The Court Jester rolls along at a frolicking pace. The opening musical number, while clever and lively, goes on too long. Blandings Builds His Dream House, The Road to Utopia (the finest Road picture), and White Christmas (Danny Kaye's second-best film). The two writers, who met while students at the University of Chicago, worked together for three decades and penned the scripts for films such as Mr. Their greatest accomplishment is with how they incorporate the aforementioned laugh-out-loud gags into a carefully crafted spoof of costume adventures such as Errol Flynn's Robin Hood. Naturally, even the best comedians can falter without a funny script, so it's fortunate that The Court Jester was written (and directed) by Frank and Panama. Even Robert Middleton, who played his share of villains, generates laughs as Sir Griswold as he tries to remember which goblet contains the pellet with the poison. Cecil Parker is a delight as the king whose principal focus is on selecting wenches for a feast. But it's also apparent that care was put into casting even the smaller parts. It should come as no surprise that marvelous actors such as Lansbury, Rathbone, Natwick, and Johns possess impeccable comic timing. When I think of movies in which every role is ideally cast, three films come to mind: The Wizard of Oz, The Adventures of Robin Hood.and The Court Jester. Simply put, it's the best part ever for the multi-talented Kaye. The most famous, of course, is the 'Chalice from the Palace', but almost equally as funny are: Hawkins portraying an old man who is hard of hearing the romancing of Princess Gwendolyn as Hawkins snaps in and out of his hypnotic trance Hawkins' 'get it, got it, good' exchanges with Ravenhurst, and the climatic sword fight.

Danny Kaye's physicality, quick delivery of dialogue, and exaggerated facial expressions are masterfully exploited in at least five classic comic routines.

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Written and directed by Melvin Frank and Norman Panama, The Court Jester is a textbook example of how to tailor a film to fit its star's skills. To ensure that Hawkins/Giacomo meets the princess's expectations, Griselda (Mildred Natwick) hypnotizes him into thinking he's the medieval version of Rudolph Valentino. Nor could they anticipate that Princess Gwendolyn's lady-in-waiting, Griselda, has promised that a handsome stranger will rescue the princess from an undesirable marriage. They don't know, of course, that the villainous Sir Ravenhurst (Basil Rathbone) has hired Giacomo to assassinate three of the king's advisors. Learning that no one in the king's court has ever seen Giacomo, they hatch a quick scheme that has Hawkins assuming the identity of the jester.ĭanny Kaye and Basil Rathbone: 'Get it? Got it. Of course, Hawkins is not entrusted with this mission alone he is accompanied by Jean (Glynis Johns), one of the Black Fox's senior officers.Įn route to the palace, Hawkins and Jean encounter the new royal jester Giacomo ('King of jesters and jester of kings').

Danny Kaye plays Hawkins, a minor member of the Black Fox's gang, who is given the mission of smuggling the baby into the palace and getting the key to a secret passageway to the Black Fox. But I'm hard pressed to think of a classic film comedy that's as nearly perfect as The Court Jester.įor the uninitiated, it's a medieval tale in which the Black Fox (a sort of Robin Hood) plots to restore the rightful heir to the throne: a royal baby with a purple pimpernel birthmark on his posterior. I realize comedy is very subjective as some folks prefer broad laughs and others opt for dark humor. I recently watched The Court Jester (1955) for perhaps the tenth time-and laughed just as much as the first time.