BING ON FILM: A CONNECTICUT YANKEE IN KING ARTHUR'S COURT - PART TWO

Unfortunately, Rhonda Fleming is supposed to marry the brave knight Sir Lancelot (Henry Wilxocon). When Sir Lancelot finds out Bing is trying to steal his girl, he challenges Bing to a joust. Bing is good on a horse but no challenge to Sir Lancelot as a knight. Instead of Bing fighting him, he uses rodeo type triCks like knocking Sir Lancelot off his horse and embarrasses him instead of defeating him in a battle. Rhonda Fleming feels that Bing did not do the honorable thing and says she wants nothing to do with him. Meanwhile, there is a subplot where the king is out of touch with the people of his kingdom as they die in poverty of the plague. Bing suggests to the king that he should go see for himself how his people are living. They dress as peasants and travel the country. Merlin overhears their plans, and they are captured and sold as slaves in the market. Rhonda Fleming tries to save them and realizes that she loves Bing, but she is captured as well. Bing manages to overpower the guard with the aid of a magnet that he happens to have on him still. Merlin captures them again and decrees that under the law, the slaves attempting escape must be put to death. Reading his almanac, Bing realizes on that very day there was an eclipse. Pretending to possess magic, Bing calls on the total darkness of the world. Everyone is terrified by the darkness, and they are released. Rhonda Fleming, meanwhile is being held as a prisoner by Merlin, and as Bing frees Rhonda Fleming he is knocked unconscious by a guard and awakens to find himself once again in the year 1905. Bing relates this story to a lord who looks a lot like the king (also played by Cedric Hardwicke). The lord says that Bing’s story is remarkable but just then the lord’s niece comes by, and it is none other than Rhonda Fleming. They give each other a wink and a happy ending ensues.

The love story between Bing and Rhonda Fleming is well acted, and they had great chemistry. The film sort of drags on in the middle. I hate to say it but as I rewatched the movie now for this review, I found myself bored at parts, but when Bing and Rhonda Fleming (who was known as the Queen of Technicolor) are on the screen there was film magic. Rhonda Fleming gets to sing one of the songs written by Burke and Van Heusen called “When Is Sometime”. The song never became a hit, but it was quite pretty. Bing sings a song in the beginning as a blacksmith in 1905 called “If You Stub Your Toe on The Moon”. The song is forgotten today, but if you get a chance listen to the song in the movie or Bing’s Decca recording of it because it is really a great song. In 1949, Frank Sinatra recorded it for Columbia Records, and Tony Martin recorded it for RCA, but Bing’s version was the best. The main love song in the film was “Once And For Always” which I think holds up more than this movie does. Bing made a solo record of it, and also as a duet with Rhonda Fleming. It is one of the most beautiful love songs Bing sang in the movies in my opinion. The one other song in the film was “Busy Doing Nothing”. Bing sang it with William Bendix and Cedric Hardwicke, both who are non-singers, so the song was not given much of a chance to be remembered. Even though the great Victor Young conducted the music on the film, it seems like one other song was needed for the film.

Movie reviews were generally positive for “A Connecticut Yankee” with Bosley Crowther of The New York Times writing: "The solid, reliable humors of Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, which have already done yeoman service in two films and a Broadway musical show, have been given another going over—with eminently satisfactory results—in Paramount’s new film of the same title, which came to the Music Hall yesterday. And for this we can thank Bing Crosby, primarily and above all, because it is Bing in the role of the Yankee who gives this film its particular charm ... But it is still Bing’s delightful personality, his mild surprises and sweet serenities, and his casual way of handling dialogue that makes this burlesque a success. No one in current operation could qualify, we are sure, to play the Connecticut Yankee the way the old Groaner does.” Variety was not quite so enthusiastic: "Picture wears the easy casualness that's a Crosby trademark, goes about its entertaining at a leisurely pace, and generally comes off satisfactorily. It's not high comedy and there’s little swashbuckling.”

