Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #71934 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-03-16
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 103 minutes

Customer Reviews

One Of The Best Comedies I've Ever Seen
I first saw this comedy a couple years ago on television. It was in black-and-white format which detracted from the film a little for me. However this offering on Amazon is in color format.

If you've seen and liked "Court Jester" or any of Danny Kaye's other classics, I assure you you will love this one.

It is definately one of the best comedies I've ever seen and as I am 45 years old, I've seen a few.

Enjoy!

Great!!!
This movie is one of Danny's best! I love Danny Kaye, so my opinion is a little biased, but if you like Danny Kaye's style of humor and acting, then this is a good DVD to buy. I think there are better movie's he's done, but this one definitely has it's great moments.

Imagine Virtually Becoming the VIP for Whom You Were Mistaken
This fantasy is a rags-to-riches story. A vagrant and charlatan (played by Danny Kaye) is rejected by his partner for being too honest (refunding a needy woman's money. She had earlier been conned into buying a worthless liquid). He travels from town to town, hungry and rejected everywhere. To make matters worse, he is falsely accused of attempting to steal a horse, and is about to be hanged.

He manages an escape, and ends up amongst a group of corrupt men who are fearfully awaiting the incognito appearance of the one who can expose their wrongdoings--an inspector general. They come to think that HE is the inspector general. At first, he thinks only of escaping from town so as to escape recognition as an outlaw and gallows bird. But then, he decides to play along with the charade. He asks himself, "What does an inspector general do? Inspect generals? Inspect generally?" He decides what kind of persona his "inspector general" self should be.

Overnight, his fate undergoes a complete reversal. His near-starvation situation gives way to parties, lavish dinners, and other forms of obsequious behavior, all provided courtesy of the powerful, corrupt men who fear his (imagined) authority. After he "examines" the books, one by one the corrupt men come to see him privately, each minimizing and confessing his wrongdoings, and pleading for mercy while also paying a bribe. Ironic to all this is the fact that the vagrant "inspector general" cannot even read! He can only pretend--and he does this very well, and in a very entertaining manner.

In time, the corrupt men plan to destroy him. They set up a trap for him. Will the "inspector general" fall victim to the poisoned goblet of wine? If not, what will happen when he wanders near a barn near which an axe-wielding hit man is waiting for him? How will the town react once the fraudulence of his "inspector general" self become evident? Will he hang? I will not spoil the ending by revealing it.