☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
The
Court Jester (1955) – M. Frank & N. Panama
Sublime ridiculousness. The vessel with the pestle indeed. Danny Kaye hams it up in this swashbuckling
medieval farce, thrust center stage as part of a Robin Hood (Black Fox) band
determined to get rid of the usurping evil king (and sinister sidekick Basil
Rathbone) and put the royal baby (with the purple pimpernel) on the
throne. As luck would have it (and/or a
very clever script), Kaye is able to take the place of Giacomo the King of
Jesters and gain access to the king in order to find the key to the secret
passage and, well, um the plot doesn’t actually matter. There is a lot of really funny business
(particularly with regard to a magic spell that changes Kaye’s personality when
someone snaps) and the whole thing rolls merrily along, so quickly that there
is really nothing that anyone watching can do but submit. The witty song over the opening credits sets
the tone and foreshadows the wordplay. A
gem.
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