This Danny Kaye swashbuckler spoof is driven by a complicated, yet ingenious, plot, highlighted by stellar dialogue.
King Roderick I (Cecil Parker, SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON) has usurped the throne of England from the rightful heir, an infant boy with the family birthmark of a purple pimpernel on his bottom. Hubert Hawkins (Kaye, THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY) is part of the rebels trying to the get the true heir on the thrown. Disguised as the new court jester Giacomo, he infiltrates the palace to get the key to the secret passage into the castle.
Along the way he has fallen in love with the female fighter Maid Jean (Glynis Johns, MARY POPPINS), who is kidnapped as a wench for the king, who is arranging an unwanted marriage for his daughter Gwendolyn (Angela Lansbury, TV’s MURDER, SHE WROTE), who threatens to kill herself along with her witchcraft welding maid Griselda (Mildred Natwick, SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON), who ends up bewitching Hubert, who is mistaken by conniving Sir Ravenhurst (Basil Rathbone, THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD) as the real Giacomo, an assassin sent to kill the King so Ravenhurst can take the thrown. Woo, take a moment to catch your breath.
The plot is convoluted, but in a hilarious way. With each predicament, poor Hubert gets deeper and deeper into trouble and harm’s way. It keeps us guessing on how things will turn out. With a romantic comedy you kind of know that Hubert and Jean will end up together and the heir to the throne will take his rightful place. It’s how we get there that’s the mystery.
The film skillfully weaves in many of the set pieces of a swashbuckler seamlessly. You get a joust and a sword duel — most films would have one or the other. The screenplay also contains great dialogue. The “vessel with the pestle” sequence is remarkable. Timing is essential in this part and Kaye, Johns and Natwick pull it off brilliantly.
Kaye throughout the film pulls laughs out of thin air with his great timing. The film shows that a pratfall isn’t the fall that’s funny but the context. Peppered throughout are also a host of rememberable songs that actually advance the plot and develop character. It’s a wonder that the film produced by Kaye's own independent production company actually was a flop. The most expensive comedy of its time the $4 million production only made back half of its budget. Nonetheless, time has proven the film a classic. It’s light entertainment at its best. It succeeds at exactly what it set out to do —make us laugh.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
