The Court Jester

Starring:Danny Kaye, Glynis Johns, Basil Rathbone, Angela Lansbury, Cecil Parker, Mildred Natwick, Robert Middleton, Michael Pate, Herbert Rudley, Noel Drayton, John Carradine, Edward Ashley, Alan Napier, Lewis Martin, Patrick Aherne, Richard Kean, The Jackson Michigan Zouave Drill Team, Chad Dee Block, Edward Gibbons, William Pullen
Director: Norman Panama, Melvin Frank
Studio: Paramount
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

Danny Kaye spoofs Robin Hood and Scaramouche in this inventive slapstick swashbuckler. Portraying the clownish but good-hearted entertainer Hawkins, he infiltrates the court of the corrupt Basil Rathbone (up to his usual brand of cruel villainy) disguised as the legendary king of jesters, Giacomo. After a court sorceress hypnotizes Hawkins into believing he is also a legendary assassin, Hawkins has more identities than he can keep straight, and Kaye zips back and forth between them at, literally, a snap of the fingers. Comic highlights include a wonderful sword fight with Rathbone in which he constantly switches identities, and the classic "chalice from the palace/vessel with pestle" wordplay as Hawkins plays "hide the poison" and forgets where it is. With comely Glynis Johns as his spy-in-arms love interest, Angela Lansbury as the scheming princess, and Mildred Natwick as the dotty spellcaster, this is Danny Kaye at his comic best. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

Side Splitter.......2007-06-27

Absolutely one of Danny Kaye's best. I laughed so hard that there were tears. Truly an enjoyable movie. I just don't think they make them like this anymore.

Court Jester.......2007-06-11

Danny Kaye's ultimate best film. It is funny, romantic and empathic. He wants to be a hero type, but ends up hiding the baby King from the bad guy. He is enchanted by a court witch who convinces him he is a true hero with the snap of anyone's fingers. The most memorable line is "Get it? Got it? Good" -- Danny did his own sword fight, but the villian was in reality a great sword fighter and would not fight Danny when he was goofing off. --- A MUST SEE MOVIE

Prep for Engineering Final Exam.......2007-04-29

In 1958 I had to take an exam in Engineering Drawing from 2-5pm on a friday. I wanted to take my mind off of the exam in the morning so I went to the theatre to catch a matinee. It was the "Court Jester". It was the funniest movie I ever saw, and while taking the exam, the proctor was forced to move me into an adjacent room as I couldn't stop chuckling during the exam. I "aced" the test and was forever grateful to Danny Kay, Glynnis Johns (who was beautiful), Basil Rathbone ( the great) and Angela Lansbury who I forever after had a difficulty in seeing her in later films as a sweet lovable old lady.

Danny Kaye is the best!.......2007-04-10

This movie is just as great as I remember it from when I was a little kid!
My mom and I, every Saturday would watch old movies on tv, and my favorites were always Danny Kaye movies, this one is by far my favorite!
Danny plays the best part as the jester, his style is like no other!

I recommend this movie to anyone who wants a lighthearted laugh!

The Court Jester.......2007-03-28

Danny Kaye is brilliant in this movie. His "Vessel with the Pessle" routine is one of the best. Danny Kaye is at his best. The midgets in the
movie offset his humor.

Average customer rating:

Beauty's only skin-deep
An underrated masterpiece of silent cinema
Good but not great
Conrad Veidt in a silent masterpiece!!
Would have been better with the original ending

Paul Leni's The Man Who Laughs
Starring: Mary Philbin , Conrad Veidt , Julius Molnar Jr. , Olga Baclanova , and Brandon Hurst
Director: Paul Leni
Manufacturer: Kino Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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Similar Items:

Waxworks (1924) (Silent)
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TCM Archives - The Lon Chaney Collection (The Ace of Hearts / Laugh, Clown, Laugh / The Unknown)
Faust

ASIN: B0000B1A1J
Release Date: 2003-09-30

Customer Reviews:

Beauty's only skin-deep.......2007-06-22

Based on the well-known Victor Hugo novel, this story begins in the year 1690, when Lord Clancharlie is brought before King James II, bound and humiliated, and told that his young son Gwynplaine has been permanently disfigured by a band of Gypsies known as the Comprachicos. On order of the King, the Comprachicos have just been ordered to leave England, but little Gwynplaine is left behind, during the cold of winter. (Supposedly he's ten years old in the beginning, but I'd peg the little boy playing the young Gwynplaine as a few years younger than that.) He shortly discovers a woman sitting in the snow, dead, with a baby girl in her lap. He takes the baby to the nearest house he can find, to a philosopher named Ursus. It is discovered that the baby, Dea, is blind, and when Ursus orders Gwynplaine to stop laughing and is told he's not laughing, discovers to his horror that his face really is mutilated into a permanent grotesque smile.

