Danny Kaye's Outfox The Fox
This clip of Danny Kaye and company doing "(You'll Never) Outfox the Fox" from The Court Jester (1956) is wonderful and strange. It makes me want to watch the whole film again. Link (Thanks, Jason Weisberger!)
This clip of Danny Kaye and company doing "(You'll Never) Outfox the Fox" from The Court Jester (1956) is wonderful and strange. It makes me want to watch the whole film again. Link (Thanks, Jason Weisberger!)
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Wonderful - this film has been a favorite in my family for as long as I can remember. We will still sit down together and watch it whenever we can - and it's been too long since the last time.
To this day, I can call my sister in Japan and, without preamble, sing, "...and a jester unemployed..." and she will sing back, "...is nobody's fool!"
I'm sorry, but what clip? Is there a clip my browser isn't showing?
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The Court Jester is one of my favorite movies. It's the perfect thing for a day when you're home with the flu and need something fun and stimulating. The mind-control scenes in it are some of the best physical comedy I can recall seeing. Interesting trivia: This movie has a fantastic fencing scene, which can still hold its own against a lot of high budget modern CGI-laden fights. Danny Kaye was a brilliant fencer, but Basil Rathbone (the villain) was not, so in quite a few shots the fight choreographer stood in as an somewhat unconvincing stunt double for Rathbone. You can spot it if you look at the hair.
"Danny Kaye was a brilliant fencer, but Basil Rathbone (the villain) was not"
Rathbone did say, "After a couple of weeks of instruction Danny Kaye could completely outfight me! Danny's reflexes were incredibly fast, and nothing had to be shown or explained to him a second time."
And Rathbone was 63 at the time, and Kaye was 20 years younger.
Also:
"Fred Cavens, fencing master to the stars, paid him special tribute. Of all the actors he coached, Basil Rathbone was the one most likely to have succeeded in competitive fencing."
For clarity here is the clip clipped and clopped from my clipboard. Clap.
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Danny Kaye can cram more words into a shorter space (and all the while with better enunciation and control) than anybody else. Anyone who has ever seen The Inspector General (specifically the "Yakov's Elixer" scene) will attest to this.
The Court Jester is my favorite Danny Kaye film, with The Secret Life of Walter Midi being my second. (a-pocket-a-pocket-a-pocket-a-pocket-a-pocket-a-pocket-a)
Jim Dandy (#5)
I didn't mean to be harsh on Rathbone there, he's a great villain. I didn't know that he was so highly regarded as a fencer too. I don't remember any of his other fight scenes, I just thought it was notable that mild-mannered Danny Kaye was a hot enough fencer to warrant a professional opponent for that scene, and it is a little amusing seeing the real and fake Rathbones switch back and forth.
6: Thank you for posting the links to it. That video totally made my night. I have never seen this movie but it is definitely on my list now!
Brilliant! I love this film - the song Danny Kaye sings during the opening credits is brilliant (and has been an earworm since I saw you'd put this post up), and Angela Lansbury makes a lovely princess. It's a very, very funny film.
Zounds!
Rathbone and Errol Flynn fenced it out in 1938's mega-movie The Adventures of Robin Hood (avaialable alas only in HD-DVD for us HD film freaks) and I think he did of lot of villainous sword-fighting in the 30s and 40s - this role with Kaye plays off his notoriety as that type.
And The Court Jester is fantastic fifties fun for boys, but it won't appeal to the cynical/dark/superhero/effects set, methinks.
And I really like the Technicolor and wish this VistaVision film were available on BD.
PS Those are Hermine's Midgets, don't cha know.
The first time I watched this with my son, he was 6 and he loved the knighting scene. Kaye gets shuffled around like an ant and my son couldn't stop laughing. I'm always looking for old movies for us to watch as a family - this is one of the best.
