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The
Court Jester
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Basil
plays an evil character named Ravenhurst, the King's right-hand man.
Ravenhurst is a character similar to Sir Guy of Gisbourne (The Adventures
of Robin Hood). The King has usurped the throne by murdering the
royal family. One member of the royal family, the rightful heir to the
throne, survived the massacre -- a baby with a purple pimpernel birthmark
on his bottom. An elusive, dashing outlaw, "The Black Fox," (a
Robin Hood-type character) and his followers have kept the baby safe. When
the King hears that the child lives, he sends his men into the forest to
find the child and kill him. Hawkins (Danny Kaye) and Jean (Glynis Johns)
are transporting the baby to safety when they encounter Giacomo, a court
jester from Italy on his way to the palace. Jean tells Hawkins that there
is a secret passageway underground into the castle, and that if a small
group of the outlaws could get into the castle, they could overtake the
King's forces. But someone needs to get close to the King in order to get
the key to the passageway. They realize that the Jester will be close to
the King. So, Jean knocks Giacomo unconscious, Hawkins takes
his place as the Jester and sets off toward the castle. 
 Ravenhurst believes the jester poisoned Brockhurst, Finsdale and Pertwee, and praises him. |
 Ravenhurst and Sir Locksley enjoy the jester's performance. |
To ensure that Hawkins will win a joust with Griswold, Griselda poisons one of the drinks for the pre-joust toast. She tries to explain to the jester which drink is poisoned.
| "The pellet with the poison is in the
vessel with the pestle. The chalice from the palace has the brew that is true." |
And after he gets that straight, she comes to him again and says,
| "Listen! They broke the chalice from the
palace and replaced it with the flagon with the figure of a
dragon." "Did you put the pellet with the poison in the vessel with the pestle?" "No, the pellet with the poison is in the flagon with the dragon. The vessel with the pestle has the brew that is true." |
Hawkins gets it hopelessly messed up, but he manages to survive anyway.
In
the end there is an interesting bout of fencing with Hawkins and
Ravenhurst, with Hawkins alternating between barely managing to stay alive
and out-fencing Ravenhurst. The beginning of this duel, when Hawkins
slices through the candles with his sword, is a parody of the fencing
scene between Rathbone and Tyrone Power in "The
Mark of Zorro." Ravenhurst is finally defeated when some midgets
sneak up behind him and surprise him. Then Hawkins flips him onto the
catapult, which hurls Ravenhurst into the lake.
Even at sixty-four, Rathbone duels as expertly and easily as he did when he was younger. In his autobiography, Rathbone raves about Danny Kaye, writing that his "exceptional talents have always made a deep impression on me." Rathbone adds that Kaye did not rely on his God-given talents for success, but worked very hard, "with an aptitude for assimilating and perfecting anything he decides to accomplish. ... In 'The Court Jester' we had to fight a duel together with saber. I don't care much for saber but had had instruction in this weapon during my long association with all manner of swords. Our instructor was Ralph Faulkner, a very well-known swordsman on the Coast who had specialized in saber. After a couple of weeks of instruction Danny Kaye could completely outfight me! Even granting the difference in our ages, Danny's reflexes were incredibly fast, and nothing had to be shown or explained to him a second time." (In and Out of Character, page 152, 153)
"The Court Jester" is an enjoyable movie and Basil is a superb villain, as always.
 Ravenhurst crosses swords with Hawkins |
 Ravenhurst about to be tripped by midgets |
Click here for more pictures from "The Court Jester"
Cast |
Credits |
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| Basil
Rathbone......................Ravenhurst Danny Kaye................................Hawkins Glynis Johns.............................Maid Jean Angela Lansbury...Princess Gwendolyn Cecil Parker........................King Roderick Mildred Natwick...........................Griselda Robert Middleton..................Sir Griswold Michael Pate..........................Sir Locksley Herbert Rudley............Capt. of the Guard Noel Drayton..................................Fergus Edward Ashley..........................Black Fox John Carradine.............................Giacomo Alan Napier........................Sir Brockhurst Lewis Martin...........................Sir Finsdale Pat Aherne...............................Sir Pertwee Richard Kean..........................Archbishop Larry Pennell......................Novice Knight |
Production
Co. .....................Paramount Producer.......................Norman Panama ............................................Melvin Frank Director.........................Norman Panama ............................................Melvin Frank Screenplay....................Norman Panama ............................................Melvin Frank Cinematographer.....................Ray June (Vista Vision, Technicolor) Editor................................Tom McAdoo Music Composers...............Vic Schoen, Sylvia Fine and Sammy Cahn Costume Design...................Edith Head ..........................................Yvonne Wood Choreography...............James Starbuck |
Images on this page and page two are from "The Court Jester," copyright Paramount Pictures.
