So, here in Europe, I've watched my first Danny Kaye movie, Wonder Man. Okay, technically not my first, as a kid I had also seen Walter Mitty, bud dubbed in french, and I don't remember much about it.
But apparently, Danny Kaye was a thing for my parents' generation ? They still quote The Court Jester. And my generation had not heard of him at all. This made me curious. I checked a bit of his show on youtube (a sketch with some young promising guest actor named Peter Falk, apparently in full columbo mode since birth), and also the chalice/vessel scene. And then that film.
And hm. Okay, I get it I think. I might have adored him if I had discovered him as a kid ? He's funny in a make the children laugh way ? The movie made me laugh once (one joke in all the classic talking-to-invisible-man-behind-you routines did land) and amused me at another point (the epic ending where a fake opera tenor on stage tries to discretely convey specific info to the police, in a singing, italian-sounding way). The rest is mostly squeaks and facial expressions, over-reactions, etc, which felt much less natural than, say, a Louis de Funès'. It reminded me of Abbott and Costello, another, earlier reference that is also unknown to my generation. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein was presented to me, by an aunt, as the funniest thing ever, and it didn't really convince me (it's mostly scoobydoo yikes and zoinks with funny faces), although it might had if I had been as young as she was when she discovered it.
Finally I found it endearing but terribly aged. Not only the naively exoticizing musical numbers (which make sense for a time where foreign cultures seemed funnier and weirder than they were, but looks embarrassingly dated in the global village era), but the acting and the clownesque reliance on funny faces. Other style of humor, such as the Marx Brothers, still work better today. But I was also struck by the filiation with more modern artists. For instance, I'm now convinced that Terence Hill was a big Danny Kaye fan, and was emulating him a lot with his acting and emoting.
Now, is my global impression subjective, is it personal, is it cultural ? In the english-speaking world, is Danny Kaye still better known ? Does he have a cult stats, is he forgotten ? Is he perceived with condescension, with contempt, with respect, with admiration ? Does he represent fond memories or awkwardness ? He doesn't seem often referred to, so is he culturally ignored ?
My question is : what is Danny Kaye to you ?
But apparently, Danny Kaye was a thing for my parents' generation ? They still quote The Court Jester. And my generation had not heard of him at all. This made me curious. I checked a bit of his show on youtube (a sketch with some young promising guest actor named Peter Falk, apparently in full columbo mode since birth), and also the chalice/vessel scene. And then that film.
And hm. Okay, I get it I think. I might have adored him if I had discovered him as a kid ? He's funny in a make the children laugh way ? The movie made me laugh once (one joke in all the classic talking-to-invisible-man-behind-you routines did land) and amused me at another point (the epic ending where a fake opera tenor on stage tries to discretely convey specific info to the police, in a singing, italian-sounding way). The rest is mostly squeaks and facial expressions, over-reactions, etc, which felt much less natural than, say, a Louis de Funès'. It reminded me of Abbott and Costello, another, earlier reference that is also unknown to my generation. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein was presented to me, by an aunt, as the funniest thing ever, and it didn't really convince me (it's mostly scoobydoo yikes and zoinks with funny faces), although it might had if I had been as young as she was when she discovered it.
Finally I found it endearing but terribly aged. Not only the naively exoticizing musical numbers (which make sense for a time where foreign cultures seemed funnier and weirder than they were, but looks embarrassingly dated in the global village era), but the acting and the clownesque reliance on funny faces. Other style of humor, such as the Marx Brothers, still work better today. But I was also struck by the filiation with more modern artists. For instance, I'm now convinced that Terence Hill was a big Danny Kaye fan, and was emulating him a lot with his acting and emoting.
Now, is my global impression subjective, is it personal, is it cultural ? In the english-speaking world, is Danny Kaye still better known ? Does he have a cult stats, is he forgotten ? Is he perceived with condescension, with contempt, with respect, with admiration ? Does he represent fond memories or awkwardness ? He doesn't seem often referred to, so is he culturally ignored ?
My question is : what is Danny Kaye to you ?