Reviews (60)

Charming and Hilarious Re-telling of the Robin Hood Story
I am not a great Danny Kaye fan, but this movie is one the the very funniest I've ever seen. Everything about it is excellent, from the production values to the songs & lyrics, from the fine quality of actors to the charm and wit of the dialogue and the story. There is literally nothing wrong with this movie. It is fit for all audiences, from the youngest to the oldest members of your family. I remember the first time I saw it, being struck by the fact that all the actors seemed to be having an absolutely marvellous time. Particularly during the Jester's first call at entertaining the court...unforgettable and sheer delight. Every single person on camera looked like they were having a wonderful time just being there. I hadn't seen anything like such a fine emsemble cast since 'All About Eve.' I think it must have been because there were no bad lines, no bad parts, no scenes that didn't work, and everyone had a chance to shine. Having a good material to work with really does make a world of difference. Stars Danny Kaye, Angela Landsbury, Basil Rathbone, and a host of marvellous British actors whose names are right now escaping my memory. Buy it. Keep it. Enjoy it for years.

The Brew that is True...
If one is tired of baudy bathroom humor of the typical comedies one finds today, perhaps "The Court Jester" will satisfy your comical thirst. Set in England during the time of chivalry and knighthood this musical comedy stars Danny Kaye as a ne'er do well circus performer who ends up out"fox"ing the dastardly villains, getting the girl and saving the real king's butt (so to speak). Glynis Johns plays Maid Jean whose stunning beauty and big eyes just make you melt (wow, I wish I'd been born earlier). Basil Rathbone is his typical bad self as the evil Ravenhurst playing it to the hilt! This film pulls out all the comical stops from tongue twisters to hypnosis, magnetism and even a Zorro sword play spoof with Rathbone! This is Danny Kaye's finest and funniest comedy! A must see movie!

Comedy Could Not Better Be!
In the history of the movies, fewer things are more amusing than watching Danny Kaye behave as Danny Kaye. Watching his films was a wonderful part of my childhood,and I remember being at home from High School on the day of his passing. I'm very glad for the legacy he has left us to enjoy.
In "The Court Jester" he couldn't be more in his element as he amuses us with his usual patter numbers clever, tounge-twisting lyrics and sword play, and moves us with his loving care of the orphaned infant heir to the English throne. The scene of his lullabying the baby was shown as a tribute to him at the end of "Entertainment Tonight" the weekend after his death and it was a fitting tribute to him, his love of children, and the childlike sense of wonder he brought to all of his films.
As Kaye's love interest, Jean, a charismatic Glynis Johns is highly complimentary.She is not the sterotypical woman of medeival times, but having been raised as a boy, has a lot of cunning, ingenuity, and an occassional bit of brawn as the leader of those in rebellion against Cecil Parker's evil King.
Angela Lansbury's Princess Gwendolyn longs for true love rather than an arranged marriage. She is firm and decisive in many ways, as she helps bring the tale to a positive conclusion.
As the sourceress, Mildred Natwick leads into some of the film's funniest scenes, including the notorious "Pellet with the poison is in the vessel with the pestle" routine that has become a classic.
Hubert Hawkins' cleverness in seizing the real Court Jester,(John Carradine, a man whom I could never really think of as funny) who was very arrogant, disguising himself in his clothes, and using his tounge-twisting dialogue with the King to cover his tracks is also a riot.
Basil Rathbone as the evil henchmen is a refined villian. It's amusing the way Kaye kept pushing his name out of the way during the opening credits, and I have wondered how often Hawkins' accelerated knighthood ceremony had to be rehearsed before those on the set could stop laughing.

Although the film overlooks the fact that a person can't be hypnotized against their will, the way Hubert Hawkins is, the comedy is generally light, and goofy, doesen't get any saucier than the exposure of an infant's backside, and children will love it.
And as Hawkins reassures us at the beginning,"What starts like a scary tale ends like a fairy tale, and life couldn't possibly better be!"

So funny your cheeks will ache from laughing!!
This is one of Danny Kaye's best. He was so talented and his comic timing is impeccable. The "chalice from the palace" scene is so funny that I have not forgotten it over the years. This movie will get you out of the blues in no time.

You will go and buy this movie and do it like that (snap)!
This is my favorite movie of all time. When I was a kid Danny Kaye movies played every Sunday morning and we would wait the few months until it came around again.

I have never stopped laughing at the scenes, the funny interplay between Danny Kaye and the court and his continual buffonery.

Even kids will love this movie. It starts with a dance routine which is almost like Robin Hood Men in Tights. That is quaint, yet the next scene will take you in and take you on the funniest rides of all time.

Kaye, disquised as an old man who is hard of hearing having a scream fest with the captain of the guard. This few minutes is one of the funniest scenes I have ever witnessed. Then there are just funny scenes that will make you split your sides with laughter from there on out.

The wit it took to bring together this cast and the concept of the movie seems that it will never be outdated.

What Danny Kaye and the rest do here is ascend age and time making this movie appeal to any age group, young or old. I have seen a young family start off thinking this was a silly movie then, taken by the first comedic interaction, launch into continuous laughter. I laugh getting a kick out of watching everyone else laugh too.

