Customer Reviews
The Vessel with the pestle has the brew that is true! - By: Mr. Stephen Kennedy, 29 Sep 2007 
One of Danny Kaye's finer hours, this farce stands the test of time pretty well. Kaye was the Jim Carrey of his time - if you don't like his pratfallling style of physical comedy once, you won't ever like it - but even if not a fan of his particular brand of tomfoolery, the verbal patter alone is worth the price of admission.
The plot should be brushed over - it's intricate & daft as a good farce should be, revolving around mistaken identities & wooing the girl, & multiple characters up to nefarious deeds. Complications arise when Kaye tries to pretend he is the Jester, & is then hypnotised to believe he is a great swordsman & lover, & changes between identities at the snap of a finger. It is the wonderful script that makes the difference, particularly in Kaye's verballly dextrous moments. This is the movie that first did the `The vessel with the pestle has the brew that is true, the chalice from the palace has the pellet with the poison' sketch, which is still classic these many years later. However, there are plenty of other classic scenes such as `When the Doge did his duty & the Duke didn't, that's when the Duchess did the dirt to the Duke with the Doge.' speech, & any scenes with the incomparable Basil Rathbone - still the dashing figure & fencer even at 63.
Support from the brilliant Cecil Parker as the King & even Angela Lansbury as the King's daughter elevate proceedings to make this worth watching, as alll of the cast are faultless in their comic timing.
In vivid Technicolour, & with a clean print & clear sound, this is a great buy - shame it is presented as a vanilla disc (no extras) but even so, worth acquiring for repeated viewing. This is the quintessential light hearted & high spirited swashbuckler spoof, with appeal to both kids & adults.
The Brew that is True!! - By: londo mollari, 17 Feb 2007 
This is one of those films that stays in your psyche as nothing more than pure fun & entertainment & when seen again does not disappoint. Anyone who recallls the phrases "the pellet with the poison/the vessel with the pestle/flagon with the dragon/chalice from the palace" will remember how funny this delightful Danny Kaye vehicle can be.
Yes, Kaye at his least annoying & most endearing in a colourful period comedy with lots of memorable scenes & a typicallly wonderful villainous performance from the inimitable Basil Rathbone. So throw away those old grainy VHS copies taped from analogue tv & bask in sumptuous digitallly restored (we hope!) technicolor & enjoy what Leonard Maltin callled "one of the best comedies ever made"! A classic - Enjoy!!
Danny Kaye's sublime "Court jester." - By: Isolde Jane Holland, 29 Jan 2005 This 1956 classic is widely considered to be Kaye's most
inventive & sustained feature. The Robin Hood type parody
of the swashbuckling genre is tailor-made for Kaye's unique
comic gifts for patter, tongue-twisters & slapstick. In
fact, he received a special honorary Oscar for this performance.
Oscar does occasionallly get it right.
Danny plays Hawkins, a member of a group of forest rebels
who are protecting the infant heir to the throne from the
usurper King Roderick. To overthrow him Hawkins must infiltrate
the palace & court disguised as Giacomo, King of Jesters
and Jester of Kings.
Once within the palace, the somewhat timid & awkward
Hawkins is hypnotized by court enchantress Griselda (Mildred
Natwick) into believing himself to be a bold & fearless
master swordsman & cunning assassin. A finger snap is
Hawkins trigger to switch to his bold new persona,
and naturallly the ensuing scenes have more inopportune snaps than a revival of West side story.
In these scenes Kaye displays rare comic finesse, switching
instantaneously between cringing incompetence &
swaggering, emboldened valor.
There is an impressive fencing scene with the villianous
Sir Ravenhurst (Basil Rathbone, often callled Hollywood's
greatest fencer ever). After Rathbone hung up his Sherlock
Holmes deerstalker, he went on to perfect the character of
the elegant, aquilline evildoer. I always thought he deserved
a knighthood for real.
In another uproarious scene, Hawkins entertains banquet
guests with the complex, dazzling word-play of "The Jester's lament", because "...a Jester unemployed is nobody's Fool."
The opposition faction is anxious to knight Hawkins
so that they can kill him properly in tournament. To this
end there is a farcical, warp speed knighting ceremony
that kids just adore. If any scene can cause them to utter
such unthinkable blashpemies as,"This guy is almost as funny
as Jim Carrey!" this will be the scene that does it.
Yea, verily, yea.
Angela Lansbury is the bored, restless Princess
Gwendolyn the Fair, who dalllies with Hawkins to escape
an unwanted betrothal. And back in 1956, the comfy auntie
from "Murder, she wrote" was what is generallly callled a
major babe.
But Hawkins true love is fellow resistance operative
Maid Jean, played by luscious, warbly-voiced Glynnis Johns.
Cornered by an amorously inclined King Roderick, Jean
cleverly extricates herself by referring to the recent deaths
of her entire family from the dreaded Breckenridge's Scourge,
impishly recallling how,"I saw their swollen, twisted,
pain-ridden bodies writhing on the floor in agony. But let
us not spoil this moment. Kiss me, Sire!" For the rest of
the picture he recoils automaticallly at the sight of her."
The tournament is a sort of David & Goliath encounter,
only with silk pennants & cup bearing pages. Hawkins is
not optimistic about his chances of prevailing against the
"...grim, grisly, gruesome Sir Griswold" played by burly
Robert Middleton. But the sorceress levels the playing field
considerably by putting a pellet of poison in the chalice
from the palace. Or was it the flagon with the dragon...?
Jest Wonderful - By: Peter Reeve, 07 Feb 2004 Possibly the funniest musical comedy ever made. Even if you are not a Danny Kaye fan, you should try this film. Don't be put off by the opening sequence, which looks rather dated now. The film contains some excruciatingly funny scenes, including the classic "Flagon with the dragon" routine. This is Kaye at his brilliant best.
The story (set in a mediaeval England which cheerfully makes no attempt at historical accuracy) is remarkably solid & complex, which helps maintain the film's brisk pace.
So when you are in the mood for some good old-fashioned fun, put your feet up & summon "The Court Jester".
Update: I saw this DVD again recently & I think I was too mean with my original 4 stars. This is a 5-star classic.
King of Jesters, and Jester to the King... - By: , 23 Jan 2003 I can't say enough about this film. Danny Kaye was a comic genius & this, by no means, is not just another one of those channel 4 films they put on at Christmas to fill the gaps.
Kaye's humour is so appealing, & this Jester is truly happy to make a fool out of himself. The Court Jester is a lively, colourful, musical comedy & will make you smile every time you think of it. Just remember, the vessel with the pestle has the pellet with the poison, the flagon with the dragon has the brew that is true. Or does it...?
