Danny Kaye Movies
Inimitable, multi-talented entertainer Danny Kaye first gained fame on Broadway by upstaging the great Gertrude Lawrence in Lady in the Dark in 1941 with an unforgettable rendition of the "Tchaikovsky," in which he rapidly fired off the names of 54 Russian composers in 38 seconds. Born David Daniel Kaminski, a garment worker's son in Brooklyn, New York, Kaye left school at age 13 to work as a mischievous busboy in the popular "borscht belt" resorts of the Catskill Mountains. While endeavoring to break into vaudeville and nightclub acts as a singer and dancer, Kaye also occasionally worked as a soda jerk and an insurance salesman. In 1939, he made his Broadway debut in Straw Hat Revue with Imogene Coca. Following the run of Lady in the Dark, he began making a series of educational films during the '30s. In 1943, he signed a movie contract with producer Sam Goldwyn, and became a star when he appeared in Up in Arms (1944). A talented mimic, physical comedian, singer and dancer, he was unlike any performer who had come before him. Kaye specialized in playing multiple roles or personalities in such films as Wonder Man (1945), The Kid From Brooklyn (1946), The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947), The Inspector General (1949), and On the Riviera (1951). Probably his best films are The Court Jester (1956), which contains the unforgettable "pellet with the poison's in the vestle with the pestle" routine, based on similar but less effective bits in earlier films, and White Christmas (1954). His wife, composer-lyricist Sylvia Fine, wrote most of his best gags and patter numbers throughout his career. Though tremendously popular during the mid-'40s through the '50s -- most particularly in Great Britain, where played to record-breaking crowds in the Palladium in 1948 and 1949 (he even made personal visits to Buckingham Palace) -- his bright star began to wane in the late 1950s when he began spending most of his time working for UNICEF, and traveling the world-over to entertain impoverished children. In the early to mid-'60s, he starred in The Danny Kaye Show, a comedy-variety television series for which he won an Emmy in 1964. He also found time to conduct symphony orchestras and appear in Two by Two on Broadway. In 1955, Kaye was awarded an honorary Oscar; the Motion Picture Academy also awarded him the Jean Hersholt Award in 1982 for his selfless work with UNICEF. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1986
Danny Kaye guest stars as Dr. Burns, a puckish dentist who tries his best (and then some) to allay the fears of Rudy's friend Peter (Peter Costa) when the boy balks at sitting in Burns' chair to have a toothache treated. And back at the Huxtable house, Cliff (Bill Cosby) suffers sleep deprivation thanks to the loud and incessant outrage expressed by Clair (Phylicia Rashad) over a newspaper article. This episode was originally telecast on a Sunday, rather than The Cosby Show's usual Thursday-night timeslot, as a lead-in to the NBC miniseries Peter the Great. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
Each installment of An Evening With presents a performer, band, group, or other public figure in a setting aimed to please fans looking for a representative sampling of what a particular person or group of people does best. In this episode, actor, singer, and comedian Danny Kaye performs with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Rubin Zehta. A blend of music and comedy, this will likely please fans of the unique entertainer. ~ Rob Ferrier, All Movie Guide
Skokie is the true story of a critical test of Constitutional rights in Illinois. In 1977, a small band of American neo-fascists calling itself the National Socialist Party of America plans to stage a swastika-dominated demonstration and rally. Their intended site is the Chicago suburb of Skokie, a town populated predominantly by Jews--many of them survivors of the Nazi holocaust. Jewish ACLU lawyer John Rubinstein is compelled to lobby for the National Socialists' freedom to express their views, despite his own inner turmoil over defending the very people who'd destroy him. The most vocal opponent to the planned rally is Skokie senior citizen Max Liebman (Danny Kaye), who spent five years in Hitler's death camps. Ernest Kinoy's teleplay for Skokie is fair-minded to a fault, presenting all points of view with equanimity, proving that there are no simple solutions when the fundamental right of Free Speech is involved. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
Comedian Danny Kaye conducts the New York Philharmonic in this interesting video. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1979
Danny Kaye gets the rare opportunity to work with The Swedish Chef, while Statler and Waldorf are once again thoroughly disappointed with the show. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny Kaye
This tuneful children's adventure offers another retelling of the classic tale of a marionette who achieves his dream of becoming a real live boy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1973
