Or, why I now adore Danny Kaye.
I first bumped into The Court Jester in the back pages of Empire film magazine. The article mentioned Angela Lansbury and Basil Rathbone- always worth watching- and swordfights, but what was this about vessels with pestles? I found the scene in question on YouTube and ordered the DVD without further delay.
In the interests of full disclosure however, I must admit a partiality to swashbucklers. Errol Flynn was largely responsible for me joining the Archery club at university. My favourite non-musical Gene Kelly role is D’Artagnan in The Three Musketeers. I will admit to liking the Leonardo DiCaprio version of The Man in the Iron Mask in public. You get the idea.
So the concept of a medieval comedy-swashbuckler appealed to me. But when the jokes are this good, there is no reason why it should not appeal to you too.
We begin our tale in merry England-that-never-was. Usurper King Roderick (Cecil Parker) has slaughtered his way to the throne. Fortunately the infant royal heir (with the royal birthmark on his royal posterior) was smuggled to safety and is being cared for by rebels led by the elusive Black Fox. Anxious to strengthen his grip on the throne, Roderick pursues an alliance with powerful knight Griswold, much to the dismay of Lord Ravenhurst (Basil Rathbone) and Princess Gwendolyn (Angela Lansbury). Meanwhile carnival entertainer Hawkins (Danny Kaye) is desperate to fight for the rebels. Too bad his job is toting the royal infant around so everyone can see the aforementioned birthmark. There seems no chance he will distinguish himself in battle and win the attention, let alone hand, of rebel captain Maid Jean (Glynis Johns). However opportunity knocks in the form of a chance meeting with Giacomo, King of Jesters and Jester of Kings. One swiftly-applied plank to the head later and Hawkins presents himself at Roderick’s castle as the new jester…
There are many reasons to hold The Court Jester dear, but the greatest of them is the incomparable Danny Kaye. He sings, dances, is ludicrously charming and a fantastic clown, and can buckle a swash with the best of them. He also looks great in motley. As Hawkins Kaye juggles multiple roles with consummate ease and clearly relishes every minute of it. I was especially delighted by his ability to switch from timid fool to dashing hero- who “lives for a sigh and dies for a kiss”- and back again at the snap of someone’s fingers. Just when you think the movie has hit its peak, out pops ‘The Maladjusted Jester’: a sublimely tongue-twisting patter piece tailor-made for Kaye’s talents. This was the first Danny Kaye film I ever saw- is it any wonder I am now so fond of him?
Of course the rest of the cast are on excellent form too. Glynis Johns’ light, breezy delivery suggests a fragility and delicacy hilariously subverted by Jean’s ruthlessness. Cecil Parker swaggers about court and pursues wenches with equal gusto. Yet neither of them made me laugh half as much as Basil Rathbone and Angela Lansbury. When not playing the world’s most famous detective (think of a man wearing a deerstalker- chances are it’s Rathbone), Basil Rathbone was one of Hollywood’s finest villains and he gleefully turns Ravenhurst into a send-up of his best ‘bad guy’ roles. Lord Ravenhurst is outrageously conniving, fiendishly intelligent and as quick with a blade as he is with his wits. Rathbone was an accomplished swordsman and some of that skill is on display in this movie’s climactic battle- clashing swords and implausible fencing moves galore. Angela Lansbury takes the standard role of rebellious princess and runs with it, playing even death threats so deadpan that Gwendolyn is all the funnier for it. I have watched her in everything from The Picture of Dorian Gray to The Manchurian Candidate and never been disappointed.
The gags pile on thick and fast in this film- there are even some in the opening credits!- and it is a wonderfully affectionate parody of everything I love about swashbucklers. Incredibly it flopped on release. Thank goodness it is now preserved in the US National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
If nothing else, stick around for the jousting scene. “The pellet with the poison is in the vessel with a pestle. The chalice from the palace has the brew that is true…”
The Court Jester is a comic classic. Get it? Got it. Good.
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