A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court (1949)

In 1912, a blacksmith (Bing Crosby) bumps his head after hitting a tree while riding a horse and falls unconscious. When he wakes up, he finds himself in 528 AD in the Britain of King Arthur! Based on the novel by Mark Twain and directed by Tay Garnett (THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE). Twain's popular novel has been adapted for films, the stage and TV many times. Aside from this 1949 film, its most famous adaptation is the 1927 Broadway musical with songs by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. Curiously, when Paramount decided to make this musical version as a vehicle for Bing Crosby, they didn't go with the Rodgers & Hart musical (which had spawned several hit songs) but had Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke do new songs. I suppose one's affection for the movie might depend on your tolerance for Crosby. I'm not a fan so I found much of it hard going. The songs are forgettable, Crosby's "charm" is lost on me and the film never manages to capture the wit and charm of the Twain novel. On the plus side, Ray Rennahan's (DUEL IN THE SUN) three strip Technicolor lensing is eye candy. With Rhonda Fleming looking delectable, William Bendix, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Henry Wilcoxon, Virginia Field, Richard Webb and Murvyn Vye as Merlin.