The Court Jester
Encyclopedia
The Court Jester is a 1956 musical-comedy film starring Danny Kaye
, Glynis Johns
, Basil Rathbone
, and Angela Lansbury
. The movie was co-written
, co-directed
, and co-produced
by Melvin Frank
and Norman Panama
. The film was released by Paramount Pictures
in Technicolor
and in the VistaVision
widescreen format.
Danny Kaye received a Golden Globe
nomination for Best Motion Picture Actor - Comedy/Musical.
Made for a cost of $
4 million in the fall of 1955, it was the most expensive comedy film produced at the time. The motion picture bombed
at the box-office on its release, bringing in only $2.2 million in receipts the following winter and spring of 1956. Since then, it has become a television matinee favorite. The film contains the famous exchange: "The pellet with the poison's in the vessel with the pestle; the chalice from the palace has the brew that is true!" (mainly between Kaye and Mildred Natwick
as Griselda).
In 2000, The Court Jester was listed at #98 on the American Film Institute
's list of 100 Years... 100 Laughs. In 2004, The Court Jester was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry
by the Library of Congress
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
, the plot nominally concerns the struggle to restore the rightful heir, a baby, to the throne after the King
and all his family have been disposed of. Kaye plays Hubert Hawkins, an ex-carnival
entertainer who becomes minstrel
to the Black Fox, a Robin Hood
-type character (Edward Ashley
, who actually makes only a few minor appearances in the film).
The usurping King Roderick wishes his daughter, Princess Gwendolyn, to marry his neighbor, Sir Griswold of MacElwain, to enlist Griswold's aid against the band of rebels headed by the Black Fox. Princess Gwendolyn, however, refuses to marry Griswold, and declares that she will wed only for love, since her personal maid Griselda, who is also a witch, has predicted that a true lover will come to the castle to court her. The marriage plan also does not sit well with Lord Ravenhurst, one of Roderick's advisors, who fears that Grisworld's presence may lose him his privileged position with the king.
Hawkins, whose usual task is to reveal the royal infant's distinct birthmark (the sign of his ancestry) to prospective rebel recruits, is charged with the task of carrying the child across the country to safety when Roderick's men threaten to discover the rebels. Disguised as an old man, he travels with Maid Jean (Glynis Johns
), one of the Fox's lieutenants posing as his granddaughter, with whom he is in love and who has also fallen for him. They encounter the King's new Jester "Giacomo, 'King of Jesters and Jester of Kings'" (John Carradine
) on his way to the castle and knock him out, and Hawkins impersonates him, hoping to gain entry to the King's castle. The plan is to steal the key to a secret passage into the castle, through which the Black Fox could then attack. Hawkins is, however, unaware that the jester he is impersonating is also a famous assassin whom Lord Ravenhurst plans to employ against his rivals. Maid Jean, proceeding alone with the infant king, is captured by the King's men, who have been sent to round up pretty young girls to decorate the tournament. At the castle, she entrusts the infant into the care of an infiltrator working as an ostler
before she is taken away. Matters are more complicated when Griselda hypnotizes Hawkins to avoid death by her princess' hands for her as yet unfulfilled promises; in his befuddled state, Hawkins inadvertently introduces Jean to the king, who takes a fancy to her, and gets the key lost, Gwendolyn infatuated with him, and Ravenhurst entrusting him with taking out his rivals, only to have his memory erased by Griselda afterwards. She also kills Ravenhurst's competitors according to her own agenda.
During the evening banquet, Sir Griswold arrives to solidify his alliance with the king. However, Gwendolyn openly declares her love for the jester, and the enraged King orders Hawkins' death. Griswold, insulted, announces that, if "Giacomo" were a knight rather than a common clown, he would challenge him to mortal combat. Meanwhile, Ravenhurst and his fellows have learned that Hawkins is an impostor, but wrongfully assume that he is the Black Fox himself; they also find out that Maid Jean is one of the rebels and that the royal heir is in the castle. Still intent on preventing the alliance, Ravenhurst counsels the King that he can get rid of the jester by making him a knight, who would then have to fight Sir Griswold. Although the requirements for Knight
hood are usually very rigorous, the King arranges for Hawkins to pass them rapidly.
Jean uses her confidence with the king to steal back the key and send it to her band, although she also tries to save Hawkins by asking the Black Fox to substitute for him in the joust. But just before the rebels can use the passage, it collapses, leaving only a small crawlspace. The Black Fox decides to summon Hawkins' friends, a troupe of acrobatic dwarves he had met earlier, from the carnival and sends them through the passage for a diversionary attack while the rest of the rebels assault the castle from the outside.
