Review of The Court Jester (1955) by Paul B — 03 Aug 2009

The foundation for the humor is the fact that Danny Kaye doesn't belong here. He's no Robin Hood; in fact, he's not the heroic type at all. Lacking the strength, skill, or intelligence to lead the operation that falls into his lap, he's so out of his element that we even wonder sometimes how he survived this long in the Middle Ages.

Melvin Frank and Norman Panama, the writers/directors, have placed Kaye in such incongruous situations that he wouldn't have to do much for this film to be at least a little funny. Naturally for Kaye, he does more than he has to.

I think this film represents his overexcited style at its best. This is another film I've grown up with, and in this case, my familiarity with it hasn't ruined it at all. There is enough good writing at work here to make up for Kaye when he's not quite so funny and to make it truly wonderful when he shines.

As I said, he's not a hero in any conventional sense, but his character gets the job done in every other way possible. To begin with, he's a master of impersonation. This skill is hinted at in an early song and first put on display when he impersonates an old man (one of the best scenes in the movie).

Later, he poses as a jester (not exactly a stretch, although this particular jester is a pretty sophisticated fellow when he's not performing) to sneak into the castle of the impostor king. Said king is played wonderfully by Cecil Parker, who acts like a man almost as out of place as Kaye.

While there's clearly one star to this movie who gets the bulk of the opportunities for humor, the supporting cast does admirably. We can be especially thankful for Basil Rathbone, who portrays a ruthless villain in a movie where such a character clearly stands no chance.

The film anticipates Inspector Clouseau in one scene where Kaye appears to perform a daring feat of assassination while remaining absolutely clueless. This is the other way he manages to perform the duties of a hero: he gets a lot of help.

In a serious film, this would be unforgivable, but here it only makes it funnier. The simple idea of putting Kaye under a witch's spell to make him brave and a great sword fighter, for example, is played out perfectly, showing exquisite timing with the finger-snapping trigger.

Of course, the best and most famous scene of all involves a poisoned drink and the oddly challenging mnemonic device that Kaye must learn in order to avoid it. His escalating tension makes for delirious comedy, and the whole scene is capped with the perfect payoff.