Years go by and Gwynplaine (Conrad Veidt) and Dea (Mary Philbin) are all grown up, and touring England with Ursus as part of a circus and as performers in a play he's written, 'Le Homme Qui Rit,' 'The Man Who Laughs.' Though Gwynplaine is a real person with all of the normal human feelings and emotions, the crowds out there only laugh at him and see him as nothing more than a clown, someone who's expected to take all of their laughs and jeers without feeling pain. But Dea, who has grown up with him, isn't able to see what he looks like on the outside, and loves the beautiful man on the inside, even though Gwynplaine doesn't think she'd still love him and want to marry him could she see his horrifying permanent smile. (He's actually a dead ringer for the Joker.) Around this time it is discovered that Lord Clancharlie's son is alive and well, and that this heir must marry Duchess Josiana (Olga Baclanova), who stands to lose her estates inherited from Lord Clancharlie if she goes ahead with her marriage to Lord Dirry-Moir instead of this newly-discovered rightful heir. Duchess Josiana doesn't seem too committed to the idea of either marriage, preferring to have fun at local carnivals instead of attending to royal functions, but one couldn't easily say no to a royal edict in this era. All sorts of complications arise after the discovery of Gwynplaine's true identity, leading up to some very dramatic developments in both the circus and at court, and culminating in a dramatic chase through the streets of London at night, leaving the viewer wondering till the very end if there's going to be a happy ending or not.

Extras are a featurette on the making of the film and the long backstory behind it (the idea was five years in the making, and originally Carl Laemmle wanted Lon Chaney to play the star role), an excerpt of 'Die Filmstadt Hollywood,' showing Conrad Veidt and some other actors off the set, an excerpt of the Italian version of the film, information about the restoration (much of it drawn from the Italian release, which explains why somewhere in the middle, an untranslated Italian intertitle suddenly shows up), galleries of photos and promotional materials, and an excerpt from Hugo's original novel, which contains the original (notably different) ending. After reading the ending of the book, I'm actually glad the film had a different ending, and I usually prefer the book over the movie!

Though perhaps not quite so well-known as other silents, this one is a real emotional powerhouse, from the last really great year for silents. The artform was truly at its height in 1928, and would not have worked nearly so well as a talkie. Though Conrad Veidt could barely move his mouth due to the device holding it in that permanent Joker-like grin, he does a masterful job at expressing all of his emotions with his eyes. He says with his eyes what many speaking actors could never come even close to saying with words. And since the film was directed by Paul Leni, a recent import from Germany (who sadly died suddenly in 1929 at the age of only 44), it has a very Expressionistic influence on it, what with the lighting, mood, and sets. It has much more of a dark Gothic than Hollywood or 18th century England feel to it. Overall, I'm very happy that this film ended up being my 800th silent, a real milestone deserving of remembrance.