This movie is a must for any DVD or VHS library. Share it with your friends, watch it when you are a little too stressed out to do anything else to lighten up your day.

The plays on words, the different fast paced situational scenes that will have you thinking; 'how clever...,' even when you think that Hawkins/Giacommo is at his end, then it gets even funnier. The Chalis with the poisly has the pellet with the pesly......

This movie is so fast paced that you cannot believe you have sat there and laughed for the better part of 90 minutes. The great thing about the DVD, you do not have to worry about watching this over and over again and wearing it out.

This movie has great color and scenery. The imagery is wonderful. You wonder if they really were in a castle.

Laugh and love this movie......I recommend it for school, church and family activities. It is a classic that may become more well known with time. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Beware if you have a widescreen TV...
This is a fine presentation and packaging of the seventh (and weakest) of the Crosby-Hope "Road" series. True fans will want this for their collection, and I agree that Hong Kong is not as bad as it is often portrayed. In the era of Austin Powers, this film actually picks up some points for kitch; it was arguably the first spoof of the '60s spy thriller.

But there is one very unfortunate flaw in this DVD version. Even though this is the first release of this movie in widescreen, this DVD is not optimized for widescreen televisions. So if you have a wdiescreen TV this movie will appear letterboxed on all four sides, the frame of the picture will not fill out your widescreen from left to right. This is an infuriating lapse on the part of MGM.

Watch it for Peter Sellers short but stellar bit!
This isn't nearly as bad as often made out to be. For one thing these guys were ALWAYS to old for these antics, otherwise they would have been making them in the 1930s. By this time their timing was down pat & frankly the writing here seemed a lot sharper than the previous entries. But the real reason to watch this is a terrific hilarious & all too brief turn by Peter Sellers as an Indian doctor that is as funny as anything Sellers or anyone else ever did on screen.

Road to Hong Kong
Definetly not the best of the Road pictures but mildly entertaining and worth having to complete the Road collection.
Both Crosby and Hope are noticably older and really don't have the magic with Joan Collins like they did with Dorothy Lamour and the jokes are trying to be funny instead of just being funny.

Hillarious, My Family Constantly Quotes This Film!
most often left out of lists of the popular "road to. . ." movies is road to hong kong. many people don't like it, but it is my favorite, it actually has a plot! (until the very end where it gets kind of odd) the story is about harry turner and chester babcock, con artists who, when the film begins, are on the eve of their newest scheme. they have hundreds of paying investors into an innovation that is supposed to use this rocket space suit thing and cause someone to fly. when the "brave native" that was supposed to demonstrate the suit backs out, turner and babcock have to come up with a plan. turner forces babcock in the suit and chester ends up flying through the roof of the warehouse where the demonstration is being held.

poor chester.

next we see harry visiting babcock in the hospital discovering that chester has lost his memory. he doesn't remember what girls are and what he did with them, what money is and what he did with it, and he can't even remember his own name. The former two seem to be of great concern to him.

harry feels terrible and takes chester to the best doctors he can find. a few of them tell him about a monestary where a memory herb is used. harry and chester find that this story is true and go to the airport. it is at the airport that they meet up with diane, a secret agent for a group called the third eschelon. she thinks that chester is her contact and gives him a secret formula that is needed to send a rocket into space. this third group apparently wants to beat russia and the u.s. to space and threaten to drop bombs on them unless they don't accept rule under their force.

at any rate, i won't reveal too much, but it is a very very funny film -- especially the bannana scene. i laugh so hard each time i see it. to me the chemistry of hope and crosby is at its finest. if you love the other road movies, then maybe you will not like this departure -- but there is so much more of the "real world" woven into this pic, you cannot help but love it. also, peter sellers' cameo is fabulous as an insane doctor, so buy this film or rent it today. (i have it on vhs but am waiting impatiently for a DVD version to come out, I wonder why they haven't released it) oh, and there are of course some sterotypes in the film, but don't let them offend you and enjoy the chemistry of the characters!

I loved it!
I know that many people consider this the worst of the Road movies, but I would consider it my favorite. While dissapointed in not having Dorothy in there more than just a cameo appearance, I think the rest of the movie makes up for it! The banana feeding scene was the best! (Hope and Crosby being tested in place of the monkeys on the spaceship) This movie also had some other good cameo appearances. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

The best "bad" movie ever!
Bob Hope, Jackie Gleason, Jane Wyman . . . and a monkey! And Leslie Nielsen, by the way. Not to mention a stereotype of an Eastern guru, and a swipe at 1960s youth culture, including rock bands Postnasal Drip, The Frozen Fishschticks, and of course The Comfortable Chair (who sound pretty good, actually).

This isn't great movie-making, but that's why it's so great. Bob Hope gets to do his comic magic, Gleason is as Gleason as ever, and the whole story actually holds together quite nicely. But don't get me wrong: this is not Academy Award material. And thank goodness it isn't.

