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Knock on Wood (1954) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
6.9/10   297 votes
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Up 13% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Writers:
Norman Panama (writer) and
Melvin Frank (writer)
Contact:
View company contact information for Knock on Wood on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
2 June 1954 (Sweden) more
Genre:
Comedy more
Tagline:
The No. 1 Song-and-Dance Clown at his best!
Plot:
Ventriloquist Jerry Morgan has failed with another love affair. The reason: when the relationship reaches... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
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Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 nominations more
NewsDesk:
Writer Norman Panama Dead at 88
 (From Studio Briefing - Film News. 27 January 2003)
User Comments:
One of the all-time funniest films. more (8 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Danny Kaye ... Jerry Morgan / Papa Morgan
Mai Zetterling ... Dr. Ilse Nordstrom
Torin Thatcher ... Godfrey Langstrom
David Burns ... Marty Brown

Leon Askin ... Laslo Gromeck
Abner Biberman ... Maurice Papinek
Gavin Gordon ... Car Salesman
Otto Waldis ... Brodnik
Steven Geray ... Doctor Kreuger
Diana Adams ... Princess Maya
Patricia Denise ... Mama Morgan
Virginia Huston ... Audrey Greene
Paul England ... Chief Inspector Wilton
Johnstone White ... Langston's Secretary
Henry Brandon ... Second Trenchcoat Man
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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
103 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)
Certification:
Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #16693, General Audience)
Company:
Dena Productions more

Fun Stuff

Goofs:
Errors in geography: Danny Kaye's character turns a corner on Oxford Street and appears on Ludgate Hill, a mile away. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in The Smallest Show on Earth (1957) more

FAQ

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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
6 out of 8 people found the following comment useful.
One of the all-time funniest films., 4 July 2004
10/10
Author: Anthony D'Amato from Chicago, Illinois

The sequence in this film where Danny Kaye lands on the stage of an balletic opera in progress has got to rank up there with the funniest single scenes in motion picture history. The spoof is as spot-on as the "Fantasia" spoof of opera in the "Dance of the Hours" sequence. It's hard to explain how the previous reviewer thought the new-car-with-gadgets scene was the funniest; actually, it's the most dated, and "Knock on Wood" would be better off without it. The story is a wicked satire on espionage agents, with Danny caught up unawares in the center of an international spy ring. There's also a love story reminiscent of "Walter Mitty", but this is the funnier film of the two. Danny Kaye is one of the most underrated actors of all time. His facial expressions--conveying what he thinks, which is often opposite to what he or the other characters are saying--is like a second voice carrying the humor line. It's so well done that it seems mundane to people who are not on the lookout for it. Only Sid Caesar, of all the comics in American history, including Chaplin and the other silent greats, used his facial expressions to the supreme comic effect that Danny Kaye achieved. I might even rank Caesar above Kay, but unfortunately Caesar did not get any good movie roles. (Mel Brooks wanted him for "The Producers," and it would have become THE best comedy of all time if he had landed him, but some busybody associate producer hated Caesar and so he nixed the deal. How sad.) If I were pressed to choose among Danny Kaye's films, I guess I would choose "The Court Jester" above "Knock on Wood," in terms of all-round satisfaction. Yet the ballet spoof in "Knock on Wood" surpasses any single scene in "The Court Jester." If you never see it, you'll never know how funny a thing can be.

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KNOCK ON WOOD now available as region 2 dvd booksearch
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Does this have the car salesman sequence? romojo
Kaye's double gfw
Knock on Wood (Danny Kaye) dasoesi
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