An underrated masterpiece of silent cinema.......2007-06-11

"The Man Who Laughs" is one of those near-forgotten silent films that deserve much more praise and attention, especially as it was well received in the late 1920s following the success of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" and "The Phantom of the Opera" which are in a similar category. In fact, Lon Chaney would have suited this role of yet another pitiful grotesque mutant, but due to his contract with MGM, the German-born producer, Carl Laemmle, chose a German crew which resulted in a definite German Expressionist flavour to this film. In the lead is Conrad Veidt, playing perhaps his best ever role as the mutilated man with a permanent grin on his face, and next to Mary Philbin, who starred in "The Phantom of the Opera", Veidt's performance is most moving and impressive. Unable to move his mouth due to the huge, grotesque grin, Veidt expresses the character's deep and strong emotions with his eyes and body language, for which the silent film is the perfect medium. The story for this unusual film is based on a 17th century French novel, but several changes were made to adapt it to the screen and win over American audiences especially. The scene is still 17th century with good sets and costumes of the period, and the overall mood is reminiscent of the gloomy, shadowy German Expressionist cinema of the 1920s, but Conrad Veidt's character demands viewers' full attention and almost detracts from the rest of the film's fine qualities. Working closely with fellow-German director Paul Leni (who directed "Waxworks", an earlier successful Expressionist film) Veidt manages to convey all the emotions of a man laughed at and treated like a clown due to his freakish face, at the same time struggling to feel worthy of a woman's love. Apart from this superb expressive character portrayal, the story is rich in royal court intrigues, not unlike stories such as The Three Musketeers and The Iron Mask, with treacherous assistants to the King, and a reckless, seductive duchess. `The Laughing Man', as he is called in his circus/freak show, becomes a pawn for the corrupt characters of the royal house, which separates him from his love and his circus show partner, Dea; the blind girl. There are some very stirring and beautiful scenes between these two players, and one of them is highlighted with the original Movietone soundtrack song, which was becoming all the fashion in the late 1920s. Restored to good-as-new condition like the picture quality, this soundtrack made for the film is well-suited and sounds very much like the music of early sound films. There are also a number of bonus features on this DVD such as a 20-minute short "the making of" documentary, a short candid home video of Veidt and other European stars such as Jannings and Greta Garbo, as well as extensive photo galleries of stills, photos and all kinds of promotional material concerning the film. There is also an insert with a good article written by the author of various books about early films and Conrad Veidt so that anyone from serious fan to general curious viewer should be well satisfied. While not as popular as Chaney's films `the Hunchback' and `the Phantom', "The Man Who Laughs" definitely deserves a place up there along with other top quality productions from the late silent era.

Good but not great.......2007-05-16

"Man Who Laughs" is good but not great (Metropolis is my standard of greatness). Visually, it's very good, especially the Expressionist -influenced elements. The first act shows enormous promise, but towards the middle it slips into a tired romance melodrama requiring the use of fast forward in a few places. This film (and the novel on which it is based) will be of some interest to fans of Batman because the protagonist is cosmetically similar to the Joker.

Conrad Veidt in a silent masterpiece!!.......2006-07-17

This is one of the true great films of the silent era. Veidt plays a disfigured character with a permant grin on his face. For those of you who this sounds familiar too, this is where they came up with the famous comic book villian the Joker from Batman. This is a great dvd to introduce you to silent films. I often wish I could find an original movie poster or lobby cards for this film. The transfer is great! Watch and enjoy!!

Would have been better with the original ending.......2006-05-05

I know that the world of cinema frowns upon sad endings, but "The Man Who Laughs" with a harmonious happy ending is just plain... blasphemy. The ending in the novel is similar to that of Romeo and Juliet. The Girl dies, and the Boy follows her. They are reunited in Death. Why couldn't a serious European director like Paul Leni stick to the original plot?

Verdi - Rigoletto / Viotti, Machado, Nucci, Mula, Luperi, Verona Opera

Average customer rating:

Fabulous opera, and performance
TERRIBLE PERFORMANCE!!!!!!!
Leo Nucci, superb!!!
Almost
bravo bufón y todos los otros.

Verdi - Rigoletto / Viotti, Machado, Nucci, Mula, Luperi, Verona Opera
Starring: Verdi , Aquiles Machado , Leo Nucci , Inva Mula , and Mario Luperi
Manufacturer: Tdk DVD Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Puccini - Turandot / Franco Zeffirelli - Marton, Domingo, Mitchell, Plishka, Cuenod - James Levine, MET (1988)
Verdi - La Traviata / Gruberova, Shicoff, Zancanaro, Rizzi, La Fenice
Donizetti - La Fille du Regiment / Frizza, Florez, Ciofi, Teatro Carlo Felice
Puccini - Tosca / Angela Gheorghiu, Roberto Alagna, Ruggero Raimondi, David Cangelosi, Antonio Pappano, Royal Opera
Verdi - Aida / Chiara, Cossotto, Martinucci, Scandola, Zardo, Zanazzo, Gudagno, Verona Opera

ASIN: B00008G6R4
Release Date: 2002-07-16

Customer Reviews:

Fabulous opera, and performance.......2006-07-10

I've become a great fan of TDK operas, with their wondeful color. Rigoletto is, of course, simply a great opera, Verdi's best, in my not so humble opinion. The opening scene of the hunchback's sadness could break any one's heart. Everything was well done, with repeats of the "avenge' aria and. of course, 'Donna mobile" Maybe there's one better, but this DVD completely satisfied me.