Would I put this 1949 Bing effort among my favorite Bing films? I would say no, however despite any negativity I have about the film, it is still a worthwhile Bing film. Bing and the cast rise to the challenge of a silly script to put in some great performances. The high points of the film is always Bing’s singing and acting, but in this film look out for highpoints like the amazing beauty of Rhonda Fleming as well as the unstated comedic talent of William Bendix. The film is fun and enjoyable, and I am so glad Paramount spent the extra money to make it in technicolor. The movie is worth it alone to see Bing’s blue eyes and Rhonda Fleming’s red flowing hair...

MY RATING: 6 OUT OF 10

BING ON FILM: A CONNECTICUT YANKEE IN KING ARTHUR'S COURT - PART ONE

Since Bing starred in so many movies, it is always difficult to decide what movie to review next. Today marks the one year anniversary of Rhonda Fleming's passing, so I decided to review the one movie that they made together – 1949’s “A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court”. I had forgotten the story is based off of a Mark Twain novel that Twain wrote in 1889. A successful book, the story has been adapted many times for stage, movies, and even cartoons. The earliest film version was a silent film made in 1921 starring forgotten actor Harry Myers in the title role. In 1927, the novel was adapted into a stage musical with words and music written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. The score included many standards such as “My Heart Stood Still” and “Thou Swell”. Then in 1931 Will Rogers made another movie version which was an early hit for Rogers. Bing Crosby’s version would come next, and I have to admit the film has never been my favorite movie. Like the previous movie I reviewed, 1956’s “Anything Goes”, “A Connecticut Yankee” had a lot going for it, but it just falls short.

Bing’s version of the film had intended to use the Rodgers & Hart score from the Broadway version, but at the time MGM owned the rights to the songs. MGM was planning to make a biography on the life of Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart (The movie would be 1948’s “Words And Music”), so for Bing’s movie a new film score would have to be written. Bing’s chief movie songwriters at the time, Johnny Burke and Jimmy Van Heusen, wrote the new songs for the film. Tay Garnett would direct the film, and he was not known for making musicals. Before “A Connecticut Yankee”, Garnett had directed a lot of successful films like “Seven Sinners” (1940) starring John Wayne, and “The Postman Always Rings Twice” (1946) starring John Garfield. To me, he was an odd choice to direct a lighthearted Bing film, but he was a contracted director at Paramount from 1947 to 1954. The screenplay was written by Edmund Beloin. Beloin was a writer on Jack Benny’s radio program from 1936 to 1943, and he also wrote the screenplay for Bing’s “The Road To Rio” (1947).

The setting of the film is unique for Bing in that it is a period piece, as it takes place in the distant past. I much prefer a Bing in “contemporary times”. The movie first takes place in 1905. Bing plays a blacksmith whose profession is in jeopardy with the coming of the automobile. With horses on their way out as a mode of transportation, Bing tries to adapt by learning how to fix cars. He is riding his horse home, and Bing gets caught in a storm. The horse is spooked, and Bing falls off of the horse and is knocked out. When Bing awakes, a sword is pointed at his face by a knight (William Bendix), and Bing realizes that he is now in England in 528 AD. He is taken by the knight to the king (Sir Cedric Hardwicke) where he is being entertained in the court by his niece (Rhonda Fleming). William Bendix, in a comedic role of course, explains that Bing is an evil sorcerer and, Bendix claims that he used his power and bravery to capture Bing. The king’s sorcerer Merlin (Murvyn Vye) is instantly jealous and intimidated by Bing, so he convinces the king to put Bing to death. Right before Bing is supposed to be burnt at the stake, he amazes the courts with his feats of magic, which in today’s world are common parlor tricks like using a magnifying glass to start a fire. Bing becomes a favorite of the kingdom, where he befriends the king and wins the attention of his niece. She is amazed at Bing that he is some sort of a magician. He teaches her “modern” singing as well as how to wink...

TO BE CONTINUED...

REMEMBERING RHONDA FLEMING (1923-2020)

Rhonda Fleming, star of the 1940s and ’50s who was dubbed the “Queen of Technicolor” and appeared in “Out of the Past” and “Spellbound,” died Wednesday in Santa Monica, Calif., according to her secretary Carla Sapon. She was 97.

