O Tio Sam na Corte do Rei Artur

Folksy radio announcer Will Rogers (as Hank Martin) is mysteriously propelled from modern day Connecticut to the medieval past of Great Britain's King Arthur. In Camelot, Mr. Rogers peeves William Farnum (as Arthur) and his "Knights of the Round Table" with homilies and a cigar lighter. Imprisoned with dashing young Frank Albertson (as Clarence), Rogers learns the date is "the year of our Lord" June 20, 528 - the day before a historically recorded total eclipse of the sun. Rogers cleverly promises to "blot out the sun" if he and Mr. Albertson, who likes pretty princess Maureen O'Sullivan, are not released.

Jealous magician Brandon Hurst (as Merlin) doesn't believe Rogers will eclipse the sun, but is proved wrong. Then, Rogers is elevated in the King's court, and modernizes the medieval society. He introduces Camelot to telephones and advertising, which is defined as "to spend money you haven't got, for things you don't want." Soon, the kingdom is threatened by the King's wicked sister, Myrna Loy (as Morgan le Fay). Being an early "talkie" gives this adaptation of Mark Twain's classic an unfortunate creaky quality. Rogers, an interesting cast, and a witty incongruity make relatively enjoyable.

****** A Connecticut Yankee (4/6/31) David Butler ~ Will Rogers, William Farnum, Brandon Hurst, Myrna Loy

Incredible as it may now seem, over ninety years ago this nonsense was a huge box office hit and actually made the 'New York Times'' ten best films of the year. Unfortunately most of Will Rogers' topical jokes would now only be funny to an expert on Depression-era America, while the many deliberate anachronisms - both verbal and visual - similarly seem merely childish rather than satirical.

The version today is substantially shorter than the film that originally hit cinemas, which probably explains the brevity of the presence of probably the film's greatest asset: Myrna Loy as Morgan Le Fay. Wearing a long slinky gown, those sloe eyes in heavy eyeliner, the preCode Myrna was a very different entity from the perfect wife as which she later officially became a star. Stills of her in costume make the film more fun to anticipate than actually to sit through.

The movie is updated from Mark Twain's 1889 novel, with Will Rogers, as Hank Martin a radio engineer who heads out to a spooky castle sort of pace, where he meets various people, then onto the main body of the story: sentenced to death, the eclipse prediction - which is based on something that actually happened to Christopher Columbus - and the introduction of modern technology and methods: knights getting armor repaired at service stations, telephone switchboards, Model T cars and auto gyros, and Rogers in a tournament with a bunch of armored knights, where he gets to show off rope tricks.

While the visuals are handled nicely, the pacing of the movie is rather slow, both in the way that dialogue is directed, and the editing needs to be quickened; it's a common situation at Fox in 1931. The serious heart of the novel is cut out, and Rogers gets only one great line, a bit of gallows humor. While it's always a pleasure to see Rogers, and there's a fine cast that includes William Farnum and Myrna Loy and Maureen O'Sullivan, this is not among the best of Rogers' vehicles.

First of all, I've heard a lot about Will Rogers over the years and I've always enjoyed his songs. But this movie seems to be a pretty mediocre vehicle for his talents.

First of all, you have Rogers himself, who is uh...... not a Connecticut Yankee by any stretch of the imagination. They should have just called it "An Okie in King Arthur's Court" or something. I mean, he's even doing tricks with the lasso, which I know is a Rogers trademark, but it's pretty loose with the interpretation on Twain's book. Of course since this is a light comedy all the satire of Twain's book is gone, but that's to be expected. But Rogers as the Connecticut Yankee is just not right.

Another thing was the look of the film and the directing, which I found to be very lackluster. I haven't checked but it would not surprise me to find that the director was heavily involved in silent films. It is just a movie that feels like a B movie even though you have Rogers who was a pretty big star at the time. The production values are not up to what you would hope for from MGM, looks more like a Gene Autry movie.

There are a few fun scenes, and it is worth watching for anybody who just wants a look at Rogers' comedy on screen. Basically a kiddie movie though without much to offer adults and would probably bore most modern children.

A radio man visits a spooky old house at night. There he briefly meets the strange inhabitants, including a mad scientist who tries to use radio waves to tune into the past. An accidental bang on the head sends the radio man back to King Arthur's Court.

So starts this version of the oft-filmed Mark Twain tale, this time re-worked for the personality of Will Rogers - who certainly doesn't sound like a Connecticut Yankee. In fact, Will is the main reason to watch this early talkie. His humor - one suspects much was ad-libbed - was always refreshing. Fox obviously spent a lot of money on the Camelot scenes; they look very good. Many of the performers, however, have trouble with their stilted dialogue.

Myrna Loy looks beautifully evil, but her part is not developed. The always lovely Maureen O'Sullivan is totally wasted in a small role. William Farnum does the best he can as Arthur, but the other male co-stars are much hampered by the script or just plain immature acting.

Will Rogers, as always, is wonderful - delivering his lines in his soft, shy, Oklahoma drawl. He had star presence without even trying. It is terrific fun seeing him win a joust with a knight by using his excellent roping & riding skills. Mark Twain's Ghost must have smiled...