TERRIBLE PERFORMANCE!!!!!!!.......2006-02-27

This is the worst DVD in my opera collection. And I have over 50 of them.

Aquiles Machado as the Duke is horrible. He has bad vocal technique and sounds strained in his high voice. His characterisation is also unconvincing.

Inva Mula simply butchers the role of Gilda. She does not have good control of her high voice and therefore cannot give us effortless high notes. And her voice does not have a sweet innocent quelity. But she does look the part.

Mario Luperi (Sparafucile) sings badly and has an ugly voice. His acting is also unconvincing.

Sarah M'Punga (Maddalena) is more convinsing and does not sing all that badly and characterises well with her voice. Her use of portamento in her singing underlines well her characters sleezyness. Her acting is almost convincing.

Leo Nucci as Rigoletto is the only one who deserves praise. He looks the part. Acts convincingly and has a good dramatic baritone voice witch he uses with great musicianship.

Unfortunately his efforts are not enough to drag this production out of the toilett.
If you want a much, much better production of Rigoletto you should buy the one with Wixell, Pavarotti, Gruberova and the Vienna Philharmonic. Or any other production for that matter.
Just DO NOT BUY THIS DVD!!!

Leo Nucci, superb!!!.......2005-09-17

In this version of this moving opera masterpiece, in the Arena, Leo Nucci shows once more he is the perfect and ultimate "baritono verdiano".
His performance here, both singing and acting, is superb, touching, and full of nuances, and, if you love Verdi as I do, you should not miss it.

Almost.......2004-05-11

The music is from heaven, the story is from hell. I'm an Atheist. This and Tosca are my two favorite operas, and this is the first time I've seen Rigoletto. It is all beautiful (except maybe the breathless parting of the "lovers" in Rigoletto's house). My familiarity with and liking for operas is not so erudite as others', but I have ears and feelings. The picture and sound of this disc were perfect. I had no idea Nucci was such a tiny little man (never saw him before), and he was not my concept of Rigoletto, but I was able to accept him as authentic, and his slight size made him seem more vulnerable and helpless, a more perfect Rigoletto than I had previously imagined. And I loved him dearly when he broke character to take his bows and smiled, he was a beautiful man then. His voice also was not so resonant or rich as I'd come to think of as Rigoletto's. The only Gildas I've heard are Sutherland, Callas, Sills and Gruberova. Except Gruberova, I prefer them all to this one. Though she had a beautiful little voice and did very well with it. I couldn't help feeling I was watching/hearing one of the small, live Donizetti rarities I've collected over the years. On CD of course, not DVD. Everyone in this performance was good (2 of the numbers were encored), but frankly the whole thing seemed a little 2nd rate to me. I expect that comment to get this "review" ignored or crushed into oblivion with negative responses (like just about everything else I've ever said in an Amazon "review"), so I'll amplify that feeling by saying also that I thought Nucci's final exclamation which ended the opera lacked impact, it seemed anti-climactic, like something he'd said before, which he had. It seemed weak and understated when it should have overwhelmed the entire audience with pain, grief and horror. It was a pleasant Rigoletto, the music was marvelous, I don't know whether I'd recommend it because I don't know what else is available, but I do know I'd rather have one of my CDs of the show enacted instead of this version.

bravo bufón y todos los otros........2003-12-21

Evidentemente esta es en mi humildo opinión la mejor grabación e interpretación de esta gran ópera. todos, y digo todos sin excepción son casi perfectos, este término dicho sea de paso sólo lo podemos aplicar a las obras de Dios. La simpatía de Machado es sin igual en el mundo de la ópera, casi parece un muchacho; Gilda es una figura tremendamente agradable, tanto al oído como a la vista. He visto hasta ahora todas las grabaciones disponibles en DVD, reiterando mi opinión sobre esta maravillosa grabación. Nucci merece un comentario aparte, sencillamente es grandioso como el trágico padre que ha perdido a todo lo que tiene en la vida. Cinco estrellas es poco para él en especial. Bravo y larga vida a este maravilloso cantante.

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