Back in the castle, Hawkins becomes a knight, and Griswold immediately challenges him to a joust to the death. Griselda, under Gwendolyn's orders to protect Hawkins, tries poisoning one of the drinks to be used for the toast immediately before the joust, but through one of his men Griswold also learns of the poison, and after a quarrel between the two combatants about the unpoisoned drink the toast is cancelled. Against all odds, Hawkins wins the joust because his armor was incidentally magnetized by a lightning bolt, but he refuses to deliver the coup de grâce
, sparing Griswold's life. As Griswold leaves with his soldiers, Ravenhurst denounces Hawkins and Maid Jean to the King. Before the King can pass judgement upon them, Hawkins's friends, who have secretly entered the court through the secret passage, rescue him and capture the castle from the King's soldiers. During this battle, Ravenhurst attacks Hawkins with a sword. Griselda hastily enchants Hawkins again, giving him expert prowess in fencing - some of the time. Ravenhurst is finally hurled out of the castle into the sea via catapult
.
Griswold returns to defend the King, but Hawkins reveals the infant king's birthmark to him and to his men. The former enemies all pledge allegiance to the true king, Griswold and Gwendolyn become enamored with each other, and Hawkins leads everyone in one last chorus of "Life could not better be".
recognition
Note: Sylvia Fine
was Danny Kaye
's wife.
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 officially trained on the mechanisms of how music was synchronized to film – he learned on the job. The film also required 100 minutes of music for Schoen to compose and arrange. Some pieces in the film (also known as "cues") were very long and required a great deal of hours for Schoen to finesse. One piece that Schoen
was most proud of in his career was the chase music he wrote 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 Vic 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
had 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.”
Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye was a celebrated American actor, singer, dancer, and comedian...
, Glynis Johns
Glynis Johns
Glynis Johns is a South African-born Welsh stage and film actress, dancer, pianist and singer . With a career spanning seven decades, Johns is often cited as the "complete actress", who happens to be a trained pianist and singer...
, Basil Rathbone
Basil Rathbone
Sir Basil Rathbone, KBE, MC, Kt was an English actor. He rose to prominence in England as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in over 70 films, primarily costume dramas, swashbucklers, and, occasionally, horror films...
, and Angela Lansbury
Angela Lansbury
Angela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...
. The movie was co-written
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, co-directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, and co-produced
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
by Melvin Frank
Melvin Frank
Melvin Frank was an American screenwriter, film producer and film director. He collaborated with a former schoolfriend, Norman Panama to form a writing partnership which endured for 3 decades...
and Norman Panama
Norman Panama
Norman Panama was an American screenwriter and film director born in Chicago, Illinois. He collaborated with a former schoolfriend, Melvin Frank to form a writing partnership which endured for three decades...
. The film was released by Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
in Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
and in the VistaVision
VistaVision
VistaVision is a higher resolution, widescreen variant of the 35mm motion picture film format which was created by engineers at Paramount Pictures in 1954....
widescreen format.
Danny Kaye received a Golden Globe
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
nomination for Best Motion Picture Actor - Comedy/Musical.
Made for a cost of $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
4 million in the fall of 1955, it was the most expensive comedy film produced at the time. The motion picture bombed
Box office bomb
The phrase box office bomb refers to a film for which the production and marketing costs greatly exceeded the revenue regained by the movie studio. This should not be confused with Hollywood accounting when official figures show large losses, yet the movie is a financial success.A film's financial...
at the box-office on its release, bringing in only $2.2 million in receipts the following winter and spring of 1956. Since then, it has become a television matinee favorite. The film contains the famous exchange: "The pellet with the poison's in the vessel with the pestle; the chalice from the palace has the brew that is true!" (mainly between Kaye and Mildred Natwick
Mildred Natwick
Mildred Natwick was an American stage and film actress.- Early life :A native of Baltimore, Maryland, she was born to Joseph and Mildred Marion Dawes Natwick. She graduated from the Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore...
as Griselda).
In 2000, The Court Jester was listed at #98 on the American Film Institute
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
's list of 100 Years... 100 Laughs. In 2004, The Court Jester was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry is the United States National Film Preservation Board's selection of films for preservation in the Library of Congress. The Board, established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, was reauthorized by acts of Congress in 1992, 1996, 2005, and again in October 2008...
by the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
Plot
Set in medieval EnglandEngland in the Middle Ages
England in the Middle Ages concerns the history of England during the Medieval period — from the end of Roman rule in Britain through to the Early Modern period...
