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The Court Jester

Play trailer Poster for The Court Jester 1956 1h 41m Musical Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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97% Tomatometer 30 Reviews 93% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Former carnival performer Hubert Hawkins (Danny Kaye) and maid Jean (Glynis Johns) are assigned to protect the infant royal heir from tyrannical King Roderick I (Cecil Parker). While Jean takes the baby to an abbey, Hawkins gains access to the court by impersonating the king's jester, unaware that the jester is really an assassin hired by scheming Sir Ravenhurst (Basil Rathbone). When Princess Gwendolyn (Angela Lansbury), falls for Hawkins, a witch secretly aids him in becoming a knight.
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The Court Jester

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Critics Consensus

A witty spoof of medieval swashbuckler movies, The Court Jester showcases Danny Kaye at his nimble, tongue-twisting best.

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Audience Reviews

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Alec B An insane vehicle for Danny Kaye. Each scene slowly adds more and more outrageous farce elements until the frenzied finale. Its often quite funny but the movie is a little exhausting. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/09/24 Full Review Tom S I have absolutely no idea why this movie is rated so highly. I kept waiting for something remotely interesting to happen, but all I got was tired tongue twisters and a second rate sword fight. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 09/28/23 Full Review Audience Member I first saw this movie in the theater for my fifth or sixth birthday party. Since then I have seen it so many times to this day I still have a good bit memorized, and I consistently name it as my favorite movie of all time (and I'm a movie buff). Furthermore, when I was a grad student of English lit, my medieval lit professor showed it in class, noting that--as is mentioned in the prologue--they did tons of research to get the details authentic. Like many others, I consider it the best of Danny Kaye. And check out the young, beautiful Angela Lansbury, and Basil Rathbone before Sherlock Holmes. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/19/23 Full Review Audience Member Simply put, Danny Kaye is arguably the most talented American entertainer of the previous century, and "The Court Jester" is his best film, employing his talents as a dancer, singer, impressionist, master of elocution and languages, to a greater degree than any of his other films, most of which deserve high marks as does his own network television variety show int he early '60s. No one possesses Kaye's ability to evoke the "inner child" of all of us to the same degree as Kaye--which he does paradoxically through his sophisticate sense of language, gesture and expression (Cole Porter wrote his most difficult lyrics for Kaye, knowing that ONLY he could memorize and deliver these pyrotechnical tongue-twisters.) Warnings: for some unexplained reason, the film was allowed to go uncopyrighted, resulting in numerous cheap, inferior prints with fuzzy edges and weak pastels in place of sharp images with solid colors and a score with high fidelity sound. Recently, the problem has been solves. Don't settle for a "colorized" look in place of the original VistaVision full-spectrum color. And be sure to see the film more than once, and be on the alert for the tongue-twister about the "vessel with the pestle" in the "chalice with a palace." Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/23/23 Full Review Audience Member Best Danny Kaye comedy. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review joel h he Court Jester is a fabulous showcase for Danny Kaye's talents, with witty dialogue, entertaining songs, and plenty of physical comedy. In addition, Glynis Johns & Angela Lansbury do a fantastic job making the ridiculous plot feel more believable. This movie is undeniably silly, but if you're in the mood for silly, this will definitely hit the spot. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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The Court Jester

The Court Jester: Official Clip - The Flagon with the Dragon The Court Jester: Official Clip - The Flagon with the Dragon 2:09 The Court Jester: Official Clip - The Pellet with the Poison's in the Vessel with the Pestle The Court Jester: Official Clip - The Pellet with the Poison's in the Vessel with the Pestle 2:02 The Court Jester: Official Clip - They Say It Isn't Catching The Court Jester: Official Clip - They Say It Isn't Catching 1:34 The Court Jester: Official Clip - Bewitched by Griselda The Court Jester: Official Clip - Bewitched by Griselda 2:12 The Court Jester: Official Clip - Master of Many Tongues The Court Jester: Official Clip - Master of Many Tongues 1:02 The Court Jester: Official Clip - The Wine Merchant and the Mute The Court Jester: Official Clip - The Wine Merchant and the Mute 2:12 The Court Jester: Official Clip - Get It? Got It. Good. The Court Jester: Official Clip - Get It? Got It. Good. 1:50 The Court Jester: Official Clip - The Maladjusted Jester The Court Jester: Official Clip - The Maladjusted Jester 2:12 The Court Jester: Official Clip - Crossing Blades with the Snap of a Finger The Court Jester: Official Clip - Crossing Blades with the Snap of a Finger 2:13 View more videos
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Movie Info

Synopsis Former carnival performer Hubert Hawkins (Danny Kaye) and maid Jean (Glynis Johns) are assigned to protect the infant royal heir from tyrannical King Roderick I (Cecil Parker). While Jean takes the baby to an abbey, Hawkins gains access to the court by impersonating the king's jester, unaware that the jester is really an assassin hired by scheming Sir Ravenhurst (Basil Rathbone). When Princess Gwendolyn (Angela Lansbury), falls for Hawkins, a witch secretly aids him in becoming a knight.
Director
Melvin Frank, Norman Panama
Producer
Melvin Frank, Norman Panama
Screenwriter
Melvin Frank, Norman Panama
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Production Co
Dena Enterprises
Genre
Musical, Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 27, 1956, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 1, 2014
Runtime
1h 41m
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