A Connecticut Yankee (1931) User Reviews

Will Rogers Goes Time Traveling

[Ron Oliver · 7/10 · 24 January 2000]

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...

Myrna Le Fay

[richardchatten · 5/10 · 31 October 2022]

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.

Not the greatest vehicle for Rogers

[funkyfry · 5/10 · 5 August 2005]

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.

Sir Rogers de Claremore

[*Phantom Chick* · 20 July 2000]

I love Will Rogers. Living in Oklahoma near Claremore, his home town. . .I know just how to appreciate him. I've been to his museum/memorial many times. It's so sad to me that he couldn't have made MORE talkies. Silent picture are SO hard to watch! But A Connecticut Yankee is one of his best talkies. . . the jokes are still funny and relivent today. Who would have thought of Will Rogers as Mark Twain's American Yankee? This movie is timeless! I couldn't love it more. Having been to his museum, I've seen his costume for this film. It kind of made me realize that Will Rogers was a real person, and there was something of his that I get get close to. . . something he'd worn. It made this movie more interesting to me. Of course, not everyone can go see his costume. But at least you can watch this film, and remember one of the greatest Americans who ever lived. This movie is a must see for any Oklahoman, Will Rogers lover, or anyone who likes a good joke!

Will Rogers Jostles in Mark Twain's Court

[wes-connors · 6/10 · 31 December 2010]

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

A Disappointing Movie Of A Great Book

[boblipton · 6/10 · 13 January 2021]

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.

This flick cuts out the soul from Mark Twain's romantic novel . . .

[tadpole-596-918256 · 6/10 · 16 January 2021]

. . . substituting a few cheap laughs instead. It's sort of like getting a lump of coal in a Christmas stocking (or, in the terms of Grandpa's era, Charlie Brown accumulating a sack full of rocks on Halloween). The focus of the original book, Hello Central, is M.I.A. here (unless you count four seconds of sight-gag footage showing a bevy of anachronistic but anonymous switchboard gals). Furthermore, a finale replacing slightly-plausible bicycles with wildly over-the-top convoys of automobiles and tanks diminishes a refreshing fantasy to one-joke garbage. The "star" of A CONNECTICUT YANKEE was someone who hung out with National Socialist Party sympathizers, including a frequent collaborator in Berlin, Chuck L. (aka, "Lucky Lindy"). But Karma turned out to be an Equal Opportunity killer in Real Life, along the lines of Sam's Revenge.

This must have played a lot better back in 1931

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 6 February 2011]

In the present (1931), Will Rogers plays a radio personality and radio store owner. While visiting a client, an accident occurs and somehow Rogers is transported back to the court the fictional King Arthur. There, Rogers plays his usual folksy guy and manages to go from persona non grata to action hero. Towards the end, any attempt to make sense simply goes out the window.

I have seen many of Will Rogers' films and this is among my least favorite. I think it's because this one, despite its Arthurian setting, is the most like Rogers' stage/radio routine--a routine that was topical and in vogue at the time but which dates badly. So many of Rogers' quips just fall flat--some because they aren't funny and some because they refer to subjects of interest in 1931. I much prefer him in films where he played realistic (or at least semi-realistic characters). Another serious problem of the film is that the ending is just plain stupid and has nothing to do with the Twain novel. I mean, think about it--when the King and Rogers are in trouble, out come a tank, machine guns, an auto-gyro, dynamite, cars, etc. to the rescue--none of which make any sense. It's like they ran out of ideas and just threw a lot of kooky stuff into the story--none of which was particularly funny. And, if it was meant to be silly, it fell flat--unlike a Marx Brothers' finale or the end of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail".

A rare dud from Rogers, though I assumed audiences of his time enjoyed it. Now, it's just tedious and strange....very, very strange.

By the way, my wife completely disagreed with me. She thought the film was charming and made allowances for it being so very dated. Perhaps her liking the film is because she has never seen other Rogers films and doesn't know how good they can be. Or, perhaps I am just an idiot.

Yankee Plays Cupid

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 26 March 2010]

No one has ever gotten the Mark Twain satire down quite right in any of the versions of A Connecticut Yankee that have been filmed including the best known versions, this one and the one done in 1949 starring Bing Crosby. But along the way we've gotten some fine entertainment out of the notion of time travel, very unique at the time that Twain wrote the novel.

With both Will and Bing a built in audience was guaranteed for their respective versions, A Connecticut Yankee being privileged to have two of America's most beloved entertainers taking the role. Each invested their personalities in the part which made both films the success they respectively were.

This version is slightly updated from the novel which takes place at the cusp of the new 20th century. It starts during the present, the present of 1931 in the midst of the Great Depression. Will Rogers is not a blacksmith, he's a radio repairman who is called out on a dark and stormy night to fix a radio in the mansion where some strange characters inhabit. An accident knocks him out and he's taken back some 1400 years to the court of King Arthur at Camelot.