Hosted by the American Film Institute, this video is a tribute to career of John Ford. Included are excerpts from: Stagecoach, Fort Apache and The Grapes of Wrath. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
Arthur Rankin and Jules Bass have produced such animated holiday classics as Rudolph's Shiny New Year, Frosty the Snowman, and Santa Claus Is Coming to Town. The holiday cheer continues with this video. Screenwriter Romeo Muller has adapted the popular children's song into an exciting Easter tale. Peter Cottontail (voice of Casey Kasem) is challenged by the evil Irontail (voiced by the incomparable Vincent Price) to a contest to see who can deliver the most decorated eggs. The winner receives the title of Easter Bunny. You can guess what will happen to Easter if Irontail -- who blames humans and the holiday for the loss of his fluffy tail -- wins. Narrated by Danny Kaye, the film features great musical numbers and the unique Rankin-Bass style of puppet stop-motion animation. ~ Heather M. Fierst, All Movie Guide
- 1969
Taken from the popular play by Jean Giraudoux, The Madwoman Of Chaillot has an international all-star cast, but the final result falls short despite the talents of the celebrated thespians. The madwoman in question is the extremely eccentric Countess Aurelia (Katherine Hepburn). Roderick (Richard Chamberlain) is the peace-loving activist who, along with a local rag picker (Danny Kaye), warns the Countess of a plot to destroy the city. A quartet of villains led by the Chairman (Yul Brynner) are after the oil reserves that bubble under the water supply. Along with the Broker (Charles Boyer), the Commissar (Oscar Homolka), and the Prospector (Donald Pleasence), the evil developers plan to secure the oil rights to the region with or without the consent of the unsuspecting public. The Countess invites Josephine (Dame Edith Evans) to judge the villains, who are locked in the Countess's cellar for their crimes against the people of Paris in this lethargic film. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Katharine Hepburn, Charles Boyer, (more)
- 1964
With her usual air of confidence (which, also as usual, is backed up by nothing!), Lucy (Lucille Ball) promises to get tickets for herself and her kids to attend a taping of The Danny Kaye Show. Come the night of the taping, however, and there isn't a ticket to be found. In despair, Lucy pleads her case to Danny Kaye himself, whereupon he arranges for the Carmichaels and the Bagleys to appear as extras on his show. Since the print ads for this episode show Danny Kaye and Lucille Ball performing a dance duet, one can conclude that Lucy doesn't remain a mere extra for long! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny Kaye, Leon Belasco, (more)
- 1963
Heavy on slapstick and light on the more subtle forms of humor, this standard comedy by Frank Tashlin is still an amusing junket with Danny Kaye at the forefront as Ernie Klenk, a bumbling employee of the Diner's Club credit card company. Ernie has his hands full trying to manage the new computers (maybe they were all new at this point in time) and a bullying boss. His job is to okay the credit line of new customers and after he does just that with Foots Pulardos (Telly Savalas) he may have made his last serious mistake. Foots is facing trial for tax evasion and when he discovers that he and Ernie have an odd physical trait in common, he hits upon a scheme to fake his own death by immolating most of the hapless employees and then escaping the country disguised as Ernie. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny Kaye, Cara Williams, (more)
- 1961
Danny Kaye headlines this lively WW II-era comedy. He plays a foot soldier who with his fellow troop is preparing for D-day. Trouble begins when he is caught pretending to be the most important generals in England, a man he closely resembles. The two look so much alike that military intelligence assign him to keep on impersonating the general so as to keep the Nazis on their toes. He is good at his job and fools many of the general's staff. He does not, however, fool the general's estranged wife. Still in order to protect her country, she goes along with the ruse. Things get really sticky when the real general is killed and Army intelligence asks Kaye to continue with the deception. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny Kaye, Dana Wynter, (more)
The Five Pennies is the life story of influential jazz cornetist Red Nichols, played here by a remarkably straight-faced Danny Kaye. The somewhat romanticized screenplay chronicles Nichols' rise from obscurity, annotates the many future bandleaders who would play with Nichols' "Five Pennies," and details his self-destructive streak and (seeming) inability to conform to changing musical tastes. Weaving in and out of the main story is a sentimental subplot concerning Nichols' physically impaired daughter Dorothy, played by Susan Gordon as a child and by Tuesday Weld (in her movie debut) as a young woman. Nichols's long-suffering wife is portrayed by Barbara Bel Geddes. The storyline occasionally lapses into sappiness and the ending is almost impossibly lachrymose, but the musical highlights save the day. Especially memorable is Danny Kaye's duet with Louis Armstrong. Among the real-life musicians who grace the supporting cast of The Five Pennies are Bob Crosby, Ray Anthony, Shelly Manne, and, as Jimmy Dorsey, Bobby Troup. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny Kaye, Barbara Bel Geddes, (more)
