That’s a Halloween Movie?!

We decided in the past few days to give my mom a break from endless rounds of Perry Mason and Murder, She Wrote episodes (her favorites) and have her watch some Halloween-themed movies. She has some dementia, but she has improved lately and appreciates a few changes to her routine now. Our choices began with a most conventional oldie: Arsenic and Old Lace. Who does not love watching Cary Grant and his over-the-top performance, well matched by Josephine Hull, Jean Adair, Raymond Massey & Peter Lorre, and the excellent supporting players in this macabre comedy? My mom really enjoyed this movie.

My son loves House on Haunted Hill, a lovely horror classic from 1959 starring the ever-elegant and creepy Vincent Price, and featuring an actress named Carolyn Craig, hired because she could scream long, loudly, and surely better than anybody else in Hollywood. My mom somehow slept through all the screaming.

Deciding we needed to switch to non-conventional films, we picked The Court Jester. What? You’re saying that’s not a Halloween movie? But it has a witch, an assassin, a murderous princess, threats of infanticide, poison, and all sorts of violence and mayhem. Okay, yes, it has Danny Kaye, whose manic comedy outweighs all those dark elements put together, but the existence of the dark elements heightens the comedy through the strategic use of suspense, a stock element of good Halloween movies.

Mildred Natwick as Griselda

And it’s delicious to contemplate all the dark elements of that fantasy medieval world. The witch Griselda (Mildred Natwick), keeps Danny Kaye’s life in danger through her spells, especially since she uses the snapping of fingers to break the spell, and of course everyone, included the hero, keeps snapping their fingers. Nothing matches Griselda’s bumbling with the poison—is it in the Chalice from the Palace, or the Vessel with a Pestle, or the Flagon with the Dragon? I always loved the fact that when the poisoned drinking cup is broken, they switch the poison into the other and then add in a third innocent vessel instead of keeping the “brew that is true” in the same vessel all along. But you cannot have too much confusion in this type of comedy, and it heightens the tension too.

Angela Lansbury as Princess Gwendolyn

The princess, Gwendolyn, played to perfection by Angela Lansbury, keeps threatening the witch, “If he dies, you die,” and you know she means business. Angela Lansbury is always a force to be reckoned with in everything in which she has ever appeared. Here, in 1955, she was at the height of her beauty and power, and being a tall woman, she is splendid and intimidating. She cows her father, who cannot quite pull off the role of lord and master over her, even though he is the king. She cannot be pushed around—except maybe by the manic Danny Kaye character, who prefers the Glynnis Johns character Maid Jean (aka Captain), clearly inferior to Gwendolyn. Why Gwendolyn fancies Danny Kaye is due to Griselda’s spell and her own initial aversion to Sir Griswold: “I’ve seen this monster and it’s not for nothing he’s called the grim, grisly, and gruesome Griswold.” Nobody could be as grim or gruesome as Gwendolyn herself, threatening death to those who cross her, and threatening suicide if her father carries out a threat to kill Griselda. When the climax comes and Gwendolyn’s father is forced to recognize the infant as the true king, Gwendolyn appears to accept Griswold as her prospective partner after all. Perhaps she has recognized that here is her true mate, someone nearly as ruthless as herself. He is tall enough; too bad he is so fat that he is not her physical equal in attractiveness. If she should put him on a diet, he might get there!

Actually, I think Gwendolyn’s true mate should have been Basil Rathbone’s evil and deadly character, Lord Ravenhurst. He plans to kill three rivals, hires an assassin, plans the murder of Hawkins (Danny Kaye) using Sir Griswold, and supports the infanticide plan to keep King Roderick on the throne. Even his name suggests Edgar Allan Poe’s nightmarish Raven, now a stock Halloween character. In his person, Basil Rathbone was an imposing figure, intimidating in the same way that Angela Lansbury could be. They would have made a gloriously scary couple.

Basil Rathbone as Lord Ravenhurst

Nothing could have been inadvertently scarier than Basil Rathbone having to fight Danny Kaye with a sword. Rathbone, consummately skilled in sword fighting, reportedly said he had to use every bit of his considerable skill against the maniac Kaye, whose style was to ignore the careful choreography and burst into a frenzy of slashing and stabbing. Apparently the 63-year-old Rathbone had enough and made the fight choreographer dress in his costume for every rear shot of Kaye slashing away. Still, there are enough shots of Rathbone facing the camera and using his skill so that you know the stories are true. This was his last on-screen swordfight, and finding himself having to defend his very life would have been a scary and fitting triumphant last battle for the master performer.

Now you know why The Court Jester is perfect for the “Fright for Fun” season. Mom loved it.