Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

A Young Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court directed by R.L. Thomas, and: A Kid In King Arthur's Court directed by Michael Gottlieb, and: Four Diamonds directed by Peter Werner

1996; Scriptoriun Press; Volume: 6; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1353/art.1996.0044

1934-1539

Kevin J. Harty,

Theater, Performance, and Music History

REVIEWS115 and plot summaries masquerading as criticism, it is difficult to determine the proper audience for this book. Perhaps, this volume should be viewed only on its own terms, a loving celebration by colleagues, students, and friends ofLavon B. Fulwiler's career as a medievalist. ROBERT J. BLANCH Northeastern University A Young Connecticut Yankee in KingArthur's Courtdirected by R.L. Thomas;A KidIn KingArthur's Court directed by Michael Gottlieb; Four Diamonds directed by Peter Werner. Beginning in the latter part ofthe nineteenth century, a resurgence ofinterest in the Arthurian legends led writers such as Sidney Lanier and Howard PyIe to retell Arthurian tales, especially those from Malory, for younger readers. Subsequently, Arthurian youth groups began to spring up, as the tales of King Arthur became a partial basis for the proper education of young men—and, sometimes, of young women as well. A concern for such education informs an early example ofArthurian cinema, The Knights ofthe Square Table (1917), a joint venture of the Boy Scouts of America and the Edison Film Company. That film presents parallel stories of two groups ofboys, one a bunch ofne'er-do-wells and the other a troop ofScouts. A second Arthurian film with a nod toward younger audiences appeared in 1989. For Christmas that year, NBC aired a new made-for-television movie version ofMark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, in which the Hank Morgan character became a youngAfro-American girl. In the tide role, Keshia Knight Pulliam, then a popular child actor on NBC's The Cosby Show, introduces Camelot to karate and aerobics, and to such modern wonders as Polaroid cameras, Walkmans, and tape recorders. In doing so, she followed the general tradition ofearlier films ofthe novel where the Hank character amazed the world of Arthur with a number of devices invented after Twain had written his novel. From NBC's point ofview, this made-for-television movie, which ignored all the controversial and substantive issues about the nature ofprogress thatTwain had raised in his novel, simply provided good holiday family fare. Two more recent film adaptations of Twain's novel continue the pattern set by NBC in 1989: A Young Connecticut Yankee in Kings Arthur's Court and A Kid in KingArthur's Court. Like, their predecessor on NBC, both films, by ignoring anything controversial in Twain's novel, do little more than prove that in Camelot kids say—and do—the darndest things. A Young Connecticut Yankee in Kings Arthur's Court first aired on Canadian television's TMN (The Movie Network) Channel on June i, 1995. In the film, Hank (Phillipe Ross) is a teenage netd who plays keyboard in a rock band. The unrequited love ofhis life is the new gid in his high school, Alexandra (Polly Shannon). One day, while trying to fix an amplifier, Hank receives an electrical shock and passes out. When he awakens, he is lying on the ground next to his tool box as a little girl bends Il6ARTHURIANA over him to ask, 'Art thou monster or ogre?' A knight in armor takes Hank to Camelot, where he meets King Arthur (Nick Mancuso), Merlin (Michael York, who used to have an acting career), Morgan Le Faye (Theresa Russell), and Alisande, who bears a striking resemblance to Alexandraand is engaged to marrySir Galahad (Paul Hopkins). The world ofCamelot here also includes Guinevere, Lancelot, assorted other knights, and, from Twain's novel, Clarence. Hank amazes all ofCamelotwith his eye glasses, his musical wristwatch, his Polaroid camera, and the contents ofhis tool box. But their amazement soon passes as Arthur condemns Hank to be burnt at the stake for claiming to have come from the future. While tied to the stake, Hank'causes' the solar eclipse by naming his gods, 'Metallica, U2, Snoop Doggy Dog, and—the greatest of them all—Elvis!' The eclipse has the expected effect, and Hank is released and dubbed 'Sir Dude,' by a now-thankful Arthur. In attempting to figure out how to get back home, Hank faces a challenge from Galahad, uncovers liaisons between Lancelot and Guinevere, and foils a plot by Morgan Le Faye to overthrow Arthur. As Hank finally begins...