The Court Jester facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Court Jester |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Melvin Frank Norman Panama |
| Produced by | Melvin Frank Norman Panama |
| Written by | Melvin Frank Norman Panama |
| Starring | Danny Kaye Glynis Johns Basil Rathbone Angela Lansbury Cecil Parker |
| Music by | Vic Schoen Walter Scharf |
| Cinematography | Ray June |
| Editing by | Tom McAdoo |
| Studio | Dena Enterprises |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | December 24, 1955 (Japan)January 27, 1956 (USA) |
| Running time | 101 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $4 million |
| Money made | $2.2 million (US) |
The Court Jester is a funny and musical adventure movie from 1955. It's set in medieval times and stars Danny Kaye, Glynis Johns, Basil Rathbone, Angela Lansbury, and Cecil Parker.
The movie was created by Melvin Frank and Norman Panama for Paramount Pictures. It was filmed in bright Technicolor and a wide screen format called VistaVision.
The story takes place in medieval England. A group of rebels, led by "The Black Fox," is trying to put the true baby king back on the throne. This baby has a special "purple pimpernel" birthmark. The rebels are a bit like Robin Hood and his friends.
The main character is Hubert Hawkins (played by Danny Kaye). He's a clumsy but kind member of the Black Fox's group. Hubert gets into all sorts of silly situations. He pretends to be a jester in the king's castle. His adventure involves palace secrets, a princess, and a brave plan.
The movie makes fun of classic knight and adventure films. Hubert's journey is full of funny mix-ups, magic spells from a witch, and a mean villain named Lord Ravenhurst (Basil Rathbone). It has lots of physical comedy and famous funny lines. One famous line is 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!"
Even though the movie didn't make a lot of money when it first came out, it has become a much-loved classic. Many people enjoy it today. In 2004, The Court Jester was chosen to be part of the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. This means it's considered an important movie that should be saved for the future.
Story of the Movie
King Roderick the Tyrant has taken over the throne of England. He sent Lord Ravenhurst to get rid of the royal family. But "The Black Fox" and his rebels saved the true baby king. This baby has a special "purple pimpernel" birthmark. The rebels hide the baby and cause trouble for King Roderick.
Three lords tell King Roderick to make an alliance with Sir Griswold of MacElwain. They suggest that Roderick's daughter, Princess Gwendolyn, marry Sir Griswold. But Gwendolyn doesn't want to. A castle witch named Griselda told her she would find a more heroic lover.
Hubert Hawkins, who is a minstrel for the Black Fox, wants to fight. But the Black Fox says no. The king's soldiers find the rebels' hideout. So, Hubert and another rebel, Maid Jean, are told to dress as wine merchants. They must take the baby to safety.
On the road, they meet Giacomo, the king's new jester. Jean knocks him out. She tells Hubert to pretend to be Giacomo. Hubert goes to the castle. Jean travels alone but is captured by the king's men. They were told to bring the prettiest women to the king's court.
Lord Ravenhurst has hired Giacomo to kill the three lords. This would stop the alliance. Princess Gwendolyn is upset with Griselda for her prophecy. But Griselda then promises Gwendolyn that Giacomo will be her true love. Hubert doesn't know any of this. He enters the castle and tries to find a rebel spy.
However, Ravenhurst accidentally shows up when Hubert gives a secret whistle signal. So, Hubert pretends to be on Ravenhurst's side. Before Hubert arrived, Fergus the Hostler, the real spy, met Jean. He hid the baby in a basket. Jean sneaks into the palace. She steals a key to a secret passage from King Roderick's room.
Griselda puts Hubert under a hypnotic spell. While under the spell, Hubert charms the princess. He also gets orders from Ravenhurst to kill the three lords. He gets the secret key from Jean. But he loses it back to the king. Hubert forgets everything that happened under the spell.
Fergus gives Hubert the basket with the baby. But before Hubert can get the baby to safety, the king calls him. Hubert performs for the king and the crowd. This distracts them from the basket. Jean then rescues the basket. Meanwhile, Griselda poisons the three lords' drinks. This stops the alliance. Ravenhurst thinks Hubert killed them.
Sir Griswold arrives. But Gwendolyn says she loves "Giacomo" (Hubert). Hubert is arrested and put in jail. Ravenhurst learns that the real Giacomo never arrived. He thinks Hubert must be the Black Fox. He convinces King Roderick to quickly make Hubert a knight. This way, Hubert can duel Griswold. Ravenhurst hopes Hubert will kill Griswold, or Griswold will kill Hubert.
