More than a half-century before Monty Python’s Spamalot, the knights and ladies of King Arthur’s court were already on Broadway, singing and dancing in gleefully anachronistic fashion in Rodgers and Hart’s delightful musicalization of Mark Twain’s classic novel, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. This 1955 television adaptation, which was produced and directed by Max Liebman boasts a magnificent cast led by Eddie Albert, Janet Blair, Gale Sherwood, John Conte, and the legendary Boris Karloff as King Arthur. The unforgettable score features such songs as “Thou Swell,” “My Heart Stood Still,” and “To Keep My Love Alive.”
Black and White, 77 minutes, 4:3, All regions

A Connecticut Yankee
Music and Lyrics by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart
Book by Herbert Fields, based on the novel by Mark Twain

Martin (Sir Boss): Eddie Albert
Sandy (Sandra): Janet Blair
Fay (Morgan Le Fay): Gale Sherwood
Kenneth Kay (Sir Kay): John Conte
Arthur K. Arthur (King Arthur): Boris Karloff
Thurston Merrill (Merlin): Leonard Elliott
Switchboard Operator: Beverlee Dennis
Court Jesters (dancers): Bambi Linn and Rod Alexander

Charles Sanford, musical conductor
Dances and musical numbers staged by Rod Alexander
Produced and Directed by Max Liebman
Live telecast, March 12, 1955

Musical Numbers

Act I
“This is My Night to Howl” (Fay, Martin, Chorus)
“My Heart Stood Still” (Sandy, Martin, Chorus)
“Thou Swell” (Martin, Sandy)
“At the Round Table” (Knights and Ladies)
“To Keep My Love Alive” (Morgan)
“Rise and Shine” (Hymn to the Sun) / “Thou Swell” (reprise) (Chorus, Sandy)

Act II
“Ye Lunchtime Follies” (Sandy, Chorus)
“Can’t You do a Friend a Favor?” (Morgan, Sir Boss)
“I Feel at Home with You” (Sir Kay, Switchboard Operator, Chorus)
“You Always Love the Same Girl” (Sir Boss, King Arthur)
“The Camelot Samba” (Merlin, Chorus)
Court Jester Ballet (“Thou Swell,” / “On a Desert Island with Thee”)
“My Heart Stood Still” (reprise) (Martin, Sandy, Chorus)