Too much of everything

The Worst Film Ever

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The acting in this movie is really good.

The plot is based on the multiple alternation of the Hubert Hawkins (played by Grand Danny Kaye). He is a fairy-tale comedian who serves in the "Black Fox" troop. The "Black Fox" is a narcotic Robin Hood-Persiflage on the Eroll Flynn representation. Hubert falls into the palace of the lion through adverse circumstances. There he is thought to be Giacomo, the "King of Jesters and Jester of Kings". He takes this role to preserve his identity. Only Giacomo is actually a mission killer and for Ravenhorst (splendidly silly and demonic: Basil Rathbone) eliminate the reigning king. However, there are still the true heirs.I've got it! I've got it! The pellet with the poison's in the vessel with the pestle; the chalice from the palace has the brew that is true! Right? - Right. But there's been a change: they broke the chalice from the palace! The film unfolds the unique joke in its incredible shaking rhymes. I love it. Danny Kaye in top shape.

I missed the first 15 minutes so I'm not sure exactly what the plot was. It deals with Danny Kaye disguising himself as a court jester to help a baby claim his rightful place as king of England. Helping him is a beautiful woman (Glynis Johns) and a princess (Angela Landsbury) who wants him as her husband...or else! There's also Basil Rathbone on hand being evil as only he can.Bright beautiful Technicolor, a fast pace and beautiful costumes are the main attraction here. Also seeing Johns and Landsbury so young and beautiful is interesting. The problem is Kaye and the script. I have nothing against Kaye but I didn't find him particularly funny and his song and dance numbers were terrible. Also some of the jokes were groaners--one was repeated FOUR TIMES! Still I watched it all and was entertained. This is best for kids who would probably love it.

This is an extremely funny movie, in all sorts of ways, from very broad humor to very clever word play - a lot of the latter. While the performances are uniformly first-rate and the directing keeps this movie moving, the real key to its quality is the script. It is full of brilliant tongue twisters - Danny Kaye's specialty - delivered not just with speed, but downright brilliance by the whole cast. "The vessel with the pestle" routine is first delivered by two other characters, and both do it masterfully. You have to listen carefully to some of the word play to catch just how clever it is, but it's definitely worth it.There's nothing profound here, but that doesn't matter. This movie laughs with the joy of the pleasure to be derived from playing intelligently with language. It shows what can be accomplished by making an effort to use language well, and cleverly, rather than just spouting whatever.Note Basil Rathbone's first-rate parody of his own performances as a medieval villain in such Warner Brother costume epics as The Adventures of Robin Hood. Rathbone was a great and very versatile actor. He is as great in sending himself up as he was in the roles he parodies.

Crossed between The Scarlet Pimpernel and Charles Laughton in Henry VIII plus 1938's Robin Hood's jousting lies Danny Kaye's sublime 'The Court Jester'.In vivid Technicolor and sparkling like a new cut diamond, the visual and lyrical gags are amazing. Cecil Parker as the King and Angela Lansbury as Queen try and control a dastardly Basil Rathbone and beautiful Glynis Johns. A threadbare plot pivoting around a baby with a birthmark on its bum, who is the true heir to the throne, drives this zany film.Danny Kaye was a tongue-twister extraordinaire and here they flow thick'n'fast, with some of the funniest lines ever twisted on the tongue. Kaye is swift and natural in all his routines and is a joy to watch.Some of the scenes with the dwarfs don't look right these days and there are a few not-so-strong patches. But, the sublime bits make you instantly forget those and as it rattles through, it barely stops for breath.The DVD is cheap and for a rainy, cold weekend afternoon, Court Jester will provide all the tonic that you could possibly endure.