The Court Jester is a 1955 American historical musical comedy film starring Danny Kaye, Glynis Johns, Basil Rathbone, Angela Lansbury, and Cecil Parker. The film was written, produced, and directed by Norman Panama and Melvin Frank for distribution by Paramount Pictures. It was released in Technicolor and the VistaVision widescreen format.
The film centers on Hubert Hawkins, a carnival entertainer. He is a member of the Black Fox's band of rebels (a parody of Robin Hood and his Merry Men) who are protecting the true infant king of medieval England from a usurper. Events cause Hawkins to take the identity of an apparent court jester, who is actually an assassin, so he can spy in the usurping King's castle, where there are many people who wish to make use of the Jester for their own villainous ends. The film contains several songs (all sung by Kaye), makes heavy use of slapstick comedy and quick-witted wordplay, and is best remembered for the tongue twister "The pellet with the poison's in the vessel with the pestle; the chalice from the palace has the brew that is true!"
Though the film was not financially successful upon release, it has grown to be a beloved classic, earning high scores on Rotten Tomatoes. In 2004, The Court Jester was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Plot
King Roderick the Tyrant, having sent Lord Ravenhurst to slaughter the Royal Family of England, usurps the throne. The Black Fox and his band of rebels rescue the true king, an infant with the royal "purple pimpernel" birthmark on his backside. They harass Roderick and his men while guarding the baby. Lords Brockhurst, Finsdale, and Pertwee convince the king to seek alliance with Sir Griswold of MacElwain, by offering him Roderick's daughter Gwendolyn in marriage. Gwendolyn objects, for the castle witch Griselda foretold a more gallant lover.
Hubert Hawkins, the Black Fox's minstrel, brings a troupe of acrobat-little people from the carnival to replace him so he can fight, but the Black Fox refuses. The King's men find their hideout, so Hawkins and another rebel, Maid Jean, are ordered to disguise themselves as wine merchants and take the baby to safety. They meet the king's newly hired jester, Giacomo, on the road. Jean knocks him out and tells Hawkins to steal his identity. Hawkins heads for the castle, and Jean travels on alone, but is captured by the king's men, who were ordered to bring the fairest wenches to the king's court.
Lord Ravenhurst tells a friend that Giacomo is actually an assassin whom he hired to kill Brockhurst, Finsdale, and Pertwee, to prevent the alliance. Simultaneously, Gwendolyn decides to kill Griselda for lying to her, until Griselda promises Giacomo as her prophesied lover. Hawkins, unaware of both these things, enters the castle and tries to make contact with a rebel confederate. However, Ravenhurst unwittingly appears at Hawkins' whistle signal, so Hawkins allies himself with Ravenhurst instead. Prior to Hawkins' arrival, Fergus the Hostler, the true confederate, already met up with Jean, and now has the baby hidden in a basket. Jean sneaks into the palace and steals a key to a secret passage from King Roderick's chambers.
Hawkins is put under a hypnotic spell by Griselda, and in that state woos the princess, receives his orders to kill the three lords from Ravenhurst, and obtains the key from Jean, but loses it back to the king. Hawkins forgets all this once the spell is gone. Fergus gives him the basket with the baby, but before he can get it to safety, Hawkins is called before the king. He distracts the king and crowd from noticing the basket with a well-received performance; Jean rescues the basket. Griselda, meanwhile, poisons the three lords' cups to prevent the alliance. Ravenhurst believes Hawkins killed them.
Griswold arrives, but Gwendolyn declares her love for "Giacomo", and Hawkins is arrested and jailed. Ravenhurst learns that Giacomo never arrived and concludes that Hawkins, having apparently sabotaged the alliance, must be the Black Fox. He convinces Roderick to rush Hawkins through the trials to become a knight so he can duel Griswold, ostensibly so Griswold can kill the jester but really so the Black Fox would eliminate Griswold.
Jean steals back the key. Fergus sends it by pigeon to the real Black Fox, but is caught and tortured to death by Ravenhurst's men. At the tournament, Griselda poisons one of the ceremonial drinks and tells Hawkins which. One of Griswold's men overhears and warns Griswold, and he and Hawkins both struggle to remember which of the glasses is poisoned (the famous "Vessel with the Pestle" routine) and end up not drinking the toast. Through sheer luck, Hawkins defeats Griswold in the duel, but spares his life and sends him away.
Ravenhurst finds the baby and exposes Hawkins as a traitor. However, the real Black Fox sends the midgets through the secret passage, and they rescue Hawkins, Jean, and the baby. Jean clubs the gate guard and lets the Black Fox's army into the castle. Threatened by Gwendolyn, Griselda hypnotizes Hawkins to become a master swordsman. He duels Ravenhurst, though the spell is accidentally switched on and off several times. Eventually, Hawkins and Jean launch Ravenhurst from a catapult into the sea.
Griswold returns with his army ready to kill the rebels, but Hawkins shows him the infant's purple pimpernel birthmark. Griswold kneels to the baby, as does everyone else, including Roderick. Hawkins leads everybody in song.
