Danny Kaye

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Fri, 17 May 2013 12:01:52 -0400

freakywinduptoy: This is the best part of 1959’s The Five...

Thu, 16 May 2013 12:02:08 -0400

This is the best part of 1959’s The Five Pennies. From the prohibition tea service, to Danny Kaye’s Satchmo impression, to their musical conversation at the end…laughter and goosebumps!

In the fall of 1951, Monica Lewis joined family friend Danny...

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:01:49 -0400

In the fall of 1951, Monica Lewis joined family friend Danny Kaye on his Korean tour for the troops. Here, they arrive in Kapyong, Korea.

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Tue, 14 May 2013 12:02:03 -0400

Danny Kaye on a press tour for Walter Mitty, goofs for the press...

Mon, 13 May 2013 12:02:08 -0400

Danny Kaye on a press tour for Walter Mitty, goofs for the press corps..

lbjlibrary: December 1, 1966. Lady Bird attends the Awards...

Sun, 12 May 2013 12:02:01 -0400

lbjlibrary:

December 1, 1966. Lady Bird attends the Awards Dinner for the National Institute of Social Science. She accepts her award, then sits down to hear the next recipient accept his:

“Next there was Danny Kaye. And he didn’t read a word! He simply talked from the heart, impassioned, humorous, charming, about the world’s children, about UNICEF. it was a dear speech. He is a giving man. But I was feeling a little apprehensive—they weren’t closing the evening with Danny Kaye. Cardinal Spellman was still to come. I need not have been! He topped us all!”

Above: Danny Kaye, the man who opened for Cardinal Spellman, photo via the Library of Congress. Cardinal Spellman photo courtesy of the Boston Public Library via Flickr Creative Commons. Lady Bird quote from A White House Diary, New York: Dell Books, 1971, pg 506.

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Sat, 11 May 2013 12:01:59 -0400

Pier Angeli and Danny Kaye on the set of Merry Andrew,...

Fri, 10 May 2013 12:01:48 -0400

Pier Angeli and Danny Kaye on the set of Merry Andrew, 1957.

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Thu, 09 May 2013 12:01:51 -0400

Walter Winchell, Leonard Lyons, and Danny Kaye

Wed, 08 May 2013 12:01:55 -0400

Walter Winchell, Leonard Lyons, and Danny Kaye

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Tue, 07 May 2013 12:02:06 -0400

I wasn’t born a fool, it took work to get this way.

Mon, 06 May 2013 12:01:00 -0400

I wasn’t born a fool, it took work to get this way.

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Sun, 05 May 2013 12:02:02 -0400

Hello!You have a wonderful blog!I am a huge fan of Danny Kaye. Thank you.Love from Greece.

Sat, 04 May 2013 22:25:21 -0400

Awesome! thanks!

The Inspector General (1949)

Sat, 04 May 2013 12:01:58 -0400

moviemusicalreviews:

What is this movie about?

The Inspector General is about a man who rides into town and is mistaken for a government inspector. The town lavishes attention on him in exchange for being allowed to continue living in comfortable corruption, all the while seeking to murder him in his sleep. The man, confused, accepts all the gifts and simply tries to keep up the deception.

First look

As always with Danny Kaye movies, this movie is extremely silly. It fully comes into its own when Kaye himself comes onto the screen. He is clearly the main comedian, but the others get jokes as well. The music is decent, and the plot is fairly good. It’s based on The Government Inspector by Nikolai Gogol, but the setting is moved to France, the main character is changed from a civil servant to a stooge in a scam, and musical numbers are added. I enjoy it immensely. It is not the most substantive of films, but it is amusing.

Danny Kaye shines as Georgi. The illiterate fool is a role that suits Kaye’s talents as a physical comic to a T. He seems eternally befuddled and out of place, with his eyes wide and his smile just the same. Walter Slezak is a conniving thief as Yakov, but he gets his laughs almost as well as Kaye. Barbara Bates captures the idealism of Leza while still holding onto her bitterness at being mistreated so long. Gene Lockhart, as the mayor, manages to stand out from his cabinet fairly well, which is a huge stock of odd little characters which each have their own quirks.

