Fresh
Costumed swashbucklers undergo a happy spoofing in The Court Jester with Danny Kaye heading the fun-poking.
Variety Staff, Variety
The Court Jester
We asked Shakespeare and Francis Bacon would they declare which one wrote this and they both said, “Get outta here!”
1955 · 1h 41m · Approved
Adventure, Comedy, Music
Directed by
Melvin Frank
,
Norman Panama
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The Court Jester
Overview
A hapless carnival performer masquerades as the court jester as part of a plot against a usurper who has overthrown the rightful king of England.
Director and cast
- Melvin Frank Director
- Norman Panama Director
- Danny Kaye as Hubert Hawkins
- Glynis Johns as Maid Jean
- Basil Rathbone as Sir Ravenhurst
- Angela Lansbury as Princess Gwendolyn
- Cecil Parker as King Roderick I
- Mildred Natwick as Griselda
- Robert Middleton as Sir Griswold
- Michael Pate as Sir Locksley
- Herbert Rudley as Captain of the Guard
- Noel Drayton as Fergus
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
97%
Tomatometer
Fresh
Some accomplished slapstick, but nothing special.
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
Rotten
Whether it's really watchable depends on what you feel about the charmless Kaye, whose vehicle this is from start to finish.
Geoff Andrew, Time Out
Fresh
It's good fun.
Bosley Crowther, New York Times
Fresh
In The Court Jester, Funnyman Kaye takes all the laughs he needs, but he takes them when they do not stop the show.
TIME Magazine
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