Professor Popinjay's Compendium of Perspicacity

A non-review by Prof. Popinjay

So I was today years old when I learned how to spell “Connecticut”. It still doesn’t look right. I’ve always pronounced it “Cuh-NEH-TIH-cut”. Oh well.

I get this film mixed up with Danny Kaye’s The Court Jester which I found to be a bit unfocused as far as the plot went; not much more than another vehicle for Kaye’s wacky antics. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court is much more focused. It’s based on the book by Mark Twain so how can you go wrong? Of course this starred Bing Crosby so naturally there had to be a song or two but they were charming enough. This was a cute film and I have no complaints really.

As you may have guessed, this is about a man from Connecticut who ends up in King Arthur’s Court. Yeah the title gives a lot away. Don’t worry though there’s plenty of twists and turns. The Villain is Merlin played by Murvyn Vye whom Bing fans might remember as Prince Ken Aron from The Road to Bali. Bing as an inventor in his own time finds rivalry with Merlin whose “magic” is trumped by Bing’s ingenuity. Naturally this is a recipe for hilarity and hijinks.

This is not the first time ACYIKAC (A CN Yank in K. Art’s Crt.) has been filmed. There’s an earlier version featuring Myrna Loy who is always magnificent. There’s also a later version with Micheal York which, judging solely by the dvd box art, looks like a fairly serious take on the story. Curious to see how these compare to the book but I’ll need to read that first.

If you haven’t seen this, I do recommend it. It’s a classic in more ways than one.