Two Short Movie Reviews

The Court Jester (1956)

When the royal family is massacred, only the baby prince is rescued. The Black Fox, the rebel who rescued the child, sends the silly Hubert Hawkins disguised as the court jester to recover the key that would solve every problem, but when you throw in a lovesick princess, a clever witch, a couple assassins, and a purple pimpernel birthmark, you have a movie that was listed at #98 on the American Film Institute's list of 100 Years... 100 Laughs.

This hilarious film starred all the famous actors of the day, including Danny Kaye, Angela Lansbury (Mrs. Potts in Beauty and the Beast), Glynis Johns (Mrs. Banks in Mary Poppins) and Basil Rathbone (Sherlock Holmes in The Hound of the Baskervilles) and has music written by Hollywood composer Vic Shoen. The acting and music are both terrific, and Danny Kaye was nominated for a Golden Globe award for Best Actor for his performance in The Court Jester.

            After I watched this movie, I was laughing so hard, and I declared that it was the best movie I had ever seen. The more I think about it, this movie delivered laughs, but also good clean comedy that is hard to find these days. So promise me now that you will watch The Court Jester, and I guarantee that it will become one of your favorite movies right away.

Arsenic and Old Lace

A Movie Review by Seth Larson

            In 1944, Frank Capra (director of It’s a Wonderful Life and You Can’t Take it With You) finished directing one of the most hilarious black-and-white film to ever be released, Arsenic and Old Lace. This Broadway Play-based movie was a wild success with the public and the paper, as seen from this quote from the New York Times, "As a whole, Arsenic and Old Lace, the Warner picture which came to the Strand yesterday, is good macabre fun."

                The film begins as famous drama critic Mortimer Brewster (Cary Grant) drives his new bride (Priscilla Lane) to her house on Halloween, telling her to pack her bags so they can leave for their Niagara Falls honeymoon soon.  Mortimer then visits his Aunt Abby (Josephine Hull) and Aunt Martha (Jean Adair) to tell them of his recent marriage and honeymoon. Aunt Abby and Aunt Martha are very kind ladies; they donate toys to orphanages, cook soup for invalids… and poison lonely old men to “put them out of their misery” and bury them in the cellar. Mortimer discovers this supposed act of kindness, starts to question his Aunt’s sanity… and that marks the beginning of a hectic, hilarious, and slightly scary Halloween night.

            I was immensely pleased with this film, though some parts did give me the chills. My nine-year-old sister had to go upstairs and watch another movie as I finished it downstairs. The movie is not rated, though my recommended age is ten and up. Overall, though, it’s a film that will set even a gray and gloomy ghost laughing it’s head off. From critics to cronies, from weddings to wickedness, Arsenic and Old Lace delivers enough laughs and chills to give you the ultimate Halloween movie experience.