| A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court | |
|---|---|
Theatrical poster featuring star Harry Myers with the spirit of Mark Twain peering over his shoulder |
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| Directed by | Emmett J. Flynn |
| Produced by | William Fox |
| Written by | Mark Twain(novel, play) Berhard McConville |
| Starring | Harry C. Myers Pauline Starke Rosemary Theby George Siegmann |
| Cinematography | Lucien Andriot |
| Editing by | C.R. Wallace |
| Distributed by | Fox Film |
| Release date(s) | September 11, 1921 |
| Running time | 80+ minutes at 8 reels(8,291) |
| Country | US |
| Language | Silent film English Intertitle |
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is a 1921 American silent film adaptation of Mark Twain's 1889 novel of the same name. The film was produced by the Fox Film Corporation (later 20th Century Fox) and directed by Emmet J. Flynn based on a screenplay by Bernard McConville. It is notable as the first film adaptation of Twain's novel[1] and as the first film about time travel.
The film stars Harry Myers as the titular Yankee Martin Cavendish. After reading Twain's novel, Cavendish dreams that he, like Twain's protagonist Henry Morgan, is transported back to the time of King Arthur (Charles Clary), where he must use modern know-how to outwit the king's foes Morgan le Fay (Rosemary Theby) and Merlin (William V. Mong). The screenplay modernizes the novel with many contemporary references, including mentions of Ford Model Ts, the Volstead Act, and the Battle of the Argonne Forest.[1] The film was popular, and its success likely encouraged Fox to produce the later sound film adaptation of the novel, A Connecticut Yankee.[1] According to author Barbara Leaming, the film's hanging scene inspired Tom Hepburn, brother of Katharine Hepburn, to commit suicide in 1921.[2]
According to silentera.com only reel two, four & seven survive of this film making it an incomplete print.
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