Ritter Hank, der Schrecken der Tafelrunde (1948)

Ritter Hank, der Schrecken der Tafelrunde: Directed by Tay Garnett. With Bing Crosby, Rhonda Fleming, Cedric Hardwicke, William Bendix. A singing mechanic from 1912 finds himself in Arthurian Britain.

“I am a huge fan of Will Rogersu0026#39; movies–and thatu0026#39;s why I bought myself a gift set of his films for Christmas. Well, I bought them and then told my wife this would make a great gift for me! Regardless, his films were almost always wonderful. I say ALMOST because his film u0026quot;A Connecticut Yankeeu0026quot; was an awful mess of a film. You really have to see it to believe how bad the movie is–particularly at the end. However, I can report that at least the Bing Crosby version from 1949 is much, much better. While I wouldnu0026#39;t consider it a great film, it is a pleasant time-passer.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe film begins with Crosby visiting a castle in 1912 and meeting with the lord of the manor. He notices that the man looks very similar to King Arthur and so he regales the guy with a story–a story of how he somehow time traveled back to the time of King Arthur. What follows is filled with a bazillion anachronisms–though considering that Arthur is an entirely fictional character, I can put up with all the silliness. During the course of the story, Crosbyu0026#39;s character falls in love with a woman–a woman he unfortunately left behind.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis film works mostly because Bing Crosby is very pleasant in the lead. He makes less sarcastic quips than Rogers did and sings a couple tunes in his easy-going manner. Not a film to rush to see, but very nice viewing.”