- 1958
Though Merry Andrew is more subdued than earlier Danny Kaye efforts, it's still a lot of fun. Kaye is cast as Andrew Larabee, a mild-mannered but highly unorthodox archeology professor at a British boy's school. While on an expedition in Italy, Andrew allows a traveling circus to pitch camp on his archeological site. Falling in love with Selena (Pier Angeli), the acrobat daughter of carnival owner Antonio Gallini (Salvatore Baccaloni), Professor Larabee soon finds himself participating in their show as a clown, ringmaster, and (accidental) lion-tamer. When time comes for Andrew to return to his stuffy academic existence -- not to mention his equally stuffy fiancée (Patricia Cutts) -- he chooses instead to hit the sawdust trail in the company of the fair Selena. The five Saul Chaplin-Johnny Mercer songs are enjoyable, but the engaging "patter numbers" written by Kaye's wife, Sylvia Fine, are sorely missed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny Kaye, Anna Maria Pier Angeli, (more)
- 1958
In this drama, a Jewish refugee finds himself stranded in Paris just as the Nazi invaders arrive. Desperate to escape, he commanders the car of a Polish colonel who hates Jews. In order to save himself, the colonel helps the fellow escape. En route, they pick up the officer's girl friend. Trouble begins when the girl finds herself attracted to the Jewish fellow who is really quite witty and charming. The colonel is not amused, but eventually they three end up hiding in a castle. Unfortunately, they are captured anyway. To help them out, the Jewish fellow pretends the colonel is his cousin and they manage to escape. This causes the colonel to change his attitudes and the two become friends. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny Kaye, Curd Jürgens, (more)
Danny Kaye spoofs medieval swashbucklers in this classic musical comedy. While the infant King of England awaits his rightful place as leader of the British Empire, his rule is usurped by Roderick (Cecil Parker), an evil pretender to the throne. Brave rebel leader The Black Fox (Edward Ashley) intends to remove Roderick from the palace and bring the crown back to its true owner, but in the meantime the baby king needs to be looked after, which is the job of a man named Hawkins (Kaye). The Black Fox travels with the little king and his rebels as they search for the key to a secret tunnel that will allow them passage into the castle. Maid Jean (Glynis Johns), one of the rebels, meets a man en route to the Castle who is to be Roderick's new jester. The rebels quickly hatch a plan: detain the jester and send Hawkins in his place; the king can then find the key and initiate the overthrow. Hawkins is able to persuade Roderick and his men that he is indeed a jester, but his espionage work gets complicated when Princess Gwendolyn (Angela Lansbury) falls in love with him, and he runs afoul of Sir Ravenhurst (Basil Rathbone), the evil genius behind Roderick. Court Jester features Kaye's famous "Pellet with the Poison" routine. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny Kaye, Glynis Johns, (more)
- 1954
With the exception of the brilliant The Court Jester, Knock on Wood must rank as the best of Danny Kaye's movie vehicles. Capitalizing on the star's recent successful engagement in London, the film casts Kaye as a neurotic American ventriloquist performing in England and Europe. In a parody of the 1946 thriller Dead of Night, Kaye is unable to control the words coming out of his dummy, resulting in a near-nervous breakdown. On the advice of his manager (David Burns), Kaye seeks out the help of a psychiatrist, who turns out to be beautiful Mai Zetterling. But first, he heads to a local repair shop to pick up one of his dummies. What Kaye doesn't know is that a set of stolen blueprints for a top-secret weapon have been secreted into his dummy's head. Before he knows what's happening, our hero is up to his ears in spies, counterspies, and corpses. Falsely accused of murder, Kaye spends the rest of the film adopting one disguise after another to elude both the authorities and the various enemy agents roaming about. Filled to overflowing with musical and comedy highlights, Knock on Wood includes the famous "under the table" bit wherein Kaye finds himself literally between two warring spy factions, and a climactic ballet sequence reminiscent of (and superior to) the comic-opera finale of Kaye's Wonder Man (1945). And of course, the audience is treated to the tongue-twisting patter songs written for Kaye by his wife Sylvia Fine. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny Kaye, Mai Zetterling, (more)
