People are voting emotionally.
... View MoreBrilliant and touching
... View MoreA lot of fun.
... View MoreVery interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.
... View MoreThis book by Mark Twain is one of the most razor sharp depictions of the stupidity of people and their foibles and their willingness to participate in their own destruction. This movie is silly and ignores virtually every point Twain ever made. It's understandable. It pokes fun at religion and the blind following of dogma. Bing Crosby, a great singer,would never have agreed to be in a movie that knocks sacred cows. I see the movie as forgettable and blah entertainment and I hope that someday a producer and director will take this story and do a decent job of filming it. Don't get me wrong. Some of the more spectacular events from the book are portrayed (the total eclipse, for example), but they don't make any point.
... View MoreMy unintentional boycott of Bing Crosby films must end. I have no idea, being a fan of classic cinema, how this was my first experience with the actor/singer. Tay Garnett's interpretation of Mark Twain's book of the same name, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court proves that musicals can be fun, endearing, and serious, all at the same time. By the end of the movie I was feverishly searching Bing Crosby's filmography to see what other works of his I can check out!A simple mechanic living in Connecticut in the year 1912, Hank Martin (Bing Crosby), takes a bump to the head on a stormy night, waking to find himself in 528 A.D. adapting well to his new surroundings, Hank shows his new counterparts technology and gently gives them hints about the future. He soon finds himself befriending those closest to King Arthur (Cedric Hardwicke), including most notably his favorite niece, Alisande La Carteloise (Rhonda Fleming). He quickly falls for the beautiful woman he nicknames Sandy, stepping on the toes of Sir Lancelot ( Henry Wilcoxon) whom she has been promised to. Learning that Sandy doesn't love Sir Lancelot, Hank goes about giving her glimpses of the world in which he comes from, and pushing her to only marry out of love. Trying to convince King Arthur to better learn what the lives of his subjects are like, he fashions an incognito trip for them in plain clothes. Disaster ensues when Merlin, (Murvyn Vye) sees the King's absence as a chance to overtake the thrown. If there's one thing we know about Hank though, it's that he is just resourceful enough to get out of any situation.A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court was a fun look into the novel of Mark Twain, told largely through music. Bing Crosby brought the picture to life for me, and any fans of his must see this film! I found the film well-acted and touching. The film was a great story of the everyman type that succeeds. The film looked beautiful in all of its Technicolor glory. I will definitely be checking into more Bing Crosby films!
... View MoreI understand that Paramount wanted to film this with the Rodgers and Hart score, but couldn't work out the copyright problems, so Burke and Van Heusen who wrote the between them the most songs for Bing Crosby contributed a very nice score.I read Leonard Maltin saying that this movie, "fit Crosby like a glove" and I couldn't have put it better. No, it's not Mark Twain's satire, it's a Bing Crosby film and in 1949 Crosby was the most bankable star in Hollywood. For once Paramount used technicolor and Rhonda Fleming was never lovelier on the screen. This was a woman that technicolor was invented for.William Bendix's Brooklyn origins kinda stand out, but it's to a good comic effect. The trio of Crosby, Bendix, and Sir Cedric Hardwicke have a rollicking good time with Busy Doing Nothing. Bing has one of his patented upbeat philosophical numbers with If You Stub Your Toe On The Moon.The third song he sings Once and For Always by himself and with Rhonda Fleming. That song was nominated for best song, but lost to Baby It's Cold Outside. Nice also that Bing managed to record the score for Decca with Rhonda Fleming and Bendix and Hardwicke.One thing I like about this film is that it shows Crosby's comic talents without Bob Hope. I like the Road pictures, but Bing was a comic talent onto himself and this film better demonstrates than any other.This is Crosby at the top of his game.
... View MoreMark Twain's amazing work of dark satire is transformed into . . . this??? Read the book. Please. I'm sick of Hollywood taking great books - this, Grapes of Wrath, The Egg and I, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, etc - and transforming them into watered-down versions of the novels, which take hold of the public imagination and supplant the originals for apparently all eternity. When will this end???
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