THE COURT JESTER Cinema's Legacy

The Oscar®-winning writing team of Norman Panama and Melvin Frank produced and directed this beloved musical-comedy spoof of Hollywood swashbucklers. Danny Kaye stars as a good-hearted, ex-circus performer in medieval England who joins a band of forest rebels seeking to overthrow a corrupt king and foil his dastardly minions, including the scheming Lord Ravenhurst (Basil Rathbone). Highlights include Kaye’s musical introduction, a rousing illusionist dance number in which Kaye seemingly splits into a group of dancing people; a thrilling sword duel between Rathbone and Kaye, who switches personalities throughout on account of a magical spell; and passages of classic wordplay, such as “The pellet with the poison’s in the vessel with the pestle; the chalice from the palace has the brew that is true!” Shot in high-resolution VistaVision, it’s a colorful, merry adventure as entertaining as the movies to which it tips its feathered hat.