For whom the bell tolls merrily

by chuckofish

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Daughter #2 has had her baby!

IMG_6602Look at that little face!

I toasted little Katiebelle Wednesday night…

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…and again yesterday afternoon with my pals…

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…and I will go on toasting her and her brilliant mother on through the weekend. You betcha.

The OM and I were in a quandary about what to watch Wednesday night, so we landed on The Court Jester (1955), which in case you don’t recall, has a baby at the center of the plot. Set in medieval England, it concerns the struggle to restore to the throne the rightful heir, a baby with a distinguishing birthmark—the purple pimpernel on his posterior. Danny Kaye plays Hubert Hawkins, an ex-carnival entertainer who becomes minstrel to the Black Fox, a Robin Hood-type character who leads a band of rebels in the forest in support of the true infant-king.

Screen Shot 2020-06-04 at 8.56.40 PMThe film is full of comedic exchanges such as “Get it?” “Got it.” “Good!” and “The pellet with the poison’s in the vessel with the pestle; the chalice from the palace has the brew that is true!” I found it to be very diverting and a lot of fun. I always liked Danny Kaye, and if you like him in White Christmas, you will love him in this.

Screen Shot 2020-06-04 at 12.59.03 PMThe excellent supporting cast includes Basil Rathbone, Glynis Johns, Angela Lansbury, and Mildred Natwick. Together they manage to spoof movies like The Adventures of Robin Hood without going overboard. The production values are very high. The script is genuinely clever.

As it unfolds you’ll see
What starts like a scary tale ends like a fairy tale
And life couldn’t possibly better be.

So try it, maybe you’ll like it!

And praise the Lord for precious babies and their brilliant mothers.