Saw this as a kid, and never forgot the Vessel with the Pestle, the Chalice with the Palace, and the Flagon with the Dragon - now if I could just remember which one has the pellet with the poison... :)
If you haven't seen this movie, watch it. If anything, find the sword fight between Ravenhurst and Giacomo. Not only is it more comedy, it's one of the best sword fights put to screen. Basil Rathbone is a master.
I had vague memories of watching this movie as a kid. I'm 35 now and just revisited it... I was drenched in my own tears from laughter with this scene. My only regret is the movie came to an end. Danny Kaye was the King. While watching this, life couldn't possibly better be.
It all appears so effortless but the amount of work that went into this scene alone must have been staggering. Still makes us laugh - something for which we should be grateful.. Thank you.
Danny Kaye excelled in playing mistaken identity films (government inspector, Walter mitty, wonder man & a lot more). This is a master class in how to play these roles. He was a naturally entertaining man eg: he once took over Russell harty's talk show in the warm up for ages, getting the audience in stitches and delaying the start by about 30 minutes. Immensely talented hilarious and by all accounts genuinely kind. He was also able to pilot multiple types of airplanes and was an expert cook of Japanese food.
Saw this several times as a kid thanks to 16mm reels we could check out from our metro library. I learned how to thread the reels on the 16mm projector my dad borrowed from work (before anyone had VCR's) and we'd watch this, "The Inspector General", "Knock on Wood", Basil Rathbone /Nigel Bruce "Sherlock Holmes" mysteries (that I always fell asleep to) and Phil Silvers in "1,001 Nights" among many other oldies that my dad checked out from the library on 16mm reels in big canvas bags. Fun times...
Love these old movies, Danny Kaye was priceless. Gene Kelly, Fred Astair, they had such talent. No need for cursing or vulgarity, wit and charm, clever writing made them classics.
I actually wrote a scene in my latest book, where the leads watch this movie and one of them starts to wonder the same thing, only to decide that she's overthinking it.
@@swanpride If that's the case, then Griselda should be grateful that things went the way they did. Otherwise, the princess would likely have killed her.
It was explained to me that the wine was spilled from both containers and the chalice broke. Griselda then had to pour the poison down again, but this time in the flagon.
If I remember correctly this dialogue was written by Sammy Cahn. I always liked his response when asked which came first the words or the music? The cheque.
I was watching an old movie "Never Say Die" (1939) on RU-vid recently. I was surprised that the "Vessel with the pestle" routine was apparently derived from a similar routine in that movie. Although it wasn't poison in a cup, but a bullet in a gun, the similarity is striking. The routine in "Never Say Die" begins at about 1:13:43.
Many years later, in the BBC wartime sitcom " 'Allo 'Allo! ", there was a reference to this scene, albeit referring to "the pill in the till.....and if you put the drug in the jug, then there is no need to light the candle with the handle on the gateau from the château!"
The part starting at 3:43, with Danny Kaye constantly clanging into Robert Middleton as they both try to remember the vessel with the pestle, is one of the funniest things I've ever seen.
I've been trying to find this film online for years; Danny Kaye's comedic timing is absolute perfection, and damn was Angela Lansbury a smokeshow back in the day. As hilarious as this scene is, I think my favourite has to be shortly after Griselda the witch hypnotizes Hubert, and he transforms from his bumbling, cowardly self to a debonair swashbuckler at a snap of the fingers... from anybody. Cut to a scene of swashbuckler Hubert making a daring entrance through the princess' window to woo her, followed by her father coming to speak with her: "If my father finds you here, he'll have you executed like that! *snap*" and now cowardly Hubert has no idea where he is, why he's there, or what's going on. We're then treated to a few minutes of Gwendolyn and King Roderick arguing back and forth, repeatedly snapping their fingers, while Danny Kaye rapidly transitions between bold and frightened in the background. He does nothing but open and close a set of curtains a few times while changing expressions, but my God is it gold.
The one thing I’ve always thought that could have made this scene even funnier would have been, when Danny Kay’s helmet is knocked off and everyone is gasping as if he had just been beheaded, instead of him popping his head out, his helmet should have flown back up unto his armor from the magnetism and made him look utterly invincible. 😅
This is a classic, loved by our family as kids and quoted many times over the years. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of rewatching the while film once. Danny Kaye was brilliant but there were silly love songs that spoiled my memory.
That's why God created VCRs, DVRs and streaming: to fast-forward through the romantic songs that brought so many comedies of the era to a screeching halt. The Marx Brothers always had some stiff falling in love and crooning about it, making the only dull parts of their movies.
Oh I get it, the knife in my grasp will end my suffering fast! It's so simple! And! If all else fails, the knight that I fight will put all this right! Couldn't be more obvious; I'm going to go die now.
Huh. They had that word play in Princess Bride too. Hawkins: I’ve got it! I’ve got it! The pellet with the poison’s in the vessel with the pestle; the chalice from the palace has the brew that is true! Right? Griselda: Right, but there’s been a change. They broke the chalice from the palace. Hawkins: They broke the chalice from the palace?! Griselda: And replaced it with a flagon. Hawkins: A flagon? Griselda: With the figure of a dragon. Hawkins: Flagon with a dragon. Griselda: Right. Hawkins: But did you put the pellet with the poison in the vessel with the pestle? Griselda: No! The pellet with the poison’s in the flagon with the dragon! The vessel with the pestle has the brew that is true! Hawkins: The pellet with the poison’s in the flagon with the dragon; the vessel with the pestle has the brew that is true. Griselda: Just remember that.
@@OzeFlipper I am an ex-filmmaker who has not only watched the movie, but has done so approximately 30 to 40 times. Incidentally, I am (was) a competitive fencer, am qualified to be a fencing tournament director, and have organized and fought choreographed duels in Renaissance faires, _et al._ Believe me, I _know_ this movie -- so much so that my first concern is _not_ if a commenter is humor-challenged.
Do a Google search on "mortar and pestle" for pics. The mortar is a small bowl and the pestle is a thick stick. The combo is used to grind spices, such as pepper.
I think TCM would have got to the # of takes i'm sure they rehearsed an entire afternoon or evening but I WANT TO KNOW HOW MANY TAKES & this is a great actors vocabulary speech test one I Loved practicing at & the several times I did it with a couple of girls it took me as many as 50 b 4 we ALL got it.
