weezeralfalfa This classic romantic story of a divided 15th century France is based upon the 1901 romantic novel and play of the same name. There were 2 musical film versions, as well, in 1930 and 1956, entitled "The Vagabond King". I've seen the '56 version, which was filmed in Technicolor and is 15min. shorter, plus allowance for the musical numbers further reduces the time available for the story. Preston Sturges wrote the present version, and Frank Lloyd directed it. The plot concerns the conflict between the king of France: Louis XI(Basil Rathbone), and Duke Charles of the large, nearly independent, province of Burgundy. An army from the Burgundians has laid siege to Paris for some time, and is waiting for the mass of people to get so hungry that they depose Louis, and surrender to the Burgundians. Thus, the commoners of Paris are prepared to support the Burgundians should they succeed in entering the city. That is, until poet, thief, and murderer, Francois Villon convinces them that if they instead support Louis' troops when the Burgundians enter the city, they can defeat the Burgundians, they will again be able to trade with the outside world. This is, in fact, what ensues, after Villon, as the Lord Constable, opens the royal food stores for the rabble to pillage. While we are waiting for this to happen, attention is focused on the opposing adversarial and cooperative relationships between Villon and Louis. Villon has displeased Louis by claiming(in the unknown presence of Louise) that he, himself, could do a lot better job of governance. Also, he led a raid on some crown food stores. However, Villon did expose and kill the traitor: the then Lord Constable; the second most powerful official in Paris. On the one hand, Louis wants to hang Villon. On the other hand, he wants to make him the new Lord Constable, so that he can come to appreciate the difficulties of ruling. Thus, Louis decides to make him the Constable until the Burgundian menace is decided, then hang him. However, after Villon's plan against the Burgundians works, Louise softens a bit and changes his sentence to permanent banishment from Paris. As a sideshow, Villon develops a romantic relationship with Lady Katherine(Frances Dee), she not suspecting that he is of underclass origins. Villon also has a thing going with tavern wench Huguette(Ellen Drew). These 2 women represent the polar extremes of Villon's character, as a courtly poet and temporary high official, or as a common thief, fraternizing with other riffraff. He quotes a Villon poem to Lady Katherine, beginning with "If I were king"A major believability problem with the above scenario is that Villon's only evident means of hiding his true identity as the Lord Constable is growing a moustache. Thus, those who know him as Villon should easily recognize him as Lord Constable!In one of the more bizarre scenes, as the Lord Constable, Villon tries his associates involved in the royal food stuffs robbery. Instead of sentencing them to some draconian punishment, he gives each a number of gold coins taken from the previous subject on trial!Coleman is OK as Villon, but I think the much younger Errol Flynn would have been more dynamic. Unfortunately, he was contracted to the wrong studio, and probably was playing Robin Hood for Warner at this time. The similarities between Villon and Robin Hood are evident, despite one being a city dweller and the other a forest dweller.So, which do I prefer: this version or the '56 version? Probably, the '56 version, with its music and Technicolor. However, the 2 are sufficiently different in their details that a viewing of both might be warranted if you like the basic story. See it on YouTube.

edwagreen Ronald Colman and Basil Rathbone both starred in the memorable "Tale of 2 Cities," an outstanding film dealing with revolutionary France. 3 years later they appeared in this 1938 production and with his sort of meek way of speaking, a memorable walk but the hidden viciousness of the usual sinister Rathbone, it garnered him a supporting Oscar nomination.This film does not compare with the 'Cities' class of 1935. The writing in this film is not as good and with treachery abounding here, we should have seen more of a devilish attitude by all concerned here.Even the priest is subdued here in a part that could have shown a lot more relevance.

MartinHafer François Villon lived during the 15th century in Paris. He was one of the most famous writers of his age and was also something of a rogue...though exactly how criminal his activities were in real life is a bit vague today. Regardless, his reputation has lived on and he's been immortalized in more than a dozen and a half films-- stretching from the silent days to today. A couple of his most famous portrayals were in "If I Were King" (1920) and "Beloved Rogue" (1927) and this 1938 film is probably the most famous of the talking films about the guy. But, since his exact history and nature is vague (we're not even sure how or when he died), the films obviously are mostly fiction.When the film begins, Louis XI (Basil Rathbone) is in trouble. His capital city is surrounded and his people are beginning to starve. But instead of focusing on this directly, the king decides to sneak out of the palace to spy on the people. He suspects they are all disloyal jerks. He comes upon Villon and his associates and instead of killing them, Villon entertains him with his rather disloyal and bold comments. Plus, Villon helps the King to realize that his trusted aid is actually a spy. Bizarrely, the King rewards Villon by making him one of the most powerful men in the land. Sadly, he later learn that the King only will let him have this job for one week.When this film debuted, it was obviously well thought of because it received four Oscar nominations. The only major nomination was for Basil Rathbone. I thought his performance was a bit over the top, but tastes change and his scene-chewing was popular at the time. I thought his makeup was really interesting...and VERY heavy. I think when seen today, the film comes off a bit more poorly mostly because the story is utterly ridiculous and audiences today are likely looking for more realism. Not a terrible film by any means but a bit on the silly side.

blanche-2 Ronald Colman gets his wish in "If I Were King," a 1938 film also starring Basil Rathbone and Francis Dee. Colman plays the vagabond poet Francois Villon, who is overheard by the disguised King (Basil Rathbone) criticizing His Highness and talking about what he would do if given the chance. He and his entire party are arrested, and Louis makes Villon the Lord High Chancellor. Villon gets to work immediately and elevates the king's reputation among the people. He opens up the stores of food at the palace and gives it to the citizens - they have no food because the city is being held by the Burgundians. The sentences he passes out to anyone arrested are merciful and fair. It seems as if he has succeeded. But what the King has failed to inform Villon is that he is only Chancellor for a week - and he has that week to convince the French army, who are refusing to fight the Burgundian army, to do so and win."If I Were King" is a great deal of fun, and Ronald Colman is delightful as Villon. But first, in response to a previous post, a word about accents. The previous poster asks if there was a vocal coach available, as there were people speaking in British and American accents - no French accents. Hollywood often confuses the accent issue of films set in foreign lands by casting one or two people who have some type of accent while the rest do not. The rule in acting is that no accent is necessary when doing a film or a play set in a foreign country. Why? Because the people of that country are not speaking English. They are speaking their own language. They are NOT walking around France speaking English with a French accent. This is why when actors perform Russian plays, or Hollywood did films set in Nazi Germany, Budapest, Spain or anywhere else, the actors did not have to use an accent of that country. An accent would only be necessary if a German were in America speaking English, for instance.To get back to the cast, led by the wonderful Colman, Basil Rathbone is excellent as the hated Louis, and Frances Dee is lovely as Katherine de Vaucelles, who falls in love with the Lord High Chancellor.Someone complained because Errol Flynn did not play this role. Flynn would have been marvelous, as he was a very charismatic actor, but I think Colman is marvelous. His Louis is not only energetic and charming, but highly intelligent, and Colman is able to shade the role in a way that Flynn, who tended to be much more superficial in his characterizations, could not.An enchanting film, highly recommended.