If I Were King (1938)

Vagabond poet François Villon rises to high office in 1463 Paris.

Director:

Frank Lloyd

Writers:

Justin Huntly McCarthy (play), Preston Sturges

Stars:

Ronald Colman, Basil Rathbone, Frances Dee

Nominated for 4 Oscars.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ronald Colman	...	François Villon
Basil Rathbone	...	King Louis XI
Frances Dee	...	Katherine de Vaucelles
Ellen Drew	...	Huguette
C.V. France	...	Father Villon
Henry Wilcoxon	...	Captain of the Watch
Heather Thatcher	...	The Queen
Stanley Ridges	...	Rene de Montigny
Bruce Lester	...	Noel de Jolys
Alma Lloyd	...	Colette
Walter Kingsford	...	Tristan l'Hermite
Sidney Toler	...	Robin Turgis
Colin Tapley	...	Jehan Le Loup
Ralph Forbes	...	Oliver le Dain
John Miljan	...	Thibaut d'Aussigny

Storyline

In 1463, Paris is besieged by the Duke of Burgundy, arch-rival of the king, who is content to sit tight while the poor starve. But there are traitors in Paris, and King Louis goes undercover to find one, thereby meeting Francois Villon, poet, philosopher and rogue. By chance Villon kills the king's traitor and is ordered to replace him...as Grand Constable of France! But there's a catch...

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Plot Keywords:

poet | title in title | king louis xi | war context | paris france | 

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Taglines:

His Love-Making was as Dangerous as His Sword-Play

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Genres:

Adventure | History

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 November 1938 (USA)

Also Known As:

Le roi des gueux

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of over 700 Paramount productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.

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Quotes

Rene: Fine time to be writing poetry.
François Villon: What better time? If a man isn't inspired by his own death, he's beyond inspiration.

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Connections

Referenced in So You Want to Be an Actor (1949)

User Reviews

Entertaining story of Francois Villon and Louis XI

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.