Jean steals the key again. Fergus sends it by pigeon to the real Black Fox. But Ravenhurst's men catch Fergus. He is captured and sadly passes away. At the knight tournament, Griselda poisons one of the drinks. She tells Hubert which one it is. One of Griswold's men overhears this. He warns Griswold.
Hubert and Griswold both try to remember which glass is poisoned. This is the famous "Vessel with the Pestle" scene. They end up not drinking the toast. By pure luck, Hubert wins the duel against Griswold. But he spares Griswold's life and sends him away.
Ravenhurst finds the baby and tells everyone that Hubert is a traitor. But the real Black Fox sends the midgets through the secret passage. They rescue Hubert, Jean, and the baby. Jean knocks out a guard. This lets the Black Fox's army into the castle.
Gwendolyn threatens Griselda. Griselda hypnotizes Hubert again. This time, he becomes a master sword fighter. He duels Ravenhurst. The spell accidentally turns on and off during the fight. Finally, Hubert and Jean launch Ravenhurst from a catapult into the sea.
Griswold returns with his army, ready to fight the rebels. But Hubert shows him the baby's purple pimpernel birthmark. Griswold kneels to the baby. Everyone else, including King Roderick, also kneels. The true king is restored!
Main Actors
Here are the main actors and the characters they play:
- Danny Kaye as Hubert Hawkins, who pretends to be the jester
- Glynis Johns as Maid Jean, a brave rebel leader
- Basil Rathbone as Lord Ravenhurst, the king's main advisor
- Angela Lansbury as Gwendolyn, the Princess of England
- Cecil Parker as Roderick, the king who took over the throne
- Mildred Natwick as Griselda, a witch who advises Gwendolyn
- Robert Middleton as Sir Griswold of MacElwain
- Michael Pate as Sir Locksley, Ravenhurst's helper
- Herbert Rudley as the Captain of the Court Guard
- Noel Drayton as Fergus, a spy for the Black Fox inside the castle
- John Carradine as Giacomo, an Italian jester
- Edward Ashley as the real Black Fox, the rebel leader
- Alan Napier as Lord Brockhurst, an advisor to Roderick
- Lewis Martin as Lord Finsdale, an advisor to Roderick
- Patrick Aherne as Lord Pertwee, an advisor to Roderick
- Richard Kean as Archbishop
- Hermine's Midgets as Hubert Hawkins' acrobatic group
- The American Legion Zouaves as the Marching Knights
Movie Music
Vic Schoen, a Hollywood arranger and composer, created the music for The Court Jester. Elmer Bernstein, another film composer, helped him. This was a big challenge for Schoen because it was his first full-length movie. He had to learn how to make music fit perfectly with the film as he worked. He wrote about 100 minutes of music for the movie.
One part Schoen was very proud of was the chase music. This music plays during the sword fight scene with Danny Kaye's character. Schoen wrote a small piano concerto for this part.
Something surprising happened during a recording session for the movie. The "recording in progress" light was on, meaning no one should interrupt. Schoen started to conduct the music. But then, the whole orchestra stopped and looked at Igor Stravinsky. He was a very famous composer who had just walked into the studio!
Schoen later said, "Everyone in the room was amazed to see this short man with a big chest walk in and listen to our session." After they finished recording, Schoen and Stravinsky had coffee. Stravinsky told Schoen, "You have broken all the rules." Schoen didn't understand what he meant at the time because he taught himself music. It took him years to figure it out.
The movie's first song, "Life Could Not Better Be," is special. It breaks the "fourth wall" by having Danny Kaye talk directly about the actors and crew. He even jokes about who wrote the songs. This was a common funny trick in musical comedies back then. It also reminded people of old medieval plays. Those plays often started with an actor explaining the story to the audience.
Audio Version
In September 1955, Danny Kaye made a shorter, nine-minute audio version of The Court Jester. It was released in 1956 by Decca Records. This simplified story included parts of songs from the movie. But in this version, Hubert's character is removed. The Fox pretends to be Giacomo the whole time. Lord Ravenhurst is replaced by an unnamed evil king, and Jean is also not in the story.
See also
In Spanish: The Court Jester (película) para niños
