Product: A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court/The Emperor Waltz - Double Feature (1948)
Rating: 4.0
A Classic
This movie "A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court"(1949) takes an amazing book by Samuel Clemens and mixes in Bing Crosby's soothing baritone and style, Rhonda Flemming's... everything, and William Bendix's comedy to create a mood that you just can't shake even hours after the movie is over. Despite some of the musical style being a bit dated and one song in particular (I won't mention which one) that could have been removed from the movie, it couldn't spoil the atmosphere created.Based on Clemens book that was published in 1989, the main character, Hank Martin was moved up in time to a date of 1910 with the on-onslaught of the horseless carriage. This didn't spoil the story, but enhanced the separation of the times presented. The comedy was well played and set a model that other writers use today. The 'special' effects were kept to a minimum and the story was focused on. Unlike the later productions put out by others including Disney, it can stand on its own as a classic.Overall, as I love time travel stories, I found this one to be more entertaining than appealing to my science/fiction inner geek. Of the set, this one was the better movie and has kept in the back of my mind since I saw it as a kid in the 60's."The Emperor Waltz" (1948) was a nice re-introduction to the Bing Crosby personality. The role of Virgil Smith was almost written just for Bing. The overall story was shortened to fit within the time constraints. This made one scene a bit cramped as Joan Fontaine's character, Johanna Augusta Franziska who was very aloof and cold, suddenly melts away in a matter of 30 seconds. If sources are correct, Bing was very heavy-handed in the production of this movie. While it is evident where and how it was manipulated, the humorisk style of Crosby will win out.If allowed to rate separate, "The Emperor Waltz" would have only rated 3 stars. It brought down "A Connecticut Yankee..." from 5 stars.