“Take that horse and put it back under that idiot!” An abundance of villains allows for a certain level of suspense as well (allusions to torture and rape also arise), despite the regular interludes for clumsy, physical hijinks and slapstick.
The court jester men full#
Fortunately for him, his lighthearted disposition works like a charm, a seduction tool just as effective as broad-shouldered machismo.Īlthough the film is chiefly a vehicle for Kaye’s brand of farcical musical, full of linguistic gags, tongue-twisting wordplay (favoring alliteration), and airy crooning, it’s difficult to dismiss the opportunities for swashbuckling adventure, particularly with Rathbone in the cast (it also doesn’t hurt that there’s both a princess and a fair maid for a consternating love triangle). “Sometimes tenderness and kindness can make a man.” Kaye and Johns lend to a prime comedy partnership, partly serving to emasculate the nincompoop, while also demonstrating the romantic appeal of a funny, artistic, talented caregiver – the polar opposite of the overtly heroic Robin-Hood-like raider whom Hawkins wishes to emulate. With Hubert’s proclivity for playing dress-up, a plot is hatched to infiltrate the castle to obtain a key to a hidden passageway – and it’s up to the galavanting entertainer to take the role of a highly reputable court jester. He ends up as the butt of many a joke, tasked primarily with revealing the royal baby’s special posterior birthmark, the purple pimpernel, or creating diversions through embarrassing disguises – alongside Captain Jean (Glynis Johns), a formidable woman whom he’s quite fond of. “They’ll never outfox the Fox!” As it so happens, the Black Fox’s identity is occasionally assumed by impersonators like former carnival worker Hubert Hawkins (Danny Kaye), an extraordinarily merry mischief-maker who sings and dances with his band of faithful followers – squeaky little people dressed in coordinating outfits (credited as Hermine’s Midgets).
But perhaps with the help of the wealthy Griswold of the North (Robert Middleton), a brute and a lout who wishes to marry the king’s daughter, Princess Gwendolyn (Angela Lansbury), an alliance can be formed to rid the empire of the masked bandit. With his gang of insurrectionists, trouble brews, causing great dismay to the usurper and his right-hand man Sir Ravenhurst (Basil Rathbone). But rumor has it that the rightful heir, an infant, has been secreted away into the forest under the care of the renowned outlaw, the Black Fox. Ing Roderick the Tyrant (Cecil Parker) seized the throne through a massacre of the entire royal family.
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