''The Court Jester'' is a 1955 musical-comedy, medieval romance, costume drama film starring Danny Kaye,

Glynis Johns Glynis Margaret Payne Johns (born 5 October 1923) is a South African-born British former actress, dancer, musician and singer. Recognised as a film and Broadway icon, Johns has a career spanning eight decades, in which she appeared in more than ...

, Basil Rathbone,

Angela Lansbury Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury (October 16, 1925 – October 11, 2022) was an Irish-British and American film, stage, and television actress. Her career spanned eight decades, much of it in the United States, and her work received a great deal ...

and Cecil Parker. The movie was written, produced, and directed by

Melvin Frank Melvin Frank (13 August 1913 – 13 October 1988) was an American screenwriter, film producer and film director. He is known for his partnership with Norman Panama and their work on films such as '' Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House'' (1948), ...

and Norman Panama for Paramount Pictures. It was released in

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

and the

VistaVision VistaVision is a higher resolution, widescreen variant of the 35 mm motion picture film format which was created by engineers at Paramount Pictures in 1954. Paramount never used anamorphic processes such as 2.55: 1, CinemaScope but refi ...

widescreen format. The film centers on Hubert Hawkins, a carnival entertainer working with the Black Fox's band of rebels (a parody of

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is dep ...

and his Merry Men) to guard the true infant King of

Medieval England England in the Middle Ages concerns the history of England during the medieval period, from the end of the 5th century through to the start of the Early Modern period in 1485. When England emerged from the collapse of the Roman Empire, the econ ...

from a usurper. A strange chance causes Hawkins to become a spy in the guise of a

court jester A jester, court jester, fool or joker was a member of the household of a nobleman or a monarch employed to entertain guests during the medieval and Renaissance eras. Jesters were also itinerant performers who entertained common folk at fairs and ...

in the usurping King's castle, where there are many people who wish to make use of the Jester for their own villainous ends. The film contains three songs (all sung by Kaye), makes heavy use of

slapstick comedy Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such a ...

and quick-witted

wordplay Word play or wordplay (also: play-on-words) is a literary technique and a form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Examples of word play include puns, phon ...

, and is best remembered for the tongue twister "The pellet with the poison's in the vessel with the pestle; the chalice from the palace has the brew that is true!" Though the film was not financially successful upon release, it has grown to be a beloved classic, earning high scores on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

. In 2004, ''The Court Jester'' was included in the annual selection of 25 motion pictures added to the

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception ...

of the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and recommended for preservation.

Plot

King Roderick the Tyrant, having sent Lord Ravenhurst to slaughter the Royal Family of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, usurps the throne. The Black Fox and his band of rebels rescue the true king, an infant with the royal "purple pimpernel" birthmark on his backside. They harass Roderick and his men while guarding the baby. Lords Brockhurst, Finsdale, and Pertwee convince the king to seek alliance with Sir Griswold of MacElwain, by offering him Roderick's daughter Gwendolyn in marriage. Gwendolyn objects, for the castle witch Griselda foretold a more gallant lover. Hubert Hawkins, the Black Fox's

minstrel A minstrel was an entertainer, initially in medieval Europe. It originally described any type of entertainer such as a musician, juggler, acrobat, singer or fool; later, from the sixteenth century, it came to mean a specialist entertainer ...

, brings a troupe of acrobat-

midget Midget (from ''midge'', a tiny biting insect) is a term for a person of unusually short stature that is considered by some to be pejorative due to its etymology. While not a medical term like "dwarfism", a medical condition with a number of ca ...

