The Court Jester

The Court Jester is a 1956 comedy starring Danny Kaye, Glynis Johns, Basil Rathbone, and a very young Angela Lansbury.

Synopsis


Ostensibly set in medieval England, the plot nominally concerns the struggle to restore the rightful heir, a child, to the throne, the King and all his family having been murdered or otherwise disposed of. Kaye plays Hubert Hawkins, an ex-carnival entertainer, who becomes minstrel to the Black Fox, a Robin Hood-type character (who actually makes only a minor appearance in the film), played by Edward Ashley.

Much hilarity ensues as Kaye infiltrates the evil King Roderick's castle by impersonating the king's new talented and multilingual jester, Giacomo. In this guise, he contrives to worm his way into the King's confidence and pretends to be an assassin-for-hire to the evil Lord Ravenhurst.

He is challenged to a joust by Sir Griswold (The Grim and Gruesome Grisly Griswold), but with the help of the magic potions of the witch Griselda, She of the Evil Eye, he wins the joust and also defeats Ravenhurst at swordplay.

Kaye's boundless energy and wit make this movie a classic.

Famous scenes include Hubert's rapid promotion to knight in preparation for a joust against a champion; the joust itself, which involves the need for him to remember a tongue-twister in order not to drink the poisoned wine (The Pellet With The Poison in the Flagon with the Dragon); and the final duel in which Hubert has been hypnotised into feeling brave, only to revert to his normal cowardly state every time anyone snaps their fingers.

Songs

  • "I Live to Love" (w. Sammy Cahn m. Sylvia Fine)
  • "Life Could Not Better Be" (w.m. Sammy Cahn & Sylvia Fine)
  • "Maladjusted Jester" (w.m. Sylvia Fine)
  • "My Heart Knows a Lovely Song" (w.m. Sammy Cahn & Sylvia Fine)
  • "(You'll Never) Outfox the Fox" (w. Sammy Cahn m. Sylvia Fine)
  • "Pass the Basket" (w. Sammy Cahn m. Sylvia Fine)
  • "Where Walks My True Love?" (w. Sammy Cahn m. Sylvia Fine)


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