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!

Is this a great cinematic achievement, in the sense that Citizen Kane and La Grande Illusion are great movies? No, of course not. But is this a thoroughly enjoyable movie? Most definitely! The high spots: Bing Crosby, as natural and charming as he has ever been in a movie; William Bendix, whose impeccably enunciated lines are a comic wonder - he made me believe he would have been great as one of the comical characters in A Midsummer Night's Dream; Cedric Hardwicke, who knows just how to deliver his lines to the greatest effect; and the script, which is really very funny.The low points: 1) the script for Rhonda Fleming's role. She looks radiantly beautiful, but her dialog is worthless, and so she comes off as dumb in a movie where the three leading men come off as very clever; she deserved better. 2) the music. Van Heusen and Burke wrote some great songs, such as "Swinging on a Star" for Crosby's 1944 hit Going My Way, but there isn't a memorable number in this movie. That's probably why this otherwise very enjoyable movie is so forgotten.You'll have a great time watching this.

I 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.

My youngest sister and I have a tradition of watching old movies that are set in older times. "Jason and the Argonauts" was classic; she's young enough to get scared by the realistic effects of present day, so the special effects in these movies just makes her--and I--laugh. But this movie was different. It was low on the special effects, which 86ed our tradition, but we had fun watching it all the same. It was enjoyable and funny, with an easy plot to follow (which always helps when one watches a movie with a seven-year-old).If you want my advice, watch it. You'll be entertained, even if the same idea was copied 10,000 times.