s from the carnival to replace him so he can fight, but the Black Fox refuses. The King's men find their hideout, so Hawkins and another rebel, Maid Jean, are ordered to disguise themselves as wine merchants and take the baby to safety. They meet the king's newly hired jester, Giacomo, on the road. Jean knocks him out and tells Hawkins to steal his identity. Hawkins heads for the castle, and Jean travels on alone, but is captured by the king's men, who were ordered to bring the fairest wenches to the king's court. The Lord Ravenhurst tells a friend that Giacomo is actually an assassin whom he hired to kill Brockhurst, Finsdale, and Pertwee, to prevent the alliance. Gwendolyn decides to kill Griselda for lying to her, until Griselda promises Giacomo as her prophesied lover. Hawkins, unaware of both these things, enters the castle and tries to make contact with a rebel confederate. However, Ravenhurst unwittingly appears at his whistle signal, so Hawkins allies himself with him instead. Prior to his arrival, Fergus the Hostler, the true confederate, met up with Jean and hid the baby in a basket. Jean sneaks into the palace and steals a key to a secret passage from King Roderick's chambers. Hawkins is put under a hypnotic spell by Griselda, and in that state woos the princess, receives his orders to kill the three lords from Ravenhurst, and gets the key from Jean, but loses it back to the king. Hawkins forgets all this once the spell is gone. Fergus gives him the basket with the baby, but before he can get it to safety, Hawkins is called before the king. He manages to distract the king and crowd from noticing the basket with a well-received performance, and Jean rescues the basket. Griselda, meanwhile, poisons the three lords' cups to prevent the alliance. Ravenhurst believes Hawkins killed them. Griswold arrives, but Gwendolyn declares her love for "Giacomo", and Hawkins is arrested and jailed. Ravenhurst learns that Giacomo never arrived and concludes that Hawkins, having 'sabotaged' the alliance, must be the Black Fox. He convinces Roderick to rush Hawkins through the trials to become a knight so he can duel Griswold, ostensibly so Griswold can kill the jester but really so the Black Fox can eliminate Griswold. Jean steals back the key, and Fergus sends it by

pigeon Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

to the real Black Fox, but is caught and tortured to death by Ravenhurst's men. At the tournament, Griselda poisons one of the drinks and tells Hawkins which it is. One of Griswold's men overhears and warns Griswold, and he and Hawkins both struggle to remember which of the glasses is poisoned (the famous "Vessel with the

Pestle Mortar and pestle is a set of two simple tools used from the Stone Age to the present day to prepare ingredients or substances by crushing and grinding them into a fine paste or powder in the kitchen, laboratory, and pharmacy. The ''mortar'' () ...

" routine) and end up not drinking the toast. Through sheer luck, Hawkins defeats Griswold in the duel, but spares his life and sends him away. Ravenhurst finds the baby and exposes Hawkins as a traitor. However, the real Black Fox sends the midgets through the secret passage, and they rescue Hawkins, Jean, and the baby. Jean clubs the door guard and lets the Black Fox's army into the castle. Threatened by Gwendolyn, Griselda hypnotizes Hawkins to become a sword master and he duels Ravenhurst, though the spell is accidentally switched on and off several times. Finally, Hawkins and Jean launch Ravenhurst from a catapult into the sea. Griswold returns with his army, ready to kill the rebels, but Hawkins shows him the purple pimpernel birthmark on the baby. Griswold kneels to the baby, as does everyone else, including Roderick. Hawkins leads everybody in song as the film ends.

Cast

(as listed in order of appearance in opening credits) * Danny Kaye as Hubert Hawkins, a minstrel who steals Giacomo the Jester's identity *

as Maid Jean, a rebel captain and Hawkins' love interest * Basil Rathbone as Lord Ravenhurst, the King's closest adviser *

as Gwendolyn, Princess of England * Cecil Parker as Roderick, faux King of England and father of Gwendolyn * Mildred Natwick as Griselda, a witch and adviser to Gwendolyn *

Robert Middleton Robert Middleton (born Samuel G. Messer, May 13, 1911 – June 14, 1977) was an American film and television actor known for his large size, beetle-like brows, and a deep, booming voice (for which he was known as "Big Bob Middleton"), usually ...

as Sir Griswold of MacElwain, Gwendolyn's betrothed * Michael Pate as Sir Locksley, Ravenhurst's lackey and ally * Herbert Rudley as the Captain of the Guard, one of Ravenhurst's lackeys * Noel Drayton as Fergus the Hostler, a spy of the Black Fox in Roderick's castle *

