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Knock on Wood

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6.6/10 • 30

1954-04-061h 43m

ActionComedy

The No. 1 Song-and-Dance Clown at his best!

Ventriloquist Jerry Morgan has failed with another love affair. The reason: when the relationship reaches the point when it is time to discuss marriage, his two dolls become mean and jealous. Morgan's dollmaker Papinek is a member of a spy ring who has stolen the secret plans for the top-secret Lafayette airplane. Since Morgan is leaving for Zurich the same night, he decides to hide the secret plan in the heads of the dolls.

Directors
Melvin Frank, Norman Panama
Writters
Melvin Frank, Norman Panama
Editors
Melvin Frank, Norman Panama, Alma Macrorie

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Danny Kaye

    Danny Kaye

    Jerry Morgan

  2. Mai Zetterling

    Mai Zetterling

    Ilse Nordstrom

  3. Torin Thatcher

    Torin Thatcher

    Godfrey Langston

  4. David Burns

    David Burns

    Marty Brown

  5. Leon Askin

    Leon Askin

    Laslo Gromeck

  6. Abner Biberman

    Abner Biberman

    Maurice Papinek

  7. Gavin Gordon

    Gavin Gordon

    Car Salesman

  8. Otto Waldis

    Otto Waldis

    Brodnik

  9. Steven Geray

    Steven Geray

    Doctor Kreuger

Reviews1

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CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

Aug 1, 2024

6/10

With Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly dominating this genre, it's easy to forget that Danny Kaye was actually quite an accomplished dancer and singer - and he demonstrates that quite charismatically in this rather daft spy caper. Here he also reminds us of just how popular ventriloquists were as his "Jerry" character finds himself embroiled in an international espionage ring that involves some top secret blueprints, his dummy's brand new head and the dastardly British industrialist "Langston" (Torin Thatcher). It's this latter man who turns out to want to acquire and sell on the plans - but there is no absence of competitors who are trying to entrap our hapless entertainer. Meantime, he begins to fall for the sceptical "Dr. Ilse" (Mai Zetterling) and she - slightly uncertain as to whether he's a bit screwy or not - soon finds herself equally involved in the increasingly farcical goings on in a fine Zurich hotel. It's all fairly predicable, borderline slapstick, fayre but there's a fair degree of agreeable chemistry between Kaye and Zetterling with both being quite adept on the dance floor and him delivering a couple of cheery, if not entirely memorable, numbers from Sylvia Fine. The production quality lets it down a bit if you happen to know anything about actually living in London, but there's still some humour in the writing that Kaye delivers quite engagingly as we build to a denouement straight out of "Sherlock Holmes" that takes a few pings at the international jet-set en route.

Media

  • Knock on Wood backdrop

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
spyloveventriloquistmurder