Kaye was adept at quickly changing characters, as in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947), and gets to put that skill to great use here, first in disguises, then as the jester, and most importantly, as a hypnotized pawn in a number of "games". Of course, The Court Jester is really a showcase for Kaye's considerable and diverse talents. The cast is excellent, even if some members such severely underused, such as Carradine and to an extent Rathbone. The Court Jester is just as authentic feeling as Knights of the Round Table (1953) or The Black Knight (1954), both part of a popular trend of the era of Arthurian and related films, leading to this satire. Producers/directors/writers Melvin Frank and Norman Panama and their crew certainly got the period setting right. Most of the film is set within Roderick's castle, however, which is no less attractive visually. The few panoramic landscape shots are stunning and almost surreal. The court jester black fox full#It is full of lush, extremely saturated color. The last half is so incredible that I wanted to give the film a 10 instead perhaps on subsequent viewings (this is only the second time I've seen the film the first was many years ago) the opening sections will work better for me.Īs one of the earliest "VistaVision" films, The Court Jester looks gorgeous. It's unfortunate that a few minor flaws in the earlier sections of the film (including the complicated plot) caused me to rate The Court Jester as a 9 instead. This is a slow burner, but as such, the last hour at least is a very solid 10. However, it does have a fairly complex plot in its early stages-all of the above is relayed within the first 10 15 minutes. After running into a court jester named Giacomo (John Carradine), Hawkins and Maid Jean (Glynis Johns) end up in a scheme to infiltrate Roderick's castle and give the Black Fox's men access for a coup.Īlthough you cannot tell from my accounting of the premise above, The Court Jester is a comedy, and a very funny one at that. One of the Black Fox's men is Hubert Hawkins (Danny Kaye). The Black Fox leads a motley crew they live in the forest and bear some similarity to Robin Hood and his merry men. The infant, whom many in the kingdom would believe to be the rightful heir to the throne, is being looked after by the "Black Fox" (Edward Ashley). However, Roderick's men overlooked an infant of the otherwise massacred competing royal family. His plans include trying to marry his off his daughter, Princess Gwendolyn (Angela Lansbury), to the gruff Sir Griswold (Robert Middleton)-a scheme she firmly opposes. He's working on building alliances between the most important, powerful and aristocratic families in his kingdom, including Sir Ravenhurst (Basil Rathbone) this will help build a trustworthy legitimizing base. Set in an era similar to Arthurian England, The Court Jester features a questionable king, Roderick I (Cecil Parker), who has taken over by killing off all of his opposition. Reviewed by BrandtSponseller 9 / 10 The review that is true But things begin to get zany when the King's daughter falls for Giacomo, the King falls for Jean, people randomly sing what are supposed to be recognition codes, and a witch with very effective spells (. So, humble Hawkins becomes Giacomo: the King of jesters and jester to the King. The Fox's Lieutenant, Maid Jean (Glynis Johns), guards Hawkins and the baby while they travel, but when they meet the King's new jester on the road, they decide to initiate a daring plan for Hawkins to replace him, become an intimate at the court, and steal the key. The task falls to Hubert Hawkins (Danny Kaye), the gentlest member of the Fox's band. And while he's trying to steal it, someone has to change the King's diapers. Only the Black Fox (Edward Ashley) can restore the true King to the throne - and all he needs is the King's key to a secret tunnel. The throne of rightful King of England, the small baby with the purple pimpernel birthmark, has been usurped by the evil King Roderick I (Cecil Parker).
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