Mark Twain a.k.a. Samuel L. Clemens was, in my opinion, one of the brightest, wittiest, and imaginative writers of all time.  Spinning satirical humor with both the comical and tragic dramas of life and humanity, Twain not only entertained his audiences with his great literary works but educated and enlightened them too of the cruel and intolerable ignorance of mankind.  From his fanciful tales like The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County to his classic novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and his own autobiographical yarn Life on the Mississippi Mark Twain’s homespun stories are still as fun and touching today as they were a hundred plus years ago when they were written.

In 1889 he wrote a magical tale about King Arthur, Merlin, and the Knights of the Round Table entitled A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.  It is a time-travel bonanza of wry humor, charm, and legend all rolled up into one terrific timeless adventure.  Following in the steps of Lewis Carroll’s Alice, Twain’s hero, Hank Martin, as a result of a clunk on the head wakes up to find himself in Medieval England, a truly enchanted wonderland where chivalry, evil wizards, and superstition prevail.  You may wonder where I am going with this… well if you haven’t guessed already this story lends itself to a comparison between it and J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books.  However, I am not going to compare Mark Twain’s novel to Ms. Rowling’s novels but rather a film version of Connecticut Yankee to the Harry Potter books and movies.

Hollywood has embraced this tale many times and in many guises.  One of my favorite versions is a fairly loose musical adaptation made in 1949 and staring Bing Crosby, Rhonda Fleming, William Bendix, Cedric Hardwicke, Mervyn Vye, and Virginia Field.  Hank Martin, (note both hero’s names begin with “H”) is a blacksmith/mechanic in 1912 rural Connecticut, U.S.A.  During a thunder and lightning rain storm he is thrown from his horse and hits his head, knocking him out.  When he wakes up he finds himself across the Atlantic in Britain during King Arthur’s reign in 528 AD… and at the spear point of Sir Sagramore le Desirous aka Clarence (William Bendix) who calls Hank a monster.  Not inclined to argue the point Hank agrees to return to Camelot with the knight where he is presented to King Arthur and sentenced to die.  However, Hank’s twentieth century know-how, along with some matches, his watch lens, and almanac help him to save himself from being burned at the stake and secure his new title and job role -- Sir Boss, Wizard.

While Hank is stuck in jolly ol’ England he falls in love with the king’s niece, Sandy, (Rhonda Fleming) and makes dire enemies of the diabolical wizard, Merlin, and the king’s other niece, Morgan Le Fay.  All this court intrigue opens the door for not only romance and evil plotting but jealousy, jousting tournaments, and spell casting all of which is beautifully presented in glorious Technicolor with witty dialogue and catchy tunes.

So how does this movie tie in with Harry Potter?  Magically, of course.  First off, the original books were/are written by extremely clever authors.  That said here are the more detailed correlations between the Harry and Hank stories. 

-          The names Harry and Hank are both variations of the name Henry, a find old English name.

-          Hank is considered a great wizard as is our Harry.  Hank doesn’t carry a wand but he does have his own “standard book of spells” in the form of his almanac that tells him when the next solar eclipse will occur and how to fix or build anything from horseless carriages to pistols to safety pins.

-          Hanks says he’s “just Hank” just like Harry says he’s “just Harry”.

-          Hank has two best friends: red-headed Clarence and Sandy (who also has red hair).   Harry has two best friends: red-headed Ron and Hermione. 

-          Young Hank befriends Old King Arthur who reminds me of a caricature of Professor Dumbledore.

-          Hank’s sworn enemy is Merlin, who I think is like both Snape and Voldemort wrapped up into one evil black-haired, black-cloaked wizard.

-          Clarence is a knight.  Ron took the role of knight in the chess game in PS/SS.

-          As Hank is about to be burned at the stake (like a witch) he “magically” sets Merlin’s robes on fire.  In PS/SS, to save Harry from falling off his broom Hermione magically sets Snape’s robes on fire.

-          Hank is the reluctant champion in the jousting tournament.  Harry is the reluctant champion in the Tri-Wizard Tournament.

-          Hank attends a ball.  Harry attends a ball.

-          Hank must deal with the local bully, who in this case is none other than Sir Lancelot.  Harry deals with a nastier bully, Draco Malfoy.

-          Hank has truly incredible dreams that seem all too real.  Harry has truly incredible dreams that seem all too real.

-          Hank’s the forever hero to the rescue no matter the peril to himself… just like Harry.

There are no talking portraits, moving suits of armor or galloping ghosts at King Arthur’s Tintagel Castle like there are at Hogwarts but there are secret passages, lots of spells (science or technology based), bouncy 1940’s swing songs, and plenty of action and adventure all played out in good, clean fun.  If you want to be carried away to another time and place somewhere between 528 A.D. England, 1912 Connecticut, and 1949 Hollywood, USA for a couple of hours then I suggest you rent or buy the movie “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court” with “der Bingo.”  I also suggest that in between reading Harry Potter books you might want to pick up a copy of Mark Twain’s original novel in addition to other books written by the literary wizard Samuel Clemens.