1956 film by Norman Panama, Melvin Frank
The Court Jester is a 1955 American historical musical comedy film starring Danny Kaye, Glynis Johns, Basil Rathbone, Angela Lansbury, and Cecil Parker. The film was written, produced, and directed by Norman Panama and Melvin Frank for distribution by Paramount Pictures. It was released in Technicolor and the VistaVision widescreen format.
The film centers on Hubert Hawkins, a carnival entertainer. He is a member of the Black Fox's band of rebels (a parody of Robin Hood and his Merry Men) who are protecting the true infant King of Medieval England from a usurper. Events cause Hawkins to take the identity of an apparent court jester, who is actually an assassin, so he can spy in the usurping King's castle, where there are many people who wish to make use of the Jester for their own villainous ends. The film contains several songs (all sung by Kaye), makes heavy use of slapstick comedy and quick-witted wordplay, and is best remembered for the tongue twister "The pellet with the poison's in the vessel with the pestle; the chalice from the palace has the brew that is true!"
Though the film was not financially successful upon release, it has grown to be a beloved classic, earning high scores on Rotten Tomatoes. In 2004, The Court Jester was included in the annual selection of 25 motion pictures added to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and recommended for preservation.
Plot summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.