White Christmas, Paramount's belated follow-up to the 1942 hit Holiday Inn, was the studio's first VistaVision production. A veritable warehouse full of oldie-but-goodie Irving Berlin tunes are woven into the film's simplistic plotline, along with a handful of new songs, of which "What Can You Do With a General?" is the least memorable. Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye (replacing an ailing Donald O'Connor) play nightclub entertainers Bob Wallace and Phil Davis, while Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen are cast as singing-sister act Betty and Judy. The foursome travel to Vermont to visit Bob and Phil's WII commanding officer, General Waverly (Dean Jagger, who looks and sounds like Dwight D. Eisenhower!), who now runs a rustic old inn. Discovering that the general is in dire financial straits, the four entertainers secretly make plans to bail the old guy out with a big musical show, enlisting the aid of Bob and Phil's army buddies. Corny in the extreme, White Christmas evidently struck a responsive note with film fans; it was the high-grossing picture of 1954, and a decade later proved to be a ratings bonanza when it was given its network-TV premiere. Of the four stars, Crosby comes off best, especially when singing the title song at the beginning and end of the film; Kaye is a bit overshadowed this time out, though he's quite funny camping it up in a "drag" version of Irving Berlin's "Sisters." Still a big favorite on the home-video circuit, White Christmas may not be the best Bing Crosby musical on the market, but it's certainly one of the most heartwarming. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, (more)
Hans Christian Andersen was Sam Goldwyn's final production for RKO Radio release, and also the producer's last Danny Kaye vehicle. The Moss Hart-Myles Connolly screenplay largely disregards the facts concerning Denmark's great storyteller, opting for a fanciful blend of comedy, fantasy, romance and music. As played by Kaye, Hans Christian Andersen starts out as a small-town cobbler whose gift for spinning fairy tales is keeping the local kids from attending school. Asked to leave town, Hans heads to Copenhagen to seek his fortune as a writer. After having his heart broken by the beautiful ballerina Doro (Jeanmaire), Hans finds solace--and happiness--in the knowledge that hundreds of thousands of children the world over are devoted to his enchanting fantasy stories. The lilting Frank Loesser score includes such tunes as "No Two People," "The King's New Clothes," "Wonderful Copenhagen," "Inchworm," "The Ugly Duckling," "Thumbelina," and the title song. Though Hans Christian Andersen was a smashing box-office success, and as a bonus earned five Oscar nominations. Originally released at 112 minutes, the film is generally available in its 104-minute TV-release form. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny Kaye, Farley Granger, (more)
On the Riviera is a remake of 1941's Weekend in Havana, which in turn was a remake of 1934's Folies Bergere. The plot remains the same in all three incarnations: for business purposes, a nightclub entertainer is coerced into posing as his look-alike, a powerful financier/aviator. This time it's Danny Kaye who essays the dual role of American cabaret comedian Jack Martin and French financial wizard Henri Duran. While impersonating Duran, Martin is forced to make amorous advances towards Duran's neglected wife (Gene Tierney), proving himself the better lover in the process. Meanwhile, Martin must mollify his genuine sweetheart (and nightclub partner) Collette (Corinne Calvet) without revealing his ruse. A little too top-heavy in the plot department, On the Riviera must be regarded as a second-echelon Danny Kaye vehicle, though Sylvia Fine's specialty numbers -- especially the eerily autobiographical "Popo the Puppet" -- are well up to standard. One of the uncredited specialty dancers is future Broadway star Gwen Verdon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny Kaye, Gene Tierney, (more)
The satirical bite of Gogol's play The Government Inspector is dispensed with in favor of traditional Danny Kaye buffoonery in The Inspector General. Kaye plays the illiterate stooge of two-bit medicine-show- entrepreneur Walter Slezak. Abandoned by Slezak, the starving Kaye wanders into a corruption-ridden Russian village, which is all geared up for a visit from the Inspector General. Mistaking Kaye for that selfsame royal inspector, the townsfolk fawn on the confused Kaye, granting him his every whim and plying him with all sorts of bribes. In the original Gogol play, the boorish phony inspector takes advantage of the villagers' error by laying waste to the town and seducing a few local maidens; in the film, Kaye is as pure as the driven borscht, as is his true love (Barbara Bates), the only honest person in town. The treachery is in the hands of Slezak, who fakes Kaye's death and tries to blackmail the crooked local officials. The deus-ex-machina arrival of the real Inspector General foils the crooks and places the nonplused Kaye in the job of town mayor. Those of you who read the play in college may remember it ends with everyone frozen in horror when the genuine inspector shows up, with Gogol's stage directions insisting that the actors hold their fearful poses for a full sixty seconds. Be assured that in the film version of Inspector General, nothing stands still--least of all Danny Kaye, who cuts quite a swath through several Sylvia Fine/Johnny Mercer specialty songs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny Kaye, Walter Slezak, (more)