Musical numbers

The sequence advertising Yakov’s elixir shows off both how horrible Yakov’s usual sales tactics are and how skilled Kaye is at tempo. He can start and stop on a dime and still keep up a patter tempo. His facial expressions and physical comedy are top-notch, and his range isn’t bad either.

The true focus during the anthem is on Georgi and his complete lack of understanding of what is going on. He keeps trying to follow the crowd, but it’s just impossible. Even during the reprise at the end, when he’s learned the lyrics, he still can’t manage to get his sword out. It reminds me of when I went to church as a child, and had no idea when to stand or when to sit.

Where the Yakov’s elixir sequence focused on expressions and physical comedy, “Be an Inspector General” focuses on impressions and silly accents. The film-on-film technique isn’t perfect, and can be distracting, but it does convey the idea of conflicting ideas of how to be an Inspector General. Each concept is very thoroughly different from the others, in voice, hair, and movement. I particularly enjoyed the final line – “Give them the fist, give them the wrist, give them the finger.”

“Happy Times” is simple and sweet. Kaye is still silly, but it’s softer and endearing. He gently flirts with the maid, trying to cheer her up. He leans in close enough to almost kiss her. She’s enjoying it – she smiles and leans in as much as he does. It is about the least subtle flirting song in history.

The gypsy drinking song shows off Kaye’s actual dancing and singing ability. The central comedic conceit of the song is that if Kaye takes even a single sip of the wine he will die. However, Kaye keeps making the song more and more dramatic instead. Every time he goes to take a sip, the officials lean forward in excitement – a visual cue that increases the tension for the audience. Eventually, his head is literally on fire and he still doesn’t die.

Danny Kaye

Kaye was born in Brooklyn to Ukranian Jewish immigrants. He attended public school until high school, when his mother died. Distraught after her death, Kaye ran away to Florida with his best friend and performed for a living. After a few years, he returned to New York and took a series of odd jobs, most of which he was fired from.

Kaye’s break came in 1933, when he became part of the “Three Terpsichoreans” and toured the United States and Far East. After that, he made movie shorts and worked on Broadway. He met his wife, Sylvia, when they worked on the same show in 1939. They were married in 1940. He gathered producer attention most for his performance in the Broadway comedy Lady in the Dark. Samuel Goldwin took two years to persuade Kaye to sign a movie contract with MGM, which lead to his success in film. He also starred in his own radio show from 1945-1946. Soon, he began to inspire imitators. He then teamed up with the Andrews Sisters for recording from 1947-1950. He appeared at the London Palladium music hall in 1948, and the royal family, for the first time in history, came down from the royal box to it in the front row. He later hosted the 24^th Academy Awards.

Kaye was not just an actor. He had many hobbies, including conducting, cooking, flying, and baseball. While he could not read music, his perfect pitch made him an excellent conductor and he was often invited to conduct symphonies for fundraisers. He won the Les Milleurs Ouvriers de France culinary award for his cooking experiments, and was the only non-professional to do so. He worked as an Ambassador for UNICEF for many years, and won the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1982. He died in 1987 of a heart attack.

Kaye starred in 17 movies during his film career – not nearly as many as other notables, but still enough to merit mention. He developed a particular style and specialized in patter songs and physical entertainment. He is probably best known for The Court Jester, where the line “the pellet with the poison’s in the vessel with the pestle” originates. His style of patter and pantomime charmed audiences both at home and across the sea.

Danny Kaye meets with children who are in Halloween costumes. He...

Fri, 03 May 2013 12:01:51 -0400

Danny Kaye meets with children who are in Halloween costumes. He is standing next to his plane in Garden City prior to takeoff on his cross-country trip, October 25th

pre-code-silverscreen: Greer Garson presenting Humphrey Bogart...

Thu, 02 May 2013 12:01:57 -0400

pre-code-silverscreen:

Greer Garson presenting Humphrey Bogart the Oscar® for Best Actor for his performance in “The African Queen” at the 24th Academy Awards® in 1952. Introduced by Danny Kaye.

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Wed, 01 May 2013 12:02:08 -0400

joyfulpantsofbuttlol: MINE! Little shit. Favourite quote: “How...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 12:02:01 -0400

joyfulpantsofbuttlol:

MINE!

Little shit.

Favourite quote: “How many Hamlets are there?”

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Mon, 29 Apr 2013 12:02:02 -0400