Cast
Danny Kaye as Hubert Hawkins, a minstrel who steals Giacomo the Jester's identity Glynis Johns as Maid Jean, a rebel captain and Hawkins' love interest Basil Rathbone as Lord Ravenhurst, the King's closest adviser Angela Lansbury as Gwendolyn, Princess of England Cecil Parker as Roderick, faux King of England and father of Gwendolyn Mildred Natwick as Griselda, a witch and adviser to Gwendolyn Robert Middleton as Sir Griswold of MacElwain, Gwendolyn's betrothed Michael Pate as Sir Locksley, Ravenhurst's lackey and ally Herbert Rudley as the Captain of the Guard, one of Ravenhurst's lackeys Noel Drayton as Fergus the Hostler, a spy of the Black Fox in Roderick's castle John Carradine as Giacomo, an Italian jester and assassin, hired by Ravenhurst Edward Ashley as the Black Fox, a rebel leader Alan Napier as Lord Brockhurst, adviser to Roderick Lewis Martin as Lord Finsdale, adviser to Roderick Patrick Aherne as Lord Pertwee, adviser to Roderick Richard Kean as Archbishop Hermine's Midgets as Hubert Hawkins' acrobatic troupe The American Legion Zouaves (of Richard F. Smith, Post No. 29, Jackson, Michigan) as the Marching Knights
Musical score
Hollywood arranger and composer Vic Schoen was asked to provide the musical score for the film. Film composer Elmer Bernstein was hired as the assistant musical director to Schoen. The Court Jester was an enormous challenge for Schoen at the time because it was his first feature film. He was not formally trained on the mechanisms of how music was synchronized to film – he learned on the job. The film required 100 minutes of music for Schoen to compose and arrange. Some pieces in the film (also known as "cues") were very long, and took many hours for Schoen to finesse. One piece that Schoen was most proud of in his career was the chase music toward the end of the movie when Danny Kaye's character engages in a sword fight. Schoen wrote a mini piano concerto for this scene.
A pleasant surprise happened during the recording session of The Court Jester. The red "recording in progress" light was illuminated to ensure no interruptions, so Schoen started to conduct a cue but noticed that the entire orchestra had turned to look at Igor Stravinsky, who had just walked into the studio. Schoen said, "The entire room was astonished to see this short little man with a big chest walk in and listen to our session. I later talked with him after we were done recording. We went and got a cup of coffee together. After listening to my music Stravinsky told me 'You have broken all the rules'. At the time I didn't understand his comment because I had been self-taught. It took me years to figure out what he had meant."
However, the producers removed this score and commissioned an entirely new one from Hollywood veteran Walter Scharf. He wrote a new score from scratch but because of lack of time, Scharf insisted he did not want a credit for his work."Composed and Conducted by Walter Scharf", Walter Scharf, Valentine & Mitchell 1988, ISBN 0-85303-221-1, pages 137f
The film's opening song, "Life Could Not Better Be", breaks the fourth wall by having Kaye make direct reference to the filmmakers conducting "research".
Audio version In September 1955, Kaye recorded a nine-minute-long condensed version of The Court Jester for 1956 release by Decca Records on the two-part single K 166."Review Spotlight", Billboard, March 3, 1956. In the simplified version of the storyline, the characters of Hubert and the Black Fox are merged, Lord Ravenhurst is replaced by an unnamed evil king, and Jean is dropped entirely. It features excerpts from several of the film's songs ("Outfox the Fox", "I'll Take You Dreaming", "My Heart Knows a Lovely Song", and the finale version of "Life Could Not Better Be").Danny Kaye for Kids CD release, Naxos Nostalgia 8.120844, 2006
Reception
Critical reception
The New York Times was complimentary in its review: "No use to try to trace the story as it riotously unfolds. We vaguely suspect that proved too tiresome for even Messrs. Panama and Frank. There are all sorts of beautiful, babbling stretches of sheer obscurity along the way. But in every—or almost everymix-up, there is the all-things-to-all-men Mr.Kaye.... this story does not have subtlety. Nor does Mr.Kaye's portrayal in it have firm personality. He is just a funny fellow bounced all over the place, with surprisingly few songs to help him. The farce lacks finish—or even form. But Mr.Kaye plays it adroitly, and so do... Parker... Lansbury... Johns... Rathbone... and many, many more. The color and costuming are gaudy, and the whole thing... has the audacious size and splash about it that mark it shrewdly made for commerce. It's good fun."Crowther, Bosley. "Screen: Burlesque With a Lance." New York Times, 2 February 1956, 19. The Philadelphia Inquirer was enthusiastic as well: "Danny Kaye...is back and all's well in the comedy world....Kaye is just about at the top of his varied and wonderful form....The hairbreadth adventures concocted as showcase for his elastic talent and bright with invention and sly enough to make even producers of straight costume pieces of this order laugh at themselves....there are five engaging songs by Sylvia Fine and Sammy Cahn, lush sets, and costumes all enhanced by Technicolor and VistaVision, and an enthusiastic cast which backs up Danny every merry inch of the way."Martin, Mildred. "Danny Kaye Back Again in 'Court Jester,' Midtown." Philadelphia Inquirer, 4 February 1956, 9.