Knock on Wood (1954)
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69% of users liked it
(272 ratings)
With the exception of the brilliant The Court Jester, Knock on Wood must rank as the best of Danny Kaye's movie vehicles. Capitalizing on the star's recent successful engagement in London, the film casts Kaye as a neurotic American ventriloquist performing in England and Europe. In a parody… More With the exception of the brilliant The Court Jester, Knock on Wood must rank as the best of Danny Kaye's movie vehicles. Capitalizing on the star's recent successful engagement in London, the film casts Kaye as a neurotic American ventriloquist performing in England and Europe. In a parody of the 1946 thriller Dead of Night, Kaye is unable to control the words coming out of his dummy, resulting in a near-nervous breakdown. On the advice of his manager (David Burns), Kaye seeks out the help of a psychiatrist, who turns out to be beautiful Mai Zetterling. But first, he heads to a local repair shop to pick up one of his dummies. What Kaye doesn't know is that a set of stolen blueprints for a top-secret weapon have been secreted into his dummy's head. Before he knows what's happening, our hero is up to his ears in spies, counterspies, and corpses. Falsely accused of murder, Kaye spends the rest of the film adopting one disguise after another to elude both the authorities and the various enemy agents roaming about. Filled to overflowing with musical and comedy highlights, Knock on Wood includes the famous "under the table" bit wherein Kaye finds himself literally between two warring spy factions, and a climactic ballet sequence reminiscent of (and superior to) the comic-opera finale of Kaye's Wonder Man (1945). And of course, the audience is treated to the tongue-twisting patter songs written for Kaye by his wife Sylvia Fine. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Melvin Frank, Norman Panama
- Written By
- Norman Panama, Melvin Frank
- Genres
- Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense, Classics, Comedy
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Jun 2, 1954 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Bill Weber, Slant Magazine
With a star just past his prime, this Danny Kaye vehicle doesn't even deliver on its "ventriloquist gets mixed up with spies" premise.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Danny Kaye
as Jerry Morgan / Papa Morgan
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Mai Zetterling
as Ilse Nordstrom
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Torin Thatcher
as Langston
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David Burns
as Marty Brown
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Leon Askin
as Gromeck
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Abner Biberman
as Papinek
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Gavin Gordon
as Car Salesman
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Otto Waldis
as Brodnik
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Steven Geray
as Dr. Kreuger
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Diana Adams
as Princess
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Patricia Denise
as Mama Morgan
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Virginia Huston
as Audrey
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Paul England
as Chief Inspector Wilton
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Johnstone White
as Langston's Secretary
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Henry Brandon
as 2nd Trenchcoat Man
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Lewis Martin
as Inspector Cranford
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John Alderson
as Bobby
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Genevieve Aumont
as Airline Stewardess
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Helen Chapman
as Zelda
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Noel Drayton
as Little Man
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Rex Evans
as Customer
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Winifred Harris
as English Woman
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Kenneth Hunter
as Old Man
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Donald Lawton
as French Stage Manager
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Alphonse Martell
as Policeman
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Carl Milletaire
as 1st Trenchcoat Man
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Christopher Olsen
as Danny Jr
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Phil Tully
as Irishman
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Philip Van Zandt
as Brutchik
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Eric Wilton
as Doorman
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Helen Dickson
as Woman in Shower