Fleming appeared in more than 40 films and worked with directors such as Alfred Hitchcock on “Spellbound,” Jacques Tourneur on “Out of the Past” and Robert Siodmak on “The Spiral Staircase.”

Later in life, she became a philanthropist and supporter of numerous organizations fighting cancer, homelessness and child abuse.

Her starring roles include classics such as the 1949 musical fantasy “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court” alongside Bing Crosby whom she later dated, 1957 Western “Gunfight at the O.K. Corral” and the noir “Slightly Scarlet” alongside John Payne.

Her co-stars over the years included Kirk Douglas, Glenn Ford, Burt Lancaster, Bob Hope, Rock Hudson and Ronald Reagan, with whom she made four films. Other notable roles included Fritz Lang’s “While the City Sleeps,” “Pony Express” and “The Big Circus.” One of her last roles was in the Don Adams farce “The Nude Bomb” in 1980, and she spoofed herself as “Rhoda Flaming” in 1976 comedy “Won Ton Ton, The Dog Who Saved Hollywood” along a bevy of other vintage performers from Dorothy Lamour to Stepin Fetchit and Rudy Vallee.

Born Marilyn Louis in Hollywood, she attended Beverly Hills High and was discovered by the famous agent Henry Wilson while on the way to school, she told the Warner Bros. podcast. Wilson changed her name to Rhonda Fleming and she was then signed to a contract with David O. Selznick. Her first major part was as a nymphomaniac in “Spellbound,” and she said she was so naive she had to look up the word in the dictionary when she was cast.

In addition to cinema, Fleming made her Broadway debut in Clare Boothe Luce’s “The Women” and toured as Madame Dubonnet in “The Boyfriend.” In 1957, Fleming made her stage musical debut in Las Vegas at the opening of the Tropicana Hotel’s showroom. Later she appeared at the Hollywood Bowl in a one-woman concert with compositions from Cole Porter and Irving Berlin. In 1960, she was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Fleming also routinely guest-starred on television in series including “Wagon Train,” “Police Woman,” “The Love Boat” and a two-hour special of “McMillan & Wife.” Along with Maureen O’Hara, she was bestowed the nickname of “Queen of Technicolor” for how well her red hair and green eyes photographed in vivid color.

In 1991, Fleming and her late husband Ted Mann of Mann’s Theaters established Rhonda Fleming Mann Clinic for Comprehensive Care for Women with Cancer at UCLA in memory of her sister Beverly, and in 1992, she founded the Rhonda Fleming Mann Resource Center at UCLA. She opened the Reflections boutique to help cancer patients with items including wigs and prostheses.

She also supported Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif., where she established the Rhonda Fleming Carlson Inspiration Garden in 2014.

Her other charitable efforts include being an ambassador of Childhelp, dedicated to the care and treatment of victims of child abuse, and P.A.T.H. (People Assisting the Homeless), where she established two Rhonda Fleming Family Centers.

After her sister Beverly died of cancer, she became a supporter of cancer research and with her then-husband Ted Mann of Mann Theatres, established the Rhonda Fleming Mann Clinic for Women’s Comprehensive Care at UCLA Medical Center. She also supported the Rhonda Fleming Mann Resource Center for Women with Cancer at UCLA. To further research and treatment for women’s cancer, she created The Rhonda Fleming Mann Research Fellowship at the City of Hope Hospital.

Her sixth husband, Darol W. Carlson, died in 2017.

Fleming is survived by her son, Kent Lane, granddaughter, Kelly Harman (Morgan Harman), granddaughter, Kimberly Coleman, as well as well as great-grandchildren, Wagner Harman (Lindsay Harman), Page Harman, Linden Harman, Lane Albrecht, Cole Albrecht and two great-great grandchildren, Ronan and Kiera Harman. She is also survived by step-children, Candace Voien, Cindy Jaeger, Jill Lundstrom and Kevin Carlson...

