The Court Jester (Melvin Frank, Norman Panama, 1955): USA

Reviewed by: Timothy Petersson     Viewed at AFI filmfestival 2013

The director duo, Melvin Frank and Norman Panama’s “The Court Jester” from 1955 is in many ways a timeless classic of comedy and presumably the reason why it was screened at the AFI film festival.

The story takes place in medieval England and one follows the protagonists Hubert Hawkins’s (Danny Kaye) journey in trying to restore the order in the kingdom by returning the empire to the rightful ere of the throne, a newborn baby, the sole survivor of the royal family after the new king had mercilessly slaughtered the others in order to claim in the throne .What follows is a remarkably entertaining infiltration into the foul Kings castle.

The film itself is to its core a pure comedy and its sole purpose is to entertain, therefore any deeper analysis into its content would prove pointless. However one must point out what makes this a such appealing comedy and why it’s still entertaining almost sixty years later.

Foremost the film is filled with classic slapstick humor, the protagonist walking into walls, a lighting striking him turning his knight outfit into a magnet and many other instances are to be found throughout this film. In addition to this, the dialog itself is profoundly entertaining and encompasses many great alliterations such as the classic “pestle in the vessel has the pellet that is poison”, although these are very repetitive throughout the film do not seem to fail in entertaining.

When looking at the mise en scene, “The Court Jester” entails a striking throwback to the golden age of Hollywood, with its classical soundstages, high key lighting and a pretentious orchestra soundtrack.

Its editing is simplistic however fluent in every way possible and flawlessly accompanies the soundtrack.

“The Court Jester” is without question a must see film and a pinnacle in comedy even today. It is easy to watch and does not require the viewer to dedicate his fullest attention to every detail of the film and therefore makes this the perfect casual Friday night entertainment filled with laughter.