"The Court Jester" is a film that you'll love or you'll dislike--and it really all depends on what you think about Danny Kaye and his verbal humor. What I mean by verbal humor is his tongue-twisting patter...something you really cannot describe and which you need to hear for yourself to understand.
The story appears set in England, but they never say where the story is set and the names are not historical names from this country. When the tale begins, you learn that some time ago some usurper killed off the royal family and grabbed the throne for himself. However, somehow a baby escaped and the resistance want to return the baby to the throne. How did they know the baby was royalty? It has a weird birthmark. Now that is an excellent way to determine who should be king!
Hubert (Danny Kaye) is a part of this resistance. He and his friend (Glynis Johns) hatch a plan--Hubert will impersonate a famous jester who is en route to the kingdom from Italy. Then, he'll kill the king! But in the process the plan keeps changing. First, the royal baby falls into their hands and they must hide it. Second, the princess' maid hypnotizes Hubert and makes him think he's a great hero. What's to come of all this? See the film.
I didn't particularly love the film. Part of it was Kaye's shtick. Much of it was how plastic everything looked. Instead of medieval England, it looked like a Hollywood sound stage complete with colors and costumes that looked like costumes. Perhaps you'll enjoy it...it just seemed a bit shrill and unfunny....and Kaye's done better work. So, your loyalty belongs to the one with a purple mark on his rear. Now THAT'S a great way to run a country!
The story appears set in England, but they never say where the story is set and the names are not historical names from this country. When the tale begins, you learn that some time ago some usurper killed off the royal family and grabbed the throne for himself. However, somehow a baby escaped and the resistance want to return the baby to the throne. How did they know the baby was royalty? It has a weird birthmark. Now that is an excellent way to determine who should be king!
Hubert (Danny Kaye) is a part of this resistance. He and his friend (Glynis Johns) hatch a plan--Hubert will impersonate a famous jester who is en route to the kingdom from Italy. Then, he'll kill the king! But in the process the plan keeps changing. First, the royal baby falls into their hands and they must hide it. Second, the princess' maid hypnotizes Hubert and makes him think he's a great hero. What's to come of all this? See the film.
I didn't particularly love the film. Part of it was Kaye's shtick. Much of it was how plastic everything looked. Instead of medieval England, it looked like a Hollywood sound stage complete with colors and costumes that looked like costumes. Perhaps you'll enjoy it...it just seemed a bit shrill and unfunny....and Kaye's done better work. So, your loyalty belongs to the one with a purple mark on his rear. Now THAT'S a great way to run a country!