- 1949
Billy Wilder's future partner I.A.L. Diamond concocted the storyline for this Dennis Morgan/Jack Carson/Doris Day tunefest. Morgan and Carson, Warner Bros.' answer to Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, appear as themselves. Attempting to line up a director for their next picture, the boys find themselves unable to do so due to Carson's gigantic ego. Carson decides to direct their next vehicle himself; the next problem is locating a leading lady who'll be willing to put up with Carson. The boys discover Doris Day, a waitress in the Warner Bros. commissary. Carson and Morgan spend their entire shooting schedule vying over Day's affections; she gets fed up with this, and heads back to her home town in Wisconsin, there to marry her childhood sweetheart Jeffrey Bushdinkel--who is revealed in the final shot to be none other than Errol Flynn! Other guest stars popping in and out of It's a Great Feeling include Gary Cooper, Joan Crawford, Sidney Greenstreet, Danny Kaye, Patricia Neal, Eleanor Parker, Ronald Reagan, Edward G. Robinson and Jane Wyman. Also appearing as themselves are such Warner Bros. directors as David Butler (the real director of It's a Great Feeling), Michael Curtiz, King Vidor and Raoul Walsh. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Morgan, Jack Carson, (more)
A Song is Born is a musical remake of the 1941 comedy Ball of Fire, with the same producer (Sam Goldwyn) and director (Howard Hawks) at the helm. It will be recalled that the original film, co-scripted by Billy Wilder, was an amusing spin on "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," wherein seven pedantic professors, working on a dictionary of slang, "adopted" an authority on the subject, breezy burlesque dancer Sugarpuss O'Shea. In the remake, the septet of scholars are working on an encyclopedia of music, but they're held up on the subject of "swing." When nightclub singer Honey Swanson (Virginia Mayo), escaping from her gangster suitor Tony Crow (Steve Cochran), takes refuge in the professors' home, she offers to introduce them to the world of popular music. This proves to be quite a tuneful undertaking, since two of the professors are played by Danny Kaye and Benny Goodman! The tang and zest of original plotline has been muted to the point of harmlessness, but the film is saved by the presence of Goodman, his fellow bandleaders Charlie Barnet, Tommy Dorsey and Mel Powell, and specialty performers Louis Armstrong, Lionel Hampton and Buck & Bubbles. A Song is Born was Danny Kaye's final starring vehicle for Sam Goldwyn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny Kaye, Virginia Mayo, (more)
- 1947
James Thurber wasn't too happy with the Sam Goldwyn film adaptation of his 1939 short story The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, but the Technicolor musical comedy proved to be a cash cow at the box office. Danny Kaye stars as Walter, a milquetoast proofreader for a magazine publishing firm. Walter is constitutionally incapable of standing up for himself, which is why his mother (Fay Bainter) has been able to arrange a frightful marriage between her son and the beautiful but overbearing Gertrude Griswold (Ann Rutherford). As he muses over the lurid covers of the magazines put out by his firm, Walter retreats into his fantasy world, where he is heroic, poised, self-assured, and the master of his fate. Glancing at the cover of a western periodical, Walter fancies himself the two-gun "Perth Amboy Kid"; a war magazine prompts Walter to envision himself as a fearless RAF pilot; and so on. Throughout all his imaginary adventures, a gorgeous mystery woman weaves in an out of the proceedings. Imagine Walter's surprise when his dream girl shows up in the flesh in the person of Rosalind van Horn (Virginia Mayo). The girl is being pursued by a gang of jewel thieves headed by Dr. Hugo Hollingshead (Boris Karloff), a clever psychiatrist who manages to convince Walter that he's simply imagining things again, and that Rosalind never existed. At long last, Walter vows to live his life in the "now" rather than in the recesses of his mind: he rescues Rosalind from the gang's clutches, tells his mother and Gertrude where to get off, and fast-talks his way into a better position with the publishing firm. Substituting the usual Danny Kaye zaniness for James Thurber's whimsy, Secret Life of Walter Mitty works best during the production numbers, especially Kaye's signature tune "Anatole of Paris." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny Kaye, Virginia Mayo, (more)