, the plot nominally concerns the struggle to restore the rightful heir, a baby, to the throne after the King
King
- Centers of population :* King, Ontario, CanadaIn USA:* King, Indiana* King, North Carolina* King, Lincoln County, Wisconsin* King, Waupaca County, Wisconsin* King County, Washington- Moving-image works :Television:...
and all his family have been disposed of. Kaye plays Hubert Hawkins, an ex-carnival
Carnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
entertainer who becomes minstrel
Minstrel
A minstrel was a medieval European bard who performed songs whose lyrics told stories of distant places or of existing or imaginary historical events. Although minstrels created their own tales, often they would memorize and embellish the works of others. Frequently they were retained by royalty...
to the Black Fox, a Robin Hood
Robin Hood
Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes....
-type character (Edward Ashley
Edward Ashley-Cooper
spouse = Renee Osterman Torres Edward Montague Hussey Cooper was an actor descended from an English family but born in Australia...
, who actually makes only a few minor appearances in the film).
The usurping King Roderick wishes his daughter, Princess Gwendolyn, to marry his neighbor, Sir Griswold of MacElwain, to enlist Griswold's aid against the band of rebels headed by the Black Fox. Princess Gwendolyn, however, refuses to marry Griswold, and declares that she will wed only for love, since her personal maid Griselda, who is also a witch, has predicted that a true lover will come to the castle to court her. The marriage plan also does not sit well with Lord Ravenhurst, one of Roderick's advisors, who fears that Grisworld's presence may lose him his privileged position with the king.
Hawkins, whose usual task is to reveal the royal infant's distinct birthmark (the sign of his ancestry) to prospective rebel recruits, is charged with the task of carrying the child across the country to safety when Roderick's men threaten to discover the rebels. Disguised as an old man, he travels with Maid Jean (Glynis Johns
Glynis Johns
Glynis Johns is a South African-born Welsh stage and film actress, dancer, pianist and singer . With a career spanning seven decades, Johns is often cited as the "complete actress", who happens to be a trained pianist and singer...
), one of the Fox's lieutenants posing as his granddaughter, with whom he is in love and who has also fallen for him. They encounter the King's new Jester "Giacomo, 'King of Jesters and Jester of Kings'" (John Carradine
John Carradine
John Carradine was an American actor, best known for his roles in horror films and Westerns as well as Shakespearean theater. A member of Cecil B DeMille's stock company and later John Ford's company, he was one of the most prolific character actors in Hollywood history...
) on his way to the castle and knock him out, and Hawkins impersonates him, hoping to gain entry to the King's castle. The plan is to steal the key to a secret passage into the castle, through which the Black Fox could then attack. Hawkins is, however, unaware that the jester he is impersonating is also a famous assassin whom Lord Ravenhurst plans to employ against his rivals. Maid Jean, proceeding alone with the infant king, is captured by the King's men, who have been sent to round up pretty young girls to decorate the tournament. At the castle, she entrusts the infant into the care of an infiltrator working as an ostler
Hostler
An hostler or ostler in the horse industry is a groom or stableman, who is employed in a stable to take care of horses...
before she is taken away. Matters are more complicated when Griselda hypnotizes Hawkins to avoid death by her princess' hands for her as yet unfulfilled promises; in his befuddled state, Hawkins inadvertently introduces Jean to the king, who takes a fancy to her, and gets the key lost, Gwendolyn infatuated with him, and Ravenhurst entrusting him with taking out his rivals, only to have his memory erased by Griselda afterwards. She also kills Ravenhurst's competitors according to her own agenda.
During the evening banquet, Sir Griswold arrives to solidify his alliance with the king. However, Gwendolyn openly declares her love for the jester, and the enraged King orders Hawkins' death. Griswold, insulted, announces that, if "Giacomo" were a knight rather than a common clown, he would challenge him to mortal combat. Meanwhile, Ravenhurst and his fellows have learned that Hawkins is an impostor, but wrongfully assume that he is the Black Fox himself; they also find out that Maid Jean is one of the rebels and that the royal heir is in the castle. Still intent on preventing the alliance, Ravenhurst counsels the King that he can get rid of the jester by making him a knight, who would then have to fight Sir Griswold. Although the requirements for Knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
hood are usually very rigorous, the King arranges for Hawkins to pass them rapidly.
Jean uses her confidence with the king to steal back the key and send it to her band, although she also tries to save Hawkins by asking the Black Fox to substitute for him in the joust. But just before the rebels can use the passage, it collapses, leaving only a small crawlspace. The Black Fox decides to summon Hawkins' friends, a troupe of acrobatic dwarves he had met earlier, from the carnival and sends them through the passage for a diversionary attack while the rest of the rebels assault the castle from the outside.
