MAX LIEBMAN PRESENTS: A CONNECTICUT YANKEE (TV)
Summary
One in a series of specials presented by Max Liebman under the umbrella "Oldsmobile Color Spectaculars." This live updated television adaptation of the Rodgers and Hart 1927 Broadway musical includes songs added for the famed 1943 revival. Loosely based on Mark Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court," the time-travel musical fantasy chronicles the tale of Martin Barrett, a contemporary Connecticut man who, after suffering a head injury, is propelled back in time to the sixth-century court of King Arthur, where he utilizes his knowledge of the twentieth century to solve problems in the past. The musical opens in present-day Hartford, Connecticut, at the bachelor party for Martin Barrett, on the eve of his wedding to Fay. Fay's brother, the president of the Hartford Machine Company, presents Martin with a suit of medieval armor. Fay soon joins the festivities and expresses her excitement with the song "This Is My Night to Howl." Matters become complicated, however, when Martin's former girlfriend Sandy, who gave him the air six months earlier, suddenly appears outside and declares her still strong attraction to him with the song "My Heart Stood Still." When Fay catches them together, she smashes a bottle on Martin's head. Suddenly, Martin finds himself on the road to Camelot, where he is mistaken for an ogre by Sir Kay, a Knight of the Round Table. Here he also encounters the lovely lady-in-waiting Alisande (Sandy), and the two declare their immediate attraction with the song "Thou Swell." Martin is summoned to King Arthur's court, where the king's men are singing a hearty toast and Merlin entertains the knights with magic tricks. King Arthur's sister -- the much-married Queen Morgan Le Fay -- arrives seeking yet another knight to wed. Describing her methods for bumping off her three previous husbands, she sings "To Keep My Love Alive." When Martin arrives at King Arthur's court, he is first accused of being a monster, but Morgan Le Fay sets her sights on him as a desirable spouse. Amazing the court with his magic tricks, however, Martin is taken for a sorcerer and is condemned to be burned at the stake at the noon the following day. He is saved by a total eclipse, which he pretends is caused by his magic skills, and offers to return the sun in exchange for his freedom as the medieval folk exhort the sun to "Rise and Shine." Act II opens at the Gleamo factory, where Martin, who been knighted "Sir Boss" and is now King Arthur's right-hand man, has introduced modern industrial techniques into medieval England. Alisande sings about the factory relaxation and leisure-time in "Lunchtime Follies" and complains about Sir Boss's concentration on work and on Morgan Le Fay. The manipulative Le Fay attempts to seduce Martin with the entreaty "Can't You Do a Friend a Favor?" and secretly plots to have Alisande kidnapped. Meanwhile, Sir Kay flirtatiously sings "I Feel at Home with You" to the Switchboard Operator and the the other women in the court. On the road to Morgan Le Fay's castle, Sir Boss and King Arthur sing the lament "You Always Love the Same Girl" and camouflage themselves as tapestry peddlers as they set off to rescue Alisande. Meanwhile, at the castle, while Morgan Le Fay awaits the arrival of the rescuers, Merlin entertains the court with the "Camelot Samba" and the Court Jesters perform an antic dance. After Martin's arrival, though Morgan Le Fay spikes his wine with Merlin's "Instant Love" potion, Martin manages to unlock Sandy's cage. They attempt to flee until he is coshed on the head once again by Morgan Le Fay. Martin wakes up in the present to find that Fay has called the wedding off and that he is being comforted by a solicitous Sandy. The musical concludes with a reprise of "My Heart Stood Still." Includes commercials.
(This is a black-and-white copy of a color telecast.)
Details
- NETWORK: NBC
- DATE: March 12, 1955 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:29:26
- COLOR/B&W: B&W copy of a color telecast
- CATALOG ID: T:23292
- GENRE: Musicals
- SUBJECT HEADING: Musicals; Arthurian legend; Time travel
- SERIES RUN: NBC - TV, 1955
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - Oldsmobile automobiles and dealers
CREDITS
- Max Liebman … Producer, Director
- Bill Hobin … Associate Producer
- Herbert Fields … Librettist
- Mark Twain … Based on the novel by
- William Friedberg … Adapted by
- Simon, Neil (See also: Simon, Doc) … Adapted by
- Will Glickman … Adapted by
- Al Schwartz … Adapted by
- Richard Rodgers … Composer
- Lorenz Hart … Lyricist
- Rod Alexander … Choreographer
- Charles Sanford … Conductor
- Clay Warnick … Choral Director
- Lee Bowman … Host
- Eddie Albert … Cast, Martin Barrett
- Janet Blair … Cast, Sandy and Alisande
- Boris Karloff … Cast, King Arthur
- John Conte … Cast, Sir Kay
- Gale Sherwood … Cast, Morgan Le Fay
- Leonard Elliott … Cast, Merlin
- Bambi Linn … Cast, Court Jester
- Rod Alexander … Cast, Court Jester
- Beverlee Dennis … Cast, the Switchboard Operator
- Ray Drakeley … Cast, a Page
- Craig Timberlake … Cast, a Page