The Court Jester

Plot hole: After the secret passage has collapsed, the Black Fox hires Hawkin's midget acrobat friends because the only opening left "is barely (wide) enough for a child". Yet, during the throne room brawl, Hawkins passes the swing-around rope to a guy who is much taller than the midgets.

Plot hole: Princess Gwendolyn puts the key for the secret passage into her cleavage for safe-keeping, but when her father shakes her with each praise for her supposed loyalty, the key comes loose and falls to the ground. However, since the key is hidden inside her cleavage, it should slip down under her dress and fall to the ground between her feet whilst remaining hidden by her skirt. Instead, upon the clinking, the key is seen right in the open, in front of Gwendolyn's skirt.

Daniel4646

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Mistakes

Other mistake: Before the joust, Griselda tells Hawkins that she has put a pellet of poison in the vessel with the pestle; the chalice from the palace remains unpoisoned. Later, she tells him that the chalice has been broken, and replaced with a flagon with the dragon, in which she has put a pellet of poison. Both cups are poisoned.

Cubs Fan ★

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Suggested correction: That might be a deliberate joke by the filmmakers, a reflection of just how far the confusion had gone.

dizzyd

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Quotes

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.

Charles Austin Miller

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Trivia

Trivia: For the rest of his life, according to his daughter Dena, if someone recognized Danny Kaye in public, they would approach him and recite the film's "pellet with the poison" rhyme.

Cubs Fan ★

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Questions

Question: I saw the theatrical release of The Court Jester in 1980. I remember a character being tortured to reveal information, but he refuses and dies. This scene was not in the VHS or DVD versions. No one else seems to remember it. Can anyone confirm it? I believe (but can't be certain) that the unfortunate character tortured was Fergus the Ostler.

Answer: Fergus was indeed the unfortunate one being tortured to death, although this is off-screen; the Captain mentions it to Ravenhurst and his compatriot right after Hawkins wins the tournament. However, as far as I can remember, that he had died was mentioned in all the versions I've seen up to date. And also, Fergus did reveal the critical information which caused the arrest of Hawkins and Maid Jean, and the revelation of the child's presence in the castle.

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