During the course of the film Rogers brings about far more of the "blessings" of technology to Camelot than Crosby did in his film. The absurd climax with the Knights of the Round Table storming Morgan Le Fay's castle with all kinds of 20th century weaponry is the ultimate proof of that.

In the novel Twain had the Yankee's character be his mouthpiece for his views. In that sense Rogers as the voice of the modern era was uniquely suited to the part even though his accent was far more Oklahoma than Connecticut. In a gentler way Rogers made a lot of the same points in real life that he does in this film, in his newspaper columns and on his lecture tours.

Two women who later went to MGM around the same time co-star with Will Rogers in A Connecticut Yankee. Maureen O'Sullivan who was a year away from her breakout role as Jane in Tarzan the Ape Man plays Lady Melisande, the daughter of William Farnum as King Arthur. Young Frank Albertson who Rogers takes under his wing as a protégé is in love with her and the Connecticut Yankee plays cupid. And before she became the perfect American wife Myrna Loy was playing all kinds of villainous roles as she is here as Morgan LeFay. Ironically in The Thin Man where Loy forever changed Loy's image Maureen O'Sullivan also had a prominent role in that classic film.

The most recent version of this often filmed tale is Bad Knight with Martin Lawrence, not a bad version either. However I don't think Martin Lawrence would even say he's quite up there in the public consciousness that Will Rogers or Bing Crosby ever got. Though this film is more Rogers than Twain, that's not a bad thing at all.

Mel Brooks?

[januszlvii · 3/10 · 26 February 2021]

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court must have been seen by Mel Brooks because you can picture a couple movies of his ( History of the World Part One and Blazing Saddles ) taking their ideas from scenes from this movie. The problem is Brooks's films were a lot better. This movie is supposed to be funny, trust me it was not. In fairness, There is one effective scene involving Will Rogers on a horse with a rope at a joust, but except for that the only reason to watch is Myrna Loy as Morgan Le Fay. Watch Myrna's eyes they are something to behold. I have seen Myrna as the bad girl quite a few times, and this might be her most evil role. As a Myrna fan I can only imagine Will Rogers enjoyed kissing her. With the exceptions of Salma Hayak, Sophia Loren and possibly Elsa Martinelli there is no actress I would prefer to have made out with. I give the film 3/10 stars. One for inspiring better movies the other two for Myrna Loy.

Far-fetched tale and over-the-top humor from Will et al

[lora64 · 9/10 · 9 September 2001]

This is my first viewing so I had no idea what to expect. It got off to an ominous, foreboding start as Hank, the radio repairman (Will Rogers) encounters a few peculiar people in an odd house. After his sudden "transition" (time travel) back into King Arthur's era circa 528 AD, the sounds of Ye Olde English emerge, of thee's and thou's, being spoken and Will responds with "Can you tell me where the helleth I am?" I had a good laugh over that as it pretty well sets the tone for the whole story -- incongruous dialogue, time periods, mixed in with modern conveniences like a telephone. Oh well, it's entertainment with quite a stretch of the imagination, ie., selling hot dogs at the joust meet. Will's in his element when he's on a horse with a rope in his hand and dealing out justice to his opponent. I'm not sure why conniving Merlin (Mitchell Harris) is so busy scattering sand at every opportunity, or is it stardust, or sawdust.

Myrna Loy in her role as Morgan le Fay appears to be the most well-cast and believable of the lot.

All in all it's rather over-the-edge farce but still fun to watch.

Strictly for Rogers (and Loy) Fans!

[JohnHowardReid · 2 August 2011]

Definitely not one for the kids (horrors include a grisly mass execution scene, even though the movie seems aimed at a somewhat juvenile audience), this is a disappointing adaptation. True, it has its moments of misplaced fun, but it also features some of the hammiest acting it's ever been my misfortune to witness in an expensively mounted "A" feature. Farnum is the worst offender, but Brandon Hurst is not far behind. At least Brandon has something to cackle about, but Farnum directs all his lines to the gallery even if he is only saying "Hello!" By contrast, Maureen O'Sullivan is so subdued, she seems to melt into the background. The only really commendable acting comes from Myrna Loy who is absolutely chilling as the murderous queen. Rogers, of course, doesn't bother to act at all, but keeps up a steady monologue of half-hearted quips until the director pushes him aside to stage an incongruous, if jaw-dropping, action climax. No doubt rabid Rogers' fans will enjoy the movie despite all its shortcomings, but those who are not sold on Rogers – and all who value Samuel L. Clemens/Mark Twain – should give it a wide berth.

fun movie

[runtexas · 8/10 · 18 January 2021]

Before seeing this on TCM, I only knew of the Bing Crosby version. Started off slow, but once Will Rogers goes back in time, the movie becomes more fun in a silly way. He does the jousting match "cowboy style" as in the Bing Crosby version, but here, Will Rogers really was a cowboy. Will Rogers brings a lot more of 1931 into circa 528 Camelot, with lots of funny scenes. The final scene, with the knights to the rescue in 1931 automobiles and even 1 WWI tank is hilarious. Will Rogers "aw shucks" style works well.