ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

Ceticultsot Beautiful, moving film.

Solidrariol Am I Missing Something?

Asad Almond A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Spondonman This was a pleasant Bing Crosby vehicle, sitting in a comfort range somewhere between Abbott & Costello Meet Captain Kidd and The Court Jester. It was a favourite family film in ye olden days of mine; to which there's no going back.A young American blacksmith in 1912 relates his story – that he was whisked mysteriously back in time to King Arthur's Court in Camelot, England in 528, where he instantly proved a hit with the denizens and fell in love with one of them, the Good Lady Rhonda Fleming. Great Hollywood liberties were taken with Mark Twain's text of course, intentional and unintentional anachronisms abound. Especially with the flat van Heusen & Burke score – pleasant enough ballads but the only one turned timeless was Busy Doing Nothing. To me, 50% of the reason to watch the whole film now is just for that song, a wonderful 3 minutes I only wish was longer. The irony was never lost on me that Crosby, Cedric Hardwicke and William Bendix were joyously celebrating their freedom on the road whilst simultaneously looking out to verify the kingdom's human suffering and despair! Later on, another irony was that apparently the first American manufactured product on British soil was a gun… Plenty of familiar faces in here to watch out for: Alan Napier as the executioner heads the list, Merlin, sorry, Murvyn Vye as a rather slapstick wizard, Richard Webb playing Sir Nelson Eddy, Joseph Vitale having stopped giggling from his previous film's laughing gas, Henry Wilcoxon never looking more like a brick toilet block, etc. Director Tay Garnett seldom put a foot of film wrong in the '30s and '40s.I have a few problems with it – the technicolor has washed away on a few prints which can be annoying at times, the sound was never great, the acting variable and the plot veered from inspired to winceable corn, and the ending was too Zen to laugh at – but still, a pleasant entertaining film for all that. Hopefully I'll be able to revisit it again sometime soon.

oOoBarracuda My 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!

Alex da Silva Hank (Bing Crosby) suddenly finds himself transported to the times of King Arthur (Cedric Hardwick). He is captured by Sir Sagramore (William Bendix) and brought before the king who orders his execution on the advice of Merlin (Murvyn Vye). Come the day, Hank talks himself out of his predicament and into a title - "Sir Boss". He then talks his way through the rest of the film as he battles against Merlin, Morgan (Virginia Field) and Sir Logris (Joseph Vitale) until ..... all of a sudden .... he returns back from whence he came ..... and finds a surprise waiting for him.The film is good in the colour department. But that's it, I'm afraid. The songs are dreadful, the story is boring and the film goes on for too long. Bing is good enough as he breezes through the film. But that's just the trouble. There is never any danger or tension, whether Bing is being sentenced to death, arrested, chased - it's just endless lightweight tosh that he breezes through. It's one-gear (dull) all the way. William Bendix and Cedric Hardwicke do provide funny moments but they cannot halt the tedium.I also spotted something familiar in the denouement. As a boy, I remember reading the Tintin adventure "Prisoners Of The Sun" which was first published in 1946. I recall being impressed by the way in which Tintin got himself out of a predicament at the moment of his execution (he knew there was to be an eclipse of the sun at a certain time). At the appropriate moment, he cunningly ordered the sun to disappear and put the fear of God into all those present. He then made it re-appear once he had negotiated his release. Well, I think someone else had read the same book.

JohnHowardReid Stylishly directed, picturesquely photographed and brilliantly acted — Crosby's interpretation seems exactly right, Hardwicke has his best role ever, while Bendix is a treat too — this Yankee's appeal is universal and irresistible.One of the principal joys of the movie, of course, are the songs. As might be expected, Bing is in fine voice. And although Hardwicke's solo has been cut, we can still hear him sing heartily as he dances merrily with Crosby and Bendix in their famous novelty number, "Busy Doing Nothing". It's also a treat to hear Rhonda Fleming, who, although she enjoyed an extensive stage and concert career as a singer, was rarely given a chance to be heard in the cinema. She has a lovely voice that more than matches her ravishing looks—and she looks very fetching indeed in her Mary Kay Dodson costumes.Director Tay Garnett gets the most out of his lavish budget, using all the resources at his command to present every fabulous scene as effectively as possible. (Perhaps the eclipse looks a trifle too contrived, but who's complaining?) In short, as the trailer actually describes, an entertainment delight from start to finish.