The Court Jester (1955)

Herbert Rudley: Captain of the Guard

Photos 

Quotes 

• Hubert Hawkins : [disguised as an old man]  Have you seen a group in the forest?

  [Jean, pretending to be a deaf mute, makes a lot of hand gestures in response] 

  Hubert Hawkins : She says, "No."

  Captain of the Guard : What took her so long?

  Hubert Hawkins : Stutters.

• Captain of the Guard : [Hawkins is being tested for knighthood]  He must scale a stone wall in full armor.

  [Hawkins is tossed over the wall] 

  Captain of the Guard : The candidate passes!

  [later] 

  Captain of the Guard : With longbow, he must slay a hawk in full flight.

  [a hawk with an arrow is tossed on the ground] 

  Captain of the Guard : He passes.

  Hawkins : But I didn't even shoo...

  Captain of the Guard : [shouts]  The candidate passes!

  [later] 

  Hawkins : But I didn't even shoot the arrow!

  Captain of the Guard : [later]  The candidate must conquer a wild boar with his bare hands. Release the boar!

  [a piglet comes out of a chute followed by sound effects of splashing in the mud] 

  Captain of the Guard : He passes!

• Captain of the Guard : Welcome, Giacomo. We have come to escort you to the castle. We...

  [noticing Hawkins avoiding eye contact] 

  Captain of the Guard : Haven't we met before?

  Hawkins : Uh, it's not very likely, my good man. You see, I'm, uh, on my way back from the Italian court.

  Captain of the Guard : How speak you the king's English with no trace of accent?

  Hawkins : My dear sir, Giacomo is the master of many, many tongues indeed. French.

  [speaking French] 

  Hawkins : Italian.

  [speaking Italian] 

  Hawkins : German.

  [angrily shouting in German] 

  Hawkins : ...which means in any language, "Why tarry? Let us off to the castle.'

  Captain of the Guard : Off to the castle?

  Hawkins : Off to the castle.

  [slipping as he tries to climb back aboard his cart] 

  Hawkins : To the castle.

• Captain of the Guard : Ask the girl if she's seen a group in the forest.

  Hawkins : [disguised as an old man]  Huh? What's that? What?

  Captain of the Guard : Ask the girl if she's seen a group in the forest.

  Hawkins : What do you... what?

  Captain of the Guard : ASK THE GIRL IF SHE'S SEEN A GROUP IN THE FOREST!

  Hawkins : There's no need to holler, sir, for I hear very well, indeed.

  Captain of the Guard : Well, ask her!

  Hawkins : Ask her what?

  Captain of the Guard : IF SHE'S SEEN A GROUP IN THE FOREST!

• Ravenhurst : Welcome home, Sir Bertram. You saw the jester's performance?

  Sir Bertram : Mm-hmm.

  Ravenhurst : When I sent you to negotiate with Giacomo, I never expected results like this. Was he not brilliant?

  Sir Bertram : Indeed... with one slight discrepancy. This man is not Giacomo.

  Ravenhurst : What?

  Sir Bertram : Ah, I know not this pretender, but I assure you he is not the Giacomo I met and negotiated with in Europe.

  Captain of the Guard : I tell you, I've seen this man before, and somehow, that maid.

  Sir Locksley : What did I tell you? What plan now?

  Ravenhurst : To my chambers immediately.

• Captain of the Guard : By order of his sovereign majesty, the jester Giacomo shall enter upon a series of tests of manhood, skill, and courage, requisite to his becoming a knight of the realm.

  Hawkins : M-Me, a knight? But why?

  Captain of the Guard : To make you eligible for the hand of the Princess Gwendolyn.

  Hawkins : M-Marry the princess? Wh-when?

  Captain of the Guard : Upon your passing each and every test.

  Hawkins : Oh. Well, that's different. It takes four or five years to become a knight, doesn't it?

  Captain of the Guard : We shall see. Let the tests begin.

  Hawkins : [as he's led away]  W-Wait, what's the hurry?

• Captain of the Guard : Fergus is dead.

  Ravenhurst : Did he talk?

  [the captain whispers in his ear] 

  Ravenhurst : The child in the castle?

• Ravenhurst : But if he's not Giacomo, who can he be, and what does he want? Why would he do our every bidding?

  Sir Locksley : Why would he work to destroy the alliance?

  Ravenhurst : Why would he murder with the cunning of a fox?

  [a thought strikes him] 

  Ravenhurst : A fox. But of course, a fox. A Black Fox.

  Sir Locksley : But you don't think that...

  Ravenhurst : Why not? Who else would oppose Griswold and want the alliance destroyed but that rabble in the forest?

  Captain of the Guard : The forest?

  [realizing how he knows Hawkins] 

  Captain of the Guard : That's where I saw him, dressed as an old man riding into the forest, with the very wench who sat beside the king tonight.

  Ravenhurst : My lords, what a prize! The Black Fox himself!

  Sir Bertram : Expose him! You'll get all the credit.

  Ravenhurst : Not so fast. Not until the Fox pays us one last service. He'll rid us forever of the barbaric Griswold.

  Sir Locksley : Kill Griswold? But how?

  Ravenhurst : Whose is the deadliest blade in England? Who is the only man alive who can best Griswold in mortal combat? Only the Black Fox.

  Sir Locksley : But the Fox is a commoner and cannot fight in tournament.

  Ravenhurst : We shall see.