Directed by Joshua Logan; Based on the stage play by Lana Jay Lerner and Frederick Lowe; Featuring Richard Harris (King Arthur), Vanessa Redgrave (Guenever), Franco Nero (Lancelot), David Hemmings (Mordred), and Lionel Jeffries (King Pellinore).
1960 marked the year of Camelot's premiere on the Broadway stage; Lerner and Lowe's lavish musical proved to be as much of a success as their other works, My Fair Lady and Brigadoon. Starring Richard Burton as Arthur, Julie Andrews as Guenever, and Robert Goulet as Lancelot, the play ran for over 900 performances and earned two Tony awards. The play's title also came to be associated with the Kennedy White House and many people who had not even seen the play knew the refrain, "Cam-e-lot! Cam-e-lot!" In 1967, Joshua Logan directed the film version, an equally spectacular production starring Richard Harris as Arthur, Vanessa Redgrave as Guenever, and Franco Nero as Lancelot. Unlike Excalibur, with its violent battle scenes, dark tone, and largely pessimistic slant on the legend, Camelot often takes comic turns and ends long before Arthur's death. As Excalibur is named for the sword symbolizing the power that all of the characters struggle to possess, Camelot is named for the place that, although doomed to fall, remains an example of what men can accomplish when they strive for perfection.