Maybe it was meant for the parents of 1969 while the kids were at Woodstock, but I like the pace, the perspective-- Bob and Jane, having a drink, sitting in their easy chairs (comfortable, no doubt) listening to "Dream (When You're Feeling Blue)." It was out of style in the 1960s, but now we can enjoy it for what it is.

And some if it is mighty zany. Hope does a few costume changes, plays golf with an ape, while Gleason is downright decadent: broads, booze and bread (a.k.a lettuce). But there's a nice moral as well involving their kids, which I'll leave for you to decide.

So if you're too young to know much about the whole generational gap-- and war-- of the 1960s, enjoy this at times goofy and at other times comfy comic from the master himself, Bob Hope. And if you hate it-- well, there's always "My Favorite Blonde" and "The Lemon Drop Kid" from an era when movies could be both great *and* fun.

The Bob Everyone Forgets
For those who can't say anything bad about Bob Hope...watch this movie. Utterly unfunny, sometimes distasteful. Having seen Jackie Gleason in Smokey and the Bandit II and III, it's not hard to see how he was involved in such an awful movie. But I was surprised to see Bob Hope making a fool of himself as well.

About the only redeeming factor is seeing the decor, cars, etc. of the era. But you can get that in many much better 60's films. Pass on this one...unless you want to see the "other" side of Bob Hope.

Additionally, the transfer is awful. It is a pan & scan, cutting off valuable information on both sides. It is comparable to something AMC might show...except without the commercials.

Classic Bob Hope Comedy!!
This is a classic Bob Hope Comedy well worth watching!!Happy 100th Birthday,Mr. Hope we all love you!!

Almost-but-not-quite entertainingly bad
Hope really should have stopped making movies after The Paleface. This one in particular is so mean-spirited and unfunny that all you can really do is gape. Its view of marriage is right up there with the Three Stooges (remember the short films in which the three of them were married?) and enough to swear a teen viewer off the institution for life. Yet it's one of those bad movies I like to turn on when it (rarely) shows up on TV, maybe because of the now-quaint 60s art decoration and costumes, maybe because rarely before or since have performers of such talent squandered it so egregiously. (To its credit, though, I have to add that "Cancel My Reservation" makes this one look like "The Magnificent Ambersons.") ... Read more

Reviews (4)

The best "bad" movie ever!
Bob Hope, Jackie Gleason, Jane Wyman . . . and a monkey! And Leslie Nielsen, by the way. Not to mention a stereotype of an Eastern guru, and a swipe at 1960s youth culture, including rock bands Postnasal Drip, The Frozen Fishschticks, and of course The Comfortable Chair (who sound pretty good, actually).

This isn't great movie-making, but that's why it's so great. Bob Hope gets to do his comic magic, Gleason is as Gleason as ever, and the whole story actually holds together quite nicely. But don't get me wrong: this is not Academy Award material. And thank goodness it isn't.

Maybe it was meant for the parents of 1969 while the kids were at Woodstock, but I like the pace, the perspective-- Bob and Jane, having a drink, sitting in their easy chairs (comfortable, no doubt) listening to "Dream (When You're Feeling Blue)." It was out of style in the 1960s, but now we can enjoy it for what it is.

And some if it is mighty zany. Hope does a few costume changes, plays golf with an ape, while Gleason is downright decadent: broads, booze and bread (a.k.a lettuce). But there's a nice moral as well involving their kids, which I'll leave for you to decide.

So if you're too young to know much about the whole generational gap-- and war-- of the 1960s, enjoy this at times goofy and at other times comfy comic from the master himself, Bob Hope. And if you hate it-- well, there's always "My Favorite Blonde" and "The Lemon Drop Kid" from an era when movies could be both great *and* fun.

The Bob Everyone Forgets
For those who can't say anything bad about Bob Hope...watch this movie. Utterly unfunny, sometimes distasteful. Having seen Jackie Gleason in Smokey and the Bandit II and III, it's not hard to see how he was involved in such an awful movie. But I was surprised to see Bob Hope making a fool of himself as well.

About the only redeeming factor is seeing the decor, cars, etc. of the era. But you can get that in many much better 60's films. Pass on this one...unless you want to see the "other" side of Bob Hope.

Additionally, the transfer is awful. It is a pan & scan, cutting off valuable information on both sides. It is comparable to something AMC might show...except without the commercials.

Classic Bob Hope Comedy!!
This is a classic Bob Hope Comedy well worth watching!!Happy 100th Birthday,Mr. Hope we all love you!!

Almost-but-not-quite entertainingly bad
Hope really should have stopped making movies after The Paleface. This one in particular is so mean-spirited and unfunny that all you can really do is gape. Its view of marriage is right up there with the Three Stooges (remember the short films in which the three of them were married?) and enough to swear a teen viewer off the institution for life. Yet it's one of those bad movies I like to turn on when it (rarely) shows up on TV, maybe because of the now-quaint 60s art decoration and costumes, maybe because rarely before or since have performers of such talent squandered it so egregiously. (To its credit, though, I have to add that "Cancel My Reservation" makes this one look like "The Magnificent Ambersons.") ... Read more