Back in the castle, Hawkins becomes a knight, and Griswold immediately challenges him to a joust to the death. Griselda, under Gwendolyn's orders to protect Hawkins, tries poisoning one of the drinks to be used for the toast immediately before the joust, but through one of his men Griswold also learns of the poison, and after a quarrel between the two combatants about the unpoisoned drink the toast is cancelled. Against all odds, Hawkins wins the joust because his armor was incidentally magnetized by a lightning bolt, but he refuses to deliver the coup de grâce
Coup de grâce
The expression coup de grâce means a death blow intended to end the suffering of a wounded creature. The phrase can refer to the killing of civilians or soldiers, friends or enemies, with or without the consent of the sufferer...
, sparing Griswold's life. As Griswold leaves with his soldiers, Ravenhurst denounces Hawkins and Maid Jean to the King. Before the King can pass judgement upon them, Hawkins's friends, who have secretly entered the court through the secret passage, rescue him and capture the castle from the King's soldiers. During this battle, Ravenhurst attacks Hawkins with a sword. Griselda hastily enchants Hawkins again, giving him expert prowess in fencing - some of the time. Ravenhurst is finally hurled out of the castle into the sea via catapult
Catapult
A catapult is a device used to throw or hurl a projectile a great distance without the aid of explosive devices—particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. Although the catapult has been used since ancient times, it has proven to be one of the most effective mechanisms during...
.
Griswold returns to defend the King, but Hawkins reveals the infant king's birthmark to him and to his men. The former enemies all pledge allegiance to the true king, Griswold and Gwendolyn become enamored with each other, and Hawkins leads everyone in one last chorus of "Life could not better be".
Awards and honors
American Film InstituteAmerican Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
recognition
- 2000: AFI's 100 Years... 100 Laughs #98
Songs
- "(You'll Never) Outfox the Fox" (words by Sammy CahnSammy CahnSammy Cahn was an American lyricist, songwriter and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premiered by recording companies in the Greater Los Angeles Area...
, music by Sylvia FineSylvia FineSylvia Fine was an American lyricist, composer, producer and the wife of the comedian Danny Kaye...
) - "My Heart Knows a Lovely Song" (words and music by Sammy Cahn & Sylvia Fine)
- "Pass the Basket" (words by Sammy Cahn, music by Sylvia Fine)
- "Where Walks My True Love?" (words by Sammy Cahn, music by Sylvia Fine)
- "Maladjusted Jester" (words and music by Sylvia Fine)
- "Life Could Not Better Be" (words and music by Sammy Cahn & Sylvia Fine)
- "I Live to Love" (words by Sammy Cahn, music by Sylvia Fine, deleted from the film but included on the soundtrack album)
Note: Sylvia Fine
Sylvia Fine
Sylvia Fine was an American lyricist, composer, producer and the wife of the comedian Danny Kaye...
was Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye was a celebrated American actor, singer, dancer, and comedian...
's wife.
Musical score
Hollywood arranger and composerComposer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
Vic Schoen
Vic Schoen
Victor "Vic" Schoen was an American bandleader, arranger, and composer whose career spanned from the 1930s until his death in 2000...
was asked to provide the musical score for the film. Film composer Elmer Bernstein
Elmer Bernstein
Elmer Bernstein was an American composer and conductor best known for his many film scores. In a career which spanned fifty years, he composed music for hundreds of film and television productions...
was hired as the assistant musical director to Schoen
Vic Schoen
Victor "Vic" Schoen was an American bandleader, arranger, and composer whose career spanned from the 1930s until his death in 2000...
. The Court Jester was an enormous challenge for Schoen
Vic Schoen
Victor "Vic" Schoen was an American bandleader, arranger, and composer whose career spanned from the 1930s until his death in 2000...
at the time because it was his first feature film. He was not officially trained on the mechanisms of how music was synchronized to film – he learned on the job. The film also required 100 minutes of music for Schoen to compose and arrange. Some pieces in the film (also known as "cues") were very long and required a great deal of hours for Schoen to finesse. One piece that Schoen
Vic Schoen
Victor "Vic" Schoen was an American bandleader, arranger, and composer whose career spanned from the 1930s until his death in 2000...
was most proud of in his career was the chase music he wrote toward the end of the movie when Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye was a celebrated American actor, singer, dancer, and comedian...
’s character engages in a sword fight. Schoen
Vic Schoen
Victor "Vic" Schoen was an American bandleader, arranger, and composer whose career spanned from the 1930s until his death in 2000...
wrote a mini piano concerto
Piano concerto
A piano concerto is a concerto written for piano and orchestra.See also harpsichord concerto; some of these works are occasionally played on piano...
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 Vic Schoen
Vic Schoen
Victor "Vic" Schoen was an American bandleader, arranger, and composer whose career spanned from the 1930s until his death in 2000...
started to conduct a cue but noticed that the entire orchestra had turned to look at Igor Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
, 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
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
had 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.”