John Carradine John Carradine ( ; born Richmond Reed Carradine; February 5, 1906 – November 27, 1988) was an American actor, considered one of the greatest character actors in American cinema. He was a member of Cecil B. DeMille's stock company and later ...

as Giacomo, an Italian jester and assassin, hired by Ravenhurst * Edward Ashley as the Black Fox, a rebel leader *

Alan Napier Alan William Napier-Clavering (7 January 1903 – 8 August 1988), better known as Alan Napier, was an English actor. After a decade in West End theatre, he had a long film career in Britain and later, in Hollywood. Napier is best remembered for ...

as Lord Brockhurst, adviser to Roderick * Lewis Martin as Lord Finsdale, adviser to Roderick * Patrick Aherne as Lord Pertwee, adviser to Roderick * Richard Kean as Archbishop * Hermine's Midgets as Hubert Hawkins' acrobatic troupe * The American Legion Zouaves (of Richard F. Smith, Post No. 29, Jackson, Michigan) as the Marching Knights (Rathbone's name appears three times in opening credits (third, sixth and nineteenth); everyone else's only once)

Production

(as listed in order of appearance in opening credits) *

Hal Pereira Hal Pereira (April 29, 1905 – December 17, 1983) was an American art director, production designer, and occasional architect. Pereira was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Sarah (Friedberg) and Saul Pereira. In the 1940s through the 1960s ...

―art direction *

Roland Anderson Roland Anderson (November 18, 1903 – October 29, 1989) was an American movie art director. He received 15 Academy Award nominations but never won an Oscar. Anderson's first Oscar nomination was for his first film in 1933, ''A Farewell to Arms ...

―art direction * Tom McAdo―editor * John P. Fulton, (A.S.C.)―special photography effects * Irmin Roberts, (A.S.C.)―special photography effects *

Farciot Edouart Farciot Edouart, ASC (born Alexander Farciot Edouart; November 5, 1894 – March 17, 1980) was a motion picture special effects artist and innovator, a recognized specialist and innovator in the area of "process photography", also known as rear pro ...

, (A.S.C.)―process photography *

Sam Comer Samuel M. Comer (July 13, 1893 – December 27, 1974) was a set decorator who worked on over 300 films during a career spanning four decades. He won four Academy Awards and was nominated for another 22 in the category Best Art Direction. He guid ...

―set decoration * Arthur Krams―set decoration *

Edith Head Edith Head (October 28, 1897 – October 24, 1981) was an American costume designer who won a record eight Academy Awards for Best Costume Design between 1949 and 1973, making her the most awarded woman in the Academy's history. Head is cons ...

―costumes * Yvonne Wood―costumes * John Coonan―assistant director * D.R.O. Hatswell―technical advisor * Wally Westmore―makeup supervision * Harry Lindgren―sound recording * John Cope―sound recording * Victor Schoen―music scoring and conducting * Hal C. Kern―assistant to producers * James Starbuck―choreographer * Sylvia Fine―lyrics *

Sammy Cahn Samuel Cohen (June 18, 1913 – January 15, 1993), known professionally as Sammy Cahn, was an American lyricist, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premi ...

―music * Norman Panama―co-writer, co-producer and co-director *

―co-writer, co-producer and co-director

Musical score

Hollywood arranger and composer

Vic Schoen Victor Schoen (March 26, 1916 – January 5, 2000) was an American bandleader, arranger, and composer whose career spanned from the 1930s until his death in 2000. He furnished music for some of the most successful persons in show business inclu ...

