SimonJack Danny Kaye made only 17 big screen movies and six TV movies in his 50-year career. He was surely in demand to do more. But like other many-talented physical performers (i.e., Fred Astaire), Kaye took time to perfect his often complicated routines. And, his films were mostly in his first 30 years. He had his own highly popular TV series that ran over five years, 1963-1967, and he made guest appearances on other shows. Kaye was one of the few multi-talented performers on stage and the silver screen; and I think he was one of the best. He was primarily known as a comedian. But he was an excellent dancer and singer as well. He was a first-rate mimic. He had a versatile voice and could imitate various ethnic voices. And, he was the singular master of tongue-twisters. His rapid-fire, tongue-twister monologues and songs were marvelous to see and hear. About the middle of his career, Kaye made "Knock on Wood." He plays a ventriloquist, Jerry Morgan, who unwittingly gets involved in an espionage caper between Paris and London. Kaye sings, dances, tongue-twists, and ruses his way through many a scrape in this delightful comedy. He has his usual slapstick situations, and is riotous in a ballet sequence. When three bodies turn up in his hotel rooms, he becomes known in London as the "red-headed ripper." Two of the most hilarious escapades are his posing as an English gentleman and then as an Irishman at a Sons of Hibernia convention. His tongue-twister song in brogue is over the top funny. Danny Kaye played a couple of serious roles in films, but mostly was an entertainer who relished making people laugh. Kaye never won an Oscar but was given an honorary Academy Award for his exceptional talents and service to filmdom and America. He was just 44 when he received that award in 1955. He did win two Golden Globes – for "On the Riviera" in 1952 and "Me and the Colonel" in 1958. And, he won an Emmy for his TV comedy series. In 1982, he received another award from the Hollywood academy – the Jean Herscholt Humanitarian Award. For many years, Kaye was ambassador at large for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the organization asked him to accept the 1955 Nobel Peace Prize it was awarded. Kaye is probably most known today for his co-starring role with Bing Crosby in "White Christmas." In 1955, he was near the end of his roles with much physical activity, and he focused more on music. He played Red Nichols in that music man's 1959 biopic, "The Five Pennies." Kaye toured with Bob Hope shows for American service men overseas. Hope said Kaye was his favorite comedian.Whatever Danny Kaye was in was worth watching. Kaye said that he was born to entertain people. All of his comedy films are among the best of the genre. The inimitable Danny Kaye shines in this wonderful comedy, as he does in all the others. It's pure joyful and fun entertainment for the whole family.

CCsito This movie probably doesn't match some of the better known Danny Kaye comedy movies, but it has what I consider to be two of the funniest scenes in any of his movies. The first one is when he is under a table with two men sitting and he has to match hand movements of them with his two hands. Very tricky and requires a lot of synchronization. I am sure that it took a few takes to get it right. The second is when Danny is trying to hide from both the police and spies and gets mixed up in a Russian ballet troupe performing on stage. He goes through a hilarious routine with the ballerina. These two scenes alone make watching this movie worthwhile.

skallisjr This isn't quite in the class of The Court Jester, but it's better by far than most comedies. Kaye's character is one of those who gets caught up in intrigue without fully understanding just what's going on.Spoilers follow: One really funny scene has Kaye's character hiding under a table, where those who are hunting him decide to sit down. One of them puts his hand on Kaye's knee, so he immediately puts his hand on that man's, so he'll think he's resting his hand on his own knee. Then the other (third) guy does the same thing with Kaye's other knee, and Kaye responds identically. Then, as the men talk, they start drumming their fingers on Kaye's knees, and he has to mimic their actions! Incredible work that probably involved a lot of retakes.There's one wonderful running gag where Kaye and his girlfriend are trying to escape pursuit by cutting through a car caught in a traffic jam. Later, they do the same, and happen to crawl through the same car, with the same couple in it. This leads to a great last line toward the close of the picture.You could do far worse than this one and still see a pretty good picture.

aadlaf There is a scene in KNOCK ON WOOD in which Danny Kaye, trying to escape from the London police, finds himself backstage during an overly dramatic Russian ballet, and soon enough, is onstage, heavy-footedly trying to blend into the scene without being spotted by the police in the audience. The result is the single best spoof of ballet the live side of animation (with "Dance of the Hours" in FANTASIA being its cartoon match). I actually saw Danny Kaye do this routine onstage at the Palace Theatre in New York where, great though it was, the closeups provided by the movie camera make the film version even more hilarious. Kaye is one of the most underrated actors of all time. This movie shows his brilliance and range. His facial expressions are as brilliantly comic as Sid Caesar's, and the two of them leave the rest of the pack far behind. (Is Robin Williams a distant third?) KNOCK ON WOOD is uneven. It's not the most perfectly realized Kaye film--that honor goes either to SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY or COURT JESTER. The latter, being a musical, maybe is the best. COURT JESTER is overall funnier than KNOCK ON WOOD, but no scene in it comes close to the ballet spoof.