I've come to the belief that Danny Kaye is an acquired taste, his early films quite funny yet some of the themes going way overboard to be over the heads of adolescents. His pairing with wife Sylvia Fine was a teaming of one of the great satirist writers and portrayer of those type of parts. In this very upscale comedy spoof of spy movies, he shows his meddle as he goes back into the territory of his early 1940's Broadway hit, "Lady in the Dark", as he goes into therapy to discover the reasons why he has allowed his romantic pairings to be destroyed by his ventriloquist dummy. Psycho analyst Mai Zetterling seems to have ulterior motives for taking his case, possibly being involved in the spy ring that hid secret documents in his dummy.
A serious atmosphere takes this way above the typical Bob Hope spy vehicle. There's no time for nonsense, and other than the occasional patter song, this is more plot oriented than normal, making it frequently suspenseful as well as ironic in its underplayed humor. Kaye provides a variety of accents, making it obvious as to why he was one of the most popular comics among adults and children who would have to see this again on T.V. later on to further understand it.
Ironically released the same year as Hus big Paramount musical "White Christmas" opposite Bing Crosby, he had the honor of sharing with Bing two quite different performances other than that overrated Christmas perennial. Bing, nominated for an Oscar for "The Country Girl", is equally matched by Danny in this. The intelligent story got an Oscar nomination, and Kaye certainly ranks as among the best performances of 1954.
A serious atmosphere takes this way above the typical Bob Hope spy vehicle. There's no time for nonsense, and other than the occasional patter song, this is more plot oriented than normal, making it frequently suspenseful as well as ironic in its underplayed humor. Kaye provides a variety of accents, making it obvious as to why he was one of the most popular comics among adults and children who would have to see this again on T.V. later on to further understand it.
Ironically released the same year as Hus big Paramount musical "White Christmas" opposite Bing Crosby, he had the honor of sharing with Bing two quite different performances other than that overrated Christmas perennial. Bing, nominated for an Oscar for "The Country Girl", is equally matched by Danny in this. The intelligent story got an Oscar nomination, and Kaye certainly ranks as among the best performances of 1954.