was asked to provide the musical score for the film. Film composer Elmer Bernstein was hired as the assistant musical director to Schoen. ''The Court Jester'' was an enormous challenge for Schoen at the time because it was his first feature film. He was not formally trained on the mechanisms of how music was synchronized to film – he learned on the job. The film required 100 minutes of music for Schoen to compose and arrange. Some pieces in the film (also known as "cues") were very long, and took many hours for Schoen to finesse. One piece that Schoen was most proud of in his career was the chase music toward the end of the movie when Danny Kaye's character engages in a sword fight. Schoen wrote a mini piano concerto for this scene. A pleasant surprise happened during the recording session of ''The Court Jester''. The red "recording in progress" light was illuminated to ensure no interruptions, so Schoen started to conduct a cue but noticed that the entire orchestra had turned to look at Igor Stravinsky, who had just walked into the studio. Schoen said, "The entire room was astonished to see this short little man with a big chest walk in and listen to our session. I later talked with him after we were done recording. We went and got a cup of coffee together. After listening to my music Stravinsky told me 'You have broken all the rules'. At the time I didn't understand his comment because I had been self-taught. It took me years to figure out what he had meant." The film's opening song, "Life Could Not Better Be" breaks the

fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cen ...

by having Kaye make direct references to the cast and crew, at one point also joking about which of the credited songwriters actually wrote the songs. Although not an uncommon trope in musical film comedies of the era (such as

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...

and Bing Crosby's "Road" films (several of which were also written by Panama & Frank)), in the context of the film these references also hark back to medieval theatrical performances that often began with an actor explaining the plot and how the play came to be made.

Audio version

In September 1955, Kaye recorded a nine-minute-long, condensed version of ''The Court Jester'' for 1956 release by Decca Records on the two-part single K 166. The simplified version of the storyline features excerpts from several songs from the film, but eliminates the character of Hubert; in the 45 single version, The Fox impersonates Giacomo throughout. Lord Ravenhurst is replaced by an unnamed evil king, and Jean is also dropped from the tale. Songs featured (often no more than a few lines): "Outfox the Fox", "I'll Take You Dreaming", "My Heart Knows a Lovely Song", and the finale version of "Life Could Not Better Be."

Reception

Critical reception

Made for a cost of $4 million (equivalent to $ in ) in the fall of 1955, ''The Court Jester'' was the most expensive comedy film produced up to that time.Turner Classic Movies
Notes for ''The Court Jester''
/ref> The motion picture bombed at the box office upon its release, bringing in only $2.2 million in receipts the following winter and spring of 1956 (equivalent to $ in ).Robert Osborne. On-air comments for ''The Court Jester'' airing March 15, 2008. However, since then it has become a classic and a television matinee favorite. On

, the film holds an approval rating of 97% based on , with a

weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...

rating of 8/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "A witty spoof of medieval swashbuckler movies, ''The Court Jester'' showcases Danny Kaye at his nimble, tongue-twisting best." Author and film critic

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fi ...

awarded the film four out of a possible four stars, calling it "one of the best comedies ever made". David Koenig reflects on Danny Kaye's legacy and ''The Court Jester'', "His legacy has dimmed with the passage of time. His greatest works… endure today only as memories in the minds of aging members of his audiences… much of his TV work has not aged particularly well. Whimsy was of another time". However, Koenig sees Kaye's film work in a different light, "History has smiled on individual pictures—in particular the holiday staple of '' White Christmas'' and ''The Court Jester''… the medieval romp has steadily gained a reputation as one of the greatest comedies of all time."

Awards and honors

In 1957, Danny Kaye received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Motion Picture Actor – Comedy/Musical, and in 2000, the American Film Institute placed the film on its 100 Years...100 Laughs list, where it was ranked #98. In 2004, the United States

elected to preserve ''The Court Jester'' for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

References

External links

* * * * * ''The Court Jester'' essay by Daniel Eagan in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, A&C Black, 2010 , pages 510-51

{{DEFAULTSORT:Court Jester, The 1955 films 1950s English-language films 1956 musical comedy films 1956 films 1950s parody films 1950s satirical films American adventure comedy films American musical comedy films American parody films American satirical films Films directed by Melvin Frank Films directed by Norman Panama Films scored by Walter Scharf Films set in castles Films set in the Middle Ages Films set in England Paramount Pictures films United States National Film Registry films Films about hypnosis 1955 comedy films 1950s American films