Rathbone peaked in 1940 with 'The Mark of Zorro.' His every gesture is lethal. He was the best Hollywood fencer, it's pretty much agreed. What is startling is the gayness of his and Tyrone Power's encounter. I mean, the director piled it on. Those two were beautiful! Dig it: twenty-year-old Linda Darnell, a ravishing beauty herself, comes in third in the pretty stakes. And I'm straight. But I was ten years old when I saw it and for a couple of years I wasn't sure.
At age 10 or so, I decided this would be my favorite movie forever. In my late 30s, I see no reason to change my mind.
The first time I watched this with my son, he was 6 and he loved the knighting scene. Kaye gets shuffled around like an ant and my son couldn't stop laughing. I'm always looking for old movies for us to watch as a family - this is one of the best.
awesome post, david. danny kaye's been one of my favorite performers for over 30 years (yeah, i'm old). it's nice to see that the 'internet generation' can still appreciate talent and good ol' clean humor, as i often think of them as game-playing, sms-ing, ear-budded zombies. it's a bright, sunny day.
Rathbone peaked in 1940 with 'The Mark of Zorro.'
He's pretty good as Baron Wolf von Frankenstein in the rather campy Son of Frankenstein. And his real name is Philip St. John Basil Rathbone.
I continue to marvel at your impeccable taste. I grew up with Danny Kaye movies, and I was delighted to see this clip posted here.
I would be hard pressed to come up with a Danny Kaye film I didn't like. One of my other all time favorites is "A Song is Born" (1948). Basically a gangster's moll hides out in a music research lab with a bunch of bachelor musicians and the bumbling Hobart Frisbee (Danny Kaye). There is a jam session scene with Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, etc, etc, etc. Very cool. I miss the days when AMC actually showed films like this.
this is awesome
I highly recommend "The Inspector General" as well, for a hilarious take on Gogol's story (which is also pretty hilarious). great singing too.
There were few comics as irritating as Danny Kaye. You really had to like that git-gat-gittle business to put up with him for two hours.
Better drugs, Buddy. It's all about appropriate chemistry.
Danny Kaye was (is?) brilliant, especially in this movie, which is my favorite Danny Kaye movie, and one of my favorite movies over all. Now you've reminded me how long it's been since i've seen it, Sadly all I have is the VHS version and my VCR is broken. I need to add this to Netflix...
I have loved this one ever since I first saw it as a kid.
The chalice with the palace has the pellet with the poison, the flagon with the dragon has the brew that is true!
Oh, sheer comedic brilliance! And an all-around great movie. Angela Landsbury as a bombshell! AND Glynis Johns... woof! The jousting scene with MacElwaine is underrated, and the knightly trials are the subject of many a Society for Creative Anachronism in-joke.
What is really interesting about this movie is that the true hero is shown as someone equally capable of singing a child to sleep or staging a revolution. (How's that for an enlightened view of manhood?)
To #24:
Don't forget about the vessel with the pestle...
Thank you!! I love Danny Kaye so much but have pretty much only seen "White Christmas," which I love madly Mandy handy dandy, but this blows my mind a bit and I look forward to getting the flu and watching it on the couch. "What is really interesting about this movie is that the true hero is shown as someone equally capable of singing a child to sleep or staging a revolution. (How's that for an enlightened view of manhood?)" Excellent!
Jimh, I thought the vessel with the pestle had the brew that is true and the chalice with the palace had the pellet with the poison.
For many years I've judged new acquaintances (of my age, at least) on whether they are willing to enter a lengthy discussion about that poison...
MYDOG: I'm not completely sure, I always get them mixed up!
Gadzooks!
Jimh, I guess it's a case of any answer is right. I think they kept moving the poison anyway ;-)
I loved this song as a child in the 60's. I think I had record of Danny Kaye songs which was always on the phonograph in my bedroom. While I remember the movie I don't remember this scene.
Odd that. I remember seeing the movie on TV from time to time in the past but I wonder if this scene was often cut.