BING IN HOLLYWOOD: THE 1940s

Bing Crosby started the 1940s only increasing his fame and stardom. His radio and recording career was successful, and he was at the top in both of those genres. Regarding movies, he was getting more and more popular with film goers, and from 1945 to 1949 he was the most popular movie star in the country. No one before or since has matched that feat.

Crosby started off the decade being paired for the first time with comedian Bob Hope in Road to Singapore (1940). The film lacked a great plot, but it made up with the laughs and songs that Bing got to introduce in the films. Bing and Bob made five “Road” movies in the 1940s, and Bing got to introduce some popular love songs in the films like: “Too Romantic” in Road To Singapore, “It’s Always You” in Road To Zanzibar (1941), “Moonlight Becomes You” in Road To Morocco (1942), “Welcome To My Dream” in Road To Utopia (1946), and “But Beautiful” in Road To Rio (1947).

Back to the early 1940s, Bing Crosby kept on making successful films; the roles were getting better as well. In Rhythm on the River (1940) he played a ghost song writer and got to sing the beautiful ballad “Only Forever. In The Birth of the Blues (1941) Bing sang all old songs as he played a clarinetist trying to get jazz to the masses. Then a year later Bing hit the mother lode when he starred in Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn (1942). The union of Bing Crosby’s singing and Irving Berlin’s songs was a marriage made in musical heaven! Not only did Bing have the lucky pleasure of introducing “White Christmas” in the film (It almost was cut from the film!), but he sang a boat load of great Berlin songs like: “Be Careful It’s My Heart”, “Easter Parade”, and “Happy Holidays”. During this period of Bing’s singing and movie career, he really could do no wrong. Everything he touched was turning into musical gold.

Bing won an Oscar for playing Father O’ Malley, a priest that could sing in Going My Way (1944). A song Bing sang in the film also won the Oscar for best song (“Swinging on a Star”). It is the third time Bing introduced a song that won an Oscar. (He introduced “Sweet Leilani” which won in 1937 and “White Christmas” which won in 1942). The song “Swinging on a Star” was not really a great song by any stretch of the imagination, but because of Bing’s delivery it would become another one of Bing’s best remembered songs. Lightning almost hit twice in 1945 when he played Father O’Malley again in The Bells of St. Mary’s (1945). Bing was nominated for another Oscar but lost. He introduced two more great songs in that film as well – “In the Land of Beginning Again” and “Aren’t You Glad You’re You”. At this point Bing was specializing in the philosophical songs that told everyone how to make it through life.

Bing’s first post-World War II musical was one of the best musicals he ever made. He was paired again with dancer Fred Astaire and songwriter Irving Berlin for the Technicolor lavish musical Blue Skies (1946). Even though the film was a postwar movie, it was pure sentimental and took place during the two World Wars. The plot was merely a backdrop for the music, and this film was filled with Irving Berlin standards – more than two dozen of them like: “I Got My Captain Working For Me Now”, “Blue Skies”, “All By Myself”, “Heat wave”, “A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody”, “Puttin On The Ritz” and the list could go on and on. Bing got the chance to sing a few new Irving Berlin compositions with the best being “You Keep Coming Back Like A Song”. The song was one of the most recorded songs of 1946, and it was nominated for an Oscar for Best Song, but it lost. It would be another decade before Bing would make a musical as big as Blue Skies. It was the biggest musical he ever made at Paramount, and it was one of the most successful.

Bing sort of coasted through the rest of his movies of the late 1940s. They were good, but they were not anywhere near the caliber of Holiday Inn, Going My Way, or Blue Skies. Bing continued to introduce great songs in the film though like “My Heart Is A Hobo” and “As Long As I’m Dreaming” in Welcome Stranger (1947), “The Kiss In Your Eyes” from The Emperor Waltz (1948), and “Once And For Always”  in A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court (1949). Bing still was a top movie star as the 1950s approached, but the music industry would be changing with the advent of rock ‘n’ roll. As a result the movie musical would change. Coupled with Bing’s personal problems in the early 1950s, he soon would see his movie star fade slightly. However, in the 1940s Bing was definitely the biggest movie musical star in the heavens that we call Hollywood…