A Connecticut Yankee (film)
| A Connecticut Yankee | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical Poster | |
| Directed by | David Butler |
| Produced by | William Fox |
| Written by |
William Conselman Owen Davis Jack Moffitt |
| Based on |
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain |
| Starring |
Will Rogers William Farnum Maureen O'Sullivan Myrna Loy |
| Music by | Arthur Kay |
| Cinematography | Ernest Palmer |
| Edited by | Irene Morra |
| Distributed by | Fox Film Corporation |
Release dates |
|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1.2 million[1] |
A Connecticut Yankee is a 1931 American Pre-Code film adaptation of Mark Twain's 1889 novel, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. It was directed by David Butler to a script by William M. Conselman, Owen Davis, and Jack Moffitt. It was produced by Fox Film Corporation (later 20th Century Fox), who had earlier produced the 1921 silent adaptation of the novel, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. A Connecticut Yankee is the first sound film adaptation of Twain's novel.[2]
As in The Wizard of Oz, many of the actors in the film play more than one role, a character in the real world and one in the dream world. The film stars Will Rogers as Hank Martin, an American accidental time traveler who finds himself in Camelot back in the days of King Arthur (William Farnum, a Fox star for many years). Myrna Loy and Brandon Hurst play the evil Morgan le Fay and Merlin, who must be overcome by Hank's modern technical knowledge, while Maureen O'Sullivan plays Alisande.
Fox was likely inspired to produce A Connecticut Yankee based on the success of the 1921 silent film.[2] The 1931 version was likewise successful, and was re-released in 1936.[2] It is unrelated to the 1927 musical also titled A Connecticut Yankee.
The hero's name was changed from Hank Morgan to Hank Martin, possibly because the original name sounded too similar to that of actor Frank Morgan.
A trailer for the film exists at the Library of Congress.[3]
Notes
- ↑ Quigley Publishing Company "The All Time Best Sellers", International Motion Picture Almanac 1937-38 (1938) p 942; accessed April 19, 2014
- 1 2 3 Grellner, Alice; and Harty, Kevin J. (1991). "Films". In Norris J. Lacy, The New Arthurian Encyclopedia, p. 152 (New York: Garland, 1991); ISBN 0-8240-4377-4.
- ↑ Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress (<-book title)[for trailer only] p.35 c.1978 by The American Film Institute
References
- Lacy, Norris J. (1991). The New Arthurian Encyclopedia. New York: Garland. ISBN 0-8240-4377-4.
See also
External links
- A Connecticut Yankee at the Internet Movie Database
- The AFI Catalog of Feature Films:..A Connecticut Yankee