SVS: “The Court Jester”

HUBERT HAWKINS: After months of pleading for just this kind of action, what makes you think that anybody – anybody could make me reveal the identity of my confederate?

JEAN: Because they’d put you on the rack, crack your every bone, scald you with hot oil, and remove the nails off your fingers with flaming hot pincers.

HUBERT HAWKINS: I’d… like to withdraw the question.

This week’s recommendation is actually my kids’ fault. They were watching it recently, and I was reminded of its hilarity. Also, it’s been an exciting and somewhat demanding week, so I’m going with a film that’s just about my speed at the moment.

The Court Jester is currently streaming on AMAZON PRIME. And rent-able from YOUTUBE($) and GOOGLE PLAY($). You know what to do.

Danny Kaye plays kind-hearted entertainer Hawkins who disguises himself as the legendary king of jesters, Giacomo. Hawkins infiltrates the court of the evil villain Basil Rathbone, but when a sorceress hypnotises him, royal chaos ensues.

In an illuminating Twitter exchange earlier this summer — No, I still don’t understand Twitter, but it’s a lot of fun anyway — Steven Greydanus chimed in on an Adventures of Robin Hood-themed conversation I was having with this provocative tidbit:

Also, better than either #RobinHood1938 or #Zorro1940…a film spoofing both: #TheCourtJester. @LaurasMiscMovie @JosephSusanka @CatholicMomVA — Steven D. Greydanus (@DecentFilms) June 4, 2014

I’m not sure how many times I’d choose to watch Jester rather than Robin Hood, because while there are few cinematic things I enjoy more than the Flynn-Rathbone-fueled finale of Curtiz and Keighley’s swashbuckler, Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s spectacular Robin score is one of them. So, yes; the deck is a bit stacked. But that’s more of a personal thing than an objective one, and varies very much according to my mood.

Overall (and especially today, after a long and labor-ious week and with the promise of numerous newborn-fueled sleepless nights looming), I find myself greatly inclined to agree with Steven’s claim: The Court Jester is one of those that rare spoof film that actually reaches greater heights than its inspirations. (Oh, and speaking of Greydanus, he’s got a shiny new shingle: A weekly column on movies and home video releases over at Crux. Go thou, and enjoy it.)

There’s something about Kaye’s Giacomo that I find wonderfully (and perhaps illogically, given my general distaste for broad comedy) charming. Which is actually the way I react to Kaye in general, come to think of it. I suppose there might be a connection. I suspect his particular blend of physical and word-play-related humor is something you either “get” or you don’t. And for some reason, I get it. I don’t understand why that’s the case, because it flies in the face of much/most of what I know about myself. At the same time, I’m pretty inconsistent. (That, at least, has proven consistently true.) So maybe I won’t every be able to understand my appreciation and affection for this film. Maybe I’ll just let myself enjoy it, instead.

Also, “The Pellet with the Poison’s in the Vessel with the Pestle” sequence is one of those rare things that is a) incredibly famous, and b) still deserves to be more famous than it is. I don’t know how that’s even possible. I just know that it’s true.

HUBERT HAWKINS: I’d like to get in, get on with it, get it over with, and get out. Get it?

RAVENHURST: Got it.

HUBERT HAWKINS: Good.

Attribution(s): All publicity images and stills are the property of Paramount Pictures, and other respective production studios and distributors, and are intended for editorial use only.