Review of The Court Jester (1955) by Art S — 01 Oct 2015

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.