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It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

A hapless carnival performer (Danny Kaye) masquerades as the court jester as part of a plot against an evil ruler who has overthrown the rightful king.I love Danny Kaye. I have never sought out his films, but each time a new one crosses my path, I am overjoyed to see it. With "Court Jester", I found myself enjoying yet another of his classic films, and wondered how i had not heard of it previously. Is he not the huge star he should be? Should I be actively seeking out his work? This is just a great story, very loosely based on Robin Hood... very, very loosely. It is said to be a musical, but it really is not much of one. There is singing, there is dancing, but this is really just a great comedy about a man pretending to be a jester, and actually pulling it off rather well.

I won't pretend like I'm the biggest fan of Danny Kaye, given that the only other projects I've seen him in are "The Inspector General" and his guest appearance on The Muppet Show. However, I feel like this movie is to Danny Kaye what Muppet Treasure Island was for Tim Curry: a must-see for any and all who want others to join in worship of their idol.The film borrows a few elements from Robin Hood: band of rebels in a forest, evil usurper sitting on the throne, romance, swordplay, antics for everyone. However, the focus of the film is, in fact, the bumbling sidekick that no one expects anything of. Hawkins (played by Kaye), after he's done singing musical numbers while impersonating his boss, finds himself caught up in a plot to oust the tyrant usurper and restore the rightful heir: a small baby with an obviously painted flower on his left buttock. And even though Hawkins is as bumbling as bumblers get, he manages to woo a princess, insult nobility, assassinate royal advisers, and avoid any morning stars on a collision course with his cranium.Like I said, this movie has about everything Danny Kaye can bring to the table in it: he jumps around, he swings on ropes, he's bumbling, he talks quickly, he sings, he dances, he injures himself for our amusement, he steals props from the set (seriously, look that up on YouTube; he's even more over-the-top as himself), he's just all-around a great lead.And, to the movie's credit, the songs are pretty entertaining as well. "The Maladjusted Jester" is one of the best solo numbers I've ever seen in a movie, certainly a cut above the stuff that roles out from The Muppets or whatever hot new band is being paraded around by record companies. "The Black Fox" number in the beginning is also wonderful, being mysterious and quick like its subject matter, as well as providing a good fake-out for first time viewers.Overall, I have no complaints about this movie. The story's great, the songs are great, the characters are great, the comedy's great, and Danny Kaye is FANTASTIC.

Inspired silliness from the team of Melvin Panama and Norman Frank starring Danny Kaye in probably his Finest Hour Plus. Definitely derivative of Adventures of Robin Hood in more ways than one with Rathbone as a villain almost equal to the one he played in that enduring Classic. But like comparing Young Frankenstein(74) with either Bride of Frankenstein or the Original Frankenstein(31),certainly there is certainly more comic interplay in Court Jester and it is definitely great on a lower level but the originals are still overall preferred. Whereas The Bride ,Frank(31) and Robin Hood deserve the highest rating,Court Jester is just a step below. Still there are not many scenes as memorable and hilarious as the pellet-pallet tongue twister scene which is as strong as the Marx brothers classics,though overall it is probably not quite the comic masterpiece as Duck Soup,Night at the Opera and even Horse feathers and Day at the Races are. As entertainment value goes it definitely delivers and probably belongs with the very best Comic Adventures ever made. Glynis Johns is as fine a romantic heroine and the use of dwarfs is almost on par with the Wizard of Oz.

The Court Jester's film version has dancing and music as well as a storyline about the court jester played by the wonderful Danny Kaye. The great (not dame yet) Angela Lansbury CBE plays the beautiful Gwendolyn who doesn't want to marry Griswold. The great (not dame yet or honored at all) Glynis Johns plays maid Jean. She fits right in with the boys of Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest. The film version is colorful with great costumes, art direction, and scenery to recreate the Arturian times. The cast is first rate that includes Sir Basil Rathbone along others as well. The film is smart enough not to be corny and to poke fun at itself. Like the scene with the baby who holds the mark, Kaye's character suggests that a woman should hold the baby. Gwendolyn states "if you love him (Griswold) so much, then you marry him" to her own father, the King and ruler of Camelot. It could be adapted to a Broadway musical since most of Broadway musicals are now being adapted from films anyway.