Product: The Court Jester [VHS] (1956)
Rating: 5.0
Kaye at his best...I jest not!
I remember watching this one years ago, and it stills holds up incredibly well. Not only is "The Court Jester" (1956) arguably Danny Kaye's finest comedy, it's an excellently-mounted production in every way. The cast (Glynis Johns, Angela Lansbury, Basil Rathbone) is superb, the sets & costumes lavish, the songs (penned by Kaye's wife Sylvia Fine) top-notch, and then there's Kaye himself, who's probably never been funnier.As the minion of the Robin Hood-like bandit The Black Fox, Kaye gets in over his head (natch!) in a plot to restore an infant king to his rightful throne. En route, Kaye participates in some great comic moments that deserve to be called classic: Getting rushed through a "dignified" knighting ceremony; hypnotized by witch Mildred Natwick to be heroic & fearless at the snap of a finger (which hilariously backfires); and jousting with a magnetized suit of armor.If you've never seen a Danny Kaye film, then start here; if you've seen this one before, then prepare to laugh again!