Knock on Wood

Knock on Wood

Director: Melvin Frank, Norman Panama Cast: Sylvia Fine
Sylvia Fine
, Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye
, Mai Zetterling
Mai Zetterling
Melvin Frank
Knock on Wood

Knock on Wood

Director: Melvin Frank, Norman Panama Cast: Sylvia Fine
Sylvia Fine
, Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye
, Mai Zetterling
Mai Zetterling
Melvin Frank

DVD

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Overview

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.

Product Details

Release Date: 09/28/2010
UPC: 0887090024907
Original Release: 1954
Rating: NR
Source: Olive
Region Code: 1
Sound: [Dolby Digital Mono]
Language: English
Time: 1:43:00
Sales rank: 22,371

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits
Danny Kaye Jerry Morgan / Papa Morgan / Clarence
Mai Zetterling Dr. Ilse Nordstrom
David Burns Marty Brown
Torin Thatcher Godfrey Langston
Leon Askin Gromeck
Abner Biberman Papinek
Gavin Gordon Car Salesman
Otto Waldis Brodnik
Steven Geray Dr. Kreuger
Diana Adams Princess
Patricia Denise Mama Morgan
Virginia Huston Audrey
Paul England Chief Inspector Wilton
Johnstone White Langston's Secretary
Henry Brandon 2nd Trenchcoat Man
Lewis Martin Inspector Cranford
Eric Wilton Doorman
Philip Van Zandt Brutchik
Winifred Harris English Woman
Kenneth Hunter Old Man
Carl Milletaire 1st Trenchcoat Man
Christopher Olsen Danny Jr
Noel Drayton Little Man
John Alderson Bobby
Phil Tully Irishman
Helen Dickson Woman in Shower
Rex Evans Customer
Donald Lawton French Stage Manager
Helen Chapman Zelda
Genevieve Aumont Airline Stewardess
Alphonse Martell Policeman

Technical Credits
Melvin Frank Director,Producer,Screenwriter
Norman Panama Producer,Director,Screenwriter
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