Critic Reviews

Court Jester, The (1956) Rank 5 Reviews

Expert Review Summary

Movie critics combined give Court Jester, The (1956) a score of 3.5300 out of 4

based on (17) reviews

Click on the numbers to the right of the graph to see reviews of that rating

Excellent

(11)

Very Good

(5)

Good

(1)

Fair

(0)

Poor

(0)

Reviews by Score:

Films on Disc (Stuart J. Kobak)

"The vessel with the pestle has the pellet with the poison and the chalice with the palace has the brew that is true," is the mantra for survival that Danny Kaye bollixes up in one of the screen's funniest comedies, The Court Jester. ...read the complete Court Jester movie review at Films on Disc (Stuart J. Kobak)

The Movie Mom (Nell Minow)

Hawkins (Danny Kaye) is a follower of the Black Fox, a Robin Hood- style rebel who hopes to put the royal heir on the throne in place of the usurper. Hawkins wishes for more exciting assignments, but is assigned to entertain the troops and care for the ...read the complete Court Jester movie review at The Movie Mom (Nell Minow)

New York Times (Bosley Crowther)

IT stood to reason that somebody would eventually cut loose and do a slam-bang burlesque on recent movies about knighthood and derring-do. The opportunity was as obvious as the splash of a custard pie. And we are happy to report that it's been leaped at ...read the complete Court Jester movie review at New York Times (Bosley Crowther)

eFilmCritic.com (Jay Seaver)

It is a rather incredible balancing act, though - a light comedy featuring an intricate plot; a film with dialog for the stage and physicality of the circus. At no point does it ever look realistic, but neither does it feel artificial. What makes it ...read the complete Court Jester movie review at eFilmCritic.com (Jay Seaver)

Decent Films - faith on film (Steven D. Greydanus)

See Errol Flynn in The Adventures of Robin Hood - and then see Danny Kaye in The Court Jester. As the former is the ultimate Hollywood swashbuckler classic, the latter is the ultimate swashbuckler spoof, and one of Kaye's finest. ...read the complete Court Jester movie review at Decent Films - faith on film (Steven D. Greydanus)

Moviemom's review

Hawkins disguises himself as Giacomo, the King's new jester, to get access to the palace. He finds himself in the midst of intrigue, hypnotized into wooing the Princess. ...read the complete Court Jester movie review at Moviemom's review

Time Out (--)

Spasmodically effective spoof of Robin Hood-style adventures, with Kaye as the former circus clown joining up with a band of outlaws to overcome a tyrannical usurper king. Whether it's really watchable depends on what you feel about the charmless Kaye, ...read the complete Court Jester movie review at Time Out (--)

Cinema Laser (Derek M. Germano)

Outside of the films he made for Samuel Goldwyn, THE COURT JESTER ($35) would have to be Danny Kaye's best know and most popular film. Set in twelfth century England, THE COURT JESTER is a winning mix of swashbuckling, clowning and song. Danny Kaye stars ...read the complete Court Jester movie review at Cinema Laser (Derek M. Germano)

At-A-Glance Film Reviews

One of Danny Kaye's most treasured films, this uproarious parody of The Adventures of Robin Hood and other colorful medieval adventures is crammed full of Kaye's brand of goofy humor. His characters are always the lovable underlings thrown into grand, ...read the complete Court Jester movie review at At-A-Glance Film Reviews

Audio Revolution

One of the greatest things about home video is that it has (too gradually) opened the history of movies to modern-day audiences. It's hard to remember that in the past, the only way to see older films was to try to catch them on in a commercial-riddled, ...read the complete Court Jester movie review at Audio Revolution

Jay's Movie Blog

The Court Jester is something of a minor amazement to me. It almost goes without saying that such a film would not be made today, although I must admit that Mike Myers might try (and the idea fills me with fear). It is a rather incredible balancing act, ...read the complete Court Jester movie review at Jay's Movie Blog

filmcritic.com laughs with the Court Jester

Pleasant, though not particularly challenging, The Court Jester deconstructs and spoofs the swashbuckler movie with Danny Kaye as a hapless Robin Hood wannabe who stumbles his way into the court of the usurper of the crown. The film has a few classic ...read the complete Court Jester movie review at filmcritic.com laughs with the Court Jester

Brilliant Observations on 1173 Films (Clayton Trapp)

The days of knights and damsels in distress was probably never quite like this, Danny Kaye singing stream of consciousness lyrics to the accompaniment of an invisible orchestra for example, but I'd like to believe that there was at least an element of ...read the complete Court Jester movie review at Brilliant Observations on 1173 Films (Clayton Trapp)

Doug Pratt's Laserdisc Review

Danny Kaye, portraying a minstrel cavorting with a Robin Hood-type band, takes on the guise of a court jester in order to save the kingdom in this engaging 1956 VistaVision romp. His sprighty dancing and his joyful, tounge-twisting dialogue reading allow ...read the complete Court Jester movie review at Doug Pratt's Laserdisc Review

Doug Pratt's Laserdisc Review

Paramount Home Video has released a Remastered Widescreen edition of the wonderful Danny Kaye comedy, The Court Jester (LV5512WS, $35). The letterboxing has an aspect ratio of about 1.76:1, masking a little off the top and bottom of the image in ...read the complete Court Jester movie review at Doug Pratt's Laserdisc Review

Channel 4 Film

Comedy co-producers directors writers Frank and Panama gave Kaye his funniest role since The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947) before the decline set in. This rather unsubtle spoof on medieval adventures yarns such as Ivanhoe was tailored for the Woody ...read the complete Court Jester movie review at Channel 4 Film

filmsgraded.com (Brian Koller)

What it's about. In the opening credits, Danny Kaye, decked out in his jester outfit, promises family entertainment with frivolity and a happy ending. And he delivers, in this costume comedy set in Robin Hood-era England. The king is a usurper, propped ...read the complete Court Jester movie review at filmsgraded.com (Brian Koller)