Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, A (1949)
Director: Tay Garnett
60 years following the publication of Mark Twain’s novel “A
Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur Court” delivers a cinematic musical retelling
in Technicolor starring one of Hollywood’s biggest stars. The source material
would yet serve only to be a vehicle for the widely celebrated Bing Crosby to croon
and charm his way around Arthurian England in what proved to be a well-received
comedy for both studio and star. Part time traveling voyage, part romantic
comedy, and part whimsical fantasy this picture is more a product of its period
than a timeless feature, but it does find a way to be charming in its own
right.
A Connecticut Yankee
in King Arthur’s Court is a musical comedy of an American from the early 20th
century who bumps his head and wakes up in the days of Arthurian legend in
Camelot. Simple American mechanic Hank Martin (Bing Crosby) is knocked out only
to revive in the 528 England. With his clever mechanical ingenuity Hank becomes
respected as a man with powers with the help of befriending the bumbling
Knight, Sir Sagamore (William Bendix) along the way. Lady in waiting Alisande
(Rhonda Fleming) catches the ye of Hank where a romance begins to bloom getting
him in trouble with her fiancée, Sir Lancelot (Henry Wilcoxon). The
confrontation is defused by Hank’s cunning while gaining the friendship and respect
of her uncle, the legendary King Arthur (Cedric Hardwicke). along the way.
While trying to help the king Hank unmasks a plan by the evil wizard Merlin (Mervyn
Vye) to usurp the beloved monarch which Hank helps fight off. In a last ditch
effort Merlin kidnaps Alisande to thwart his new enemy, before Hank is able to
rescue his lady faire just before Hank awakens back in his own time. Bookending
the tale we observe Hank returning to the castle at Camelot in modern times to
reminisce of his adventure and his lost love, where the castle’s owner (also
played by Hardwicke) introduces Hank to his beautiful niece who happens to look
exactly like Alisande.
Purely a product of late 1940s cinema, this picture is an
obvious vehicle for banking on the box office appeal of Bing Crosby. Even with musical
numbers and the star’s slow down home charm, the film does stay rather true to
the source material while molding to its big name headliner literally doing
what he can to “jazz up” the tale. For Bing this feature was a way to bring the
star into a well-known recent American literary classic and even with the tale
having been adapted for the screen twice before. The material made for a bright
period piece filmed in glorious Technicolor that can struggle to make the jump
from the written word to the screen. Both Crosby and the story come out
mutually benefiting from each other, arriving to be a hefty success for 1949.
However, with time the bright film finds its shine faded as the movie gravitates
to a wacky whimsy than a serious motion picture of a more timeless nature.
It may be difficult to believe that Samuel Clemens, the
humorist best known as Mark Twain, had penned this, one of his better known
tales, a mere 60 years prior to this Bing Crosby retelling of the novel. Having
already seen two prior adaptions, one the silent feature from 1921 and the
other the 1931 picture starring another famed American humorist in Will Rogers,
this version delivered to audiences the bright pageantry of a period picture
with elaborate costumes and the majesty of this legendary tale captured for the
first time in the praised Technicolor film process.
From the conception of this production it was going to be a
vehicle for Bing Crosby. Tay Garnett was a curious choice to direct such a
feature with his most recent works being gritty dramas The Postman Always Rings Twice and Wild Harvest with this picture lacking the a serious nature and
Garnett’s lack of work it color films. Nevertheless the picture comes together
quite fine, despite its obvious production quality that is limited by studio
backlots and soundstages in set decoration limiting the scope and majesty of a
grand period piece.
Surprisingly the film stays rather true to the source
material with merely Hank’s character being set in 1912 where he works on motor
vehicles instead of a generation earlier when the book was published when such
modern marvels were unheard of. This proves to connect audiences with the
character and story more as Hank’s skills are more tangible than that before
the days of horse and buggy just a generation beforehand. Furthermore music was
added to the picture to accommodate Bing’s most famous entertainment quailties.
The cleverness of the story suffers a bit with the translation from the imaginative
world of a reader’s mind to the screen as watching Hank “outsmart” his Medieval
opponents can seem rather tame and make the ruthless men look like a buffoons.
Crosby’s attempt to jazz up period music with his minimal instruction to royal court
musicians may have played better within the movie in 1949 than it does these
many generations later, but after all this we must remember this is was more a
Bing Crosby picture than it was a Mark Twain picture.
The acting styling of Sir Cedric Hardwicke gives the Arthur
character as well as the film a bit of class with such a respected actor in the
most legendary role in the picture. Willian Bendix provides us with the
simpleton for Hank to play off in to enter the kingdom of Camelot, as a knight
that is noble, yet dim. For romantic co-star Rhonda Fleming this picture would
be a major step in her career. Her performance as the lady in waiting, Alisande,
is a weak character matched with equally low energy. However, her appearance in
the color feature in such bright costume and makeup complimented her flawless complexion
and vibrant red hair, helping her set a course that made her an attractive actress
in the rising use of Technicolor in features. This marked the first step in her
becoming one of the more striking actresses of her day, later earning her the nickname
the “Queen of Technicolor.”
Audiences took well to A
Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court with the vibrant visuals, the
attractive mix of contemporary humor, fanciful story originally penned by one
of the American’s most famed authors, and the marquee appeal of Bing Crosby. Critics
of the era generally gave the picture high marks, praising Crosby for his cool
demeanor that bounces off the stuffy and sometimes goofy Medieval backdrop. The
vibrant colors would help the picture remain beautiful for many years after its
release; however the delivery of the story would not be so timeless.
For many that enjoy looking back on this period of pop
culture and filmmaking A Connecticut
Yankee in King Arthur’s Court is a rather silly execution of fantasy story
best left to the imagination than being portrayed on screen. As a Bing Crosby
vehicle adapting the story to meet the jazziness and crooning nature that
matched his highest appeals would play well if one is not looking to a more earnest
take on the source material.
As a Bing Crosby picture, the movie is a solid piece of
entertainment. He was still one of the biggest stars in America and the box
office numbers proved that his appeal would help bring in some of the marks for
Paramount in 1949. For those looking for an adaptation of the Mark Twain novel,
you will have to put up with more Crosby-isms than you may care for, but for a
picture that captured what was enjoyed by late 1940s culture you can find it
here in this silly time traveling love story.
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