Product Description

A 12th century court jester in England becomes involved with a desperate band of outlaws who are attempting to overthrow the king. A delightful comedy which features a particularly fine cast.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2522 in DVD
• Brand: Paramount
• Released on: 1999-03-30
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 101 minutes

Amazon.com
Danny Kaye spoofs Robin Hood and Scaramouche in this inventive slapstick swashbuckler. Portraying the clownish but good-hearted entertainer Hawkins, he infiltrates the court of the corrupt Basil Rathbone (up to his usual brand of cruel villainy) disguised as the legendary king of jesters, Giacomo. After a court sorceress hypnotizes Hawkins into believing he is also a legendary assassin, Hawkins has more identities than he can keep straight, and Kaye zips back and forth between them at, literally, a snap of the fingers. Comic highlights include a wonderful sword fight with Rathbone in which he constantly switches identities, and the classic "chalice from the palace/vessel with pestle" wordplay as Hawkins plays "hide the poison" and forgets where it is. With comely Glynis Johns as his spy-in-arms love interest, Angela Lansbury as the scheming princess, and Mildred Natwick as the dotty spellcaster, this is Danny Kaye at his comic best. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

Jest Wonderful
Possibly the funniest musical comedy ever made. Even if you are not a Danny Kaye fan, you should try this movie. Don't be put off by the opening sequence, which looks rather dated now. The film contains some excruciatingly funny scenes, including the classic "Flagon with the dragon" routine. This is Kaye at his brilliant best.

The story (set in a mediaeval England which cheerfully makes no attempt at historical accuracy) is remarkably solid and complex, which helps maintain the film's brisk pace.

So when you are in the mood for some good old-fashioned fun, put your feet up and summon "The Court Jester".

Update: I recently watched this movie again and I think my original 4-star rating was wrong. This is a 5-star classic.

"the perfect storm" of farces
Danny Kaye is a classic example of a wildly talented performer who was not well-served by the movie industry. Sam Goldwyn knew to shoot Kaye in Technicolor to show off his red hair, but not to give Kaye first-rate material. In most of Kaye's films he plays some sort of congenital [dounce]. If you think stupidity came to movies only recently, you've never seen "The Kid from Brookly," "On the Riviera," and similar Kaye [stuff].

"The Court Jester" is a wonderful exception. Panama and Frank were at their peak with a wildly convoluted send-up of Robin Hood and similar derring-do. In addition to the clever wordplay, they aren't afraid to descend to the deliriously dumb -- when Glynis Johns, pretending to be a deaf-mute, makes 15 seconds worth of hand gestures that Kaye interprets as "No," he explains it's because she stutters.

The Panama-Frank direction is also on-target. When Kaye and Johns clobber John Carradine, it's shown as shadows on the wall, in the best Michael Curtiz fashion.

Danny Kaye's wife, Sylvia Fine, wrote a lot of specialty material for him. Her comic songs are often modeled on Gilbert & Sullivan; "The Maladjusted Jester" is her take on "Oh, a private buffoon" from "The Yeomen of the Guard." (I suspect she wanted to use Sullivan's music, but couldn't, as it was still under British copyright.)

Basil Rathbone reprises Sir Guy from "The Adventures of Robin Hood," and Panama-Frank gave him plenty of screen time, both as an actor and as a fencer -- Rathbone is the consummate slick villain. And what can one say about Glynis Johns but "delicious," or Mildred Natwick but "inimitable," or Angela Lansbury but "chunky"? (Sorry about that.)

Pretty much a perfect entertainment -- the ideal film to chase away the blues.

Charming and Hilarious Re-telling of the Robin Hood Story
I am not a great Danny Kaye fan, but this movie is one the the very funniest I've ever seen. Everything about it is excellent, from the production values to the songs & lyrics, from the fine quality of actors to the charm and wit of the dialogue and the story. There is literally nothing wrong with this movie. It is fit for all audiences, from the youngest to the oldest members of your family. I remember the first time I saw it, being struck by the fact that all the actors seemed to be having an absolutely marvellous time. Particularly during the Jester's first call at entertaining the court...unforgettable and sheer delight. Every single person on camera looked like they were having a wonderful time just being there. I hadn't seen anything like such a fine emsemble cast since 'All About Eve.' I think it must have been because there were no bad lines, no bad parts, no scenes that didn't work, and everyone had a chance to shine. Having a good material to work with really does make a world of difference. Stars Danny Kaye, Angela Landsbury, Basil Rathbone, and a host of marvellous British actors whose names are right now escaping my memory. Buy it. Keep it. Enjoy it for years.