To ensure that Hawkins/Giacomo meets the princess's expectations, Griselda (Mildred Natwick) hypnotizes him into thinking he's the medieval version of Rudolph Valentino. Nor could they anticipate that Princess Gwendolyn's lady-in-waiting, Griselda, has promised that a handsome stranger will rescue the princess from an undesirable marriage. They don't know, of course, that the villainous Sir Ravenhurst (Basil Rathbone) has hired Giacomo to assassinate three of the king's advisors. Learning that no one in the king's court has ever seen Giacomo, they hatch a quick scheme that has Hawkins assuming the identity of the jester.ĭanny Kaye and Basil Rathbone: 'Get it? Got it. Of course, Hawkins is not entrusted with this mission alone he is accompanied by Jean (Glynis Johns), one of the Black Fox's senior officers.Įn route to the palace, Hawkins and Jean encounter the new royal jester Giacomo ('King of jesters and jester of kings'). Danny Kaye plays Hawkins, a minor member of the Black Fox's gang, who is given the mission of smuggling the baby into the palace and getting the key to a secret passageway to the Black Fox. But I'm hard pressed to think of a classic film comedy that's as nearly perfect as The Court Jester.įor the uninitiated, it's a medieval tale in which the Black Fox (a sort of Robin Hood) plots to restore the rightful heir to the throne: a royal baby with a purple pimpernel birthmark on his posterior. I realize comedy is very subjective as some folks prefer broad laughs and others opt for dark humor. I recently watched The Court Jester (1955) for perhaps the tenth time-and laughed just as much as the first time.

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