Directed by:
Frank LloydScreenplay:
Preston SturgesCinematography:
Theodor SparkuhlComposer:
Richard HagemanCast:
Ronald Colman, Basil Rathbone, Frances Dee, Ellen Drew, C.V. France, Henry Wilcoxon, Stanley Ridges, Bruce Lester, Walter Kingsford, Alma Lloyd, Sidney Toler (more)Plots(1)
Colman is without peer in his portrayal of the famous French poet and ne'er-do-well Francois Villon, who lived among the rabble of 15th century Paris. During a tavern brawl, he kills the oppressive Grand Constable of Paris. and the intellectual troublemaker is brought before the cunning King Louis XI (Rathbone). In a shrewd move, Rathbone thinks to satisfy his downtrodden people by elevating their champion to an all-powerful post, one where he can improve conditions he has so loudly condemned. If he fails, he will be executed for his past transgressions. He only has a week to perform the miracle. While at court, strutting in his new princely finery, Colman meets and falls in love with noblewoman Dee. He soon wins her heart, but he is still likely to lose his head. An army of Burgundians advancing on Paris provides a respite. When the royal army fails to stop the invaders, Colman rallies the peasants of Paris and leads them into battle, routing the would-be conquerors. A grateful Rathbone pardons Colman for his past sins against the crown and sends him into exile instead of to the headsman. He is also given Dee's hand in marriage. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
Ronald Colman
UK
Best movies:
The Talk of the Town (1942)
If I Were King (1938)
Random Harvest (1942)
Basil Rathbone
South Africa
Best movies:
The Mark of Zorro (1940)
Captain Blood (1935)
We're No Angels (1955)
Frances Dee
USA
Best movies:
If I Were King (1938)
Come and Get It (1936)
Little Women (1933)
Ellen Drew
USA
Best movies:
If I Were King (1938)
Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)
Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938)
C.V. France
UK
Best movies:
If I Were King (1938)
It Happened One Sunday (1944)
Night Train to Munich (1940)
Henry Wilcoxon
Best movies:
Sunset Blvd. (1950)
The Last of the Mohicans (1936)
The Ten Commandments (1956)
Stanley Ridges
UK
Best movies:
To Be or Not to Be (1942)
If I Were King (1938)
The Sign of the Cross (1932)
Bruce Lester
South Africa
Best movies:
If I Were King (1938)
Man Hunt (1941)
The Letter (1940)
Walter Kingsford
UK
Best movies:
Captains Courageous (1937)
If I Were King (1938)
Carefree (1938)
Alma Lloyd
USA
Best movies:
If I Were King (1938)
Bullets or Ballots (1936)
Anthony Adverse (1936)
Sidney Toler
USA
Best movies:
Double Wedding (1937)
If I Were King (1938)
Our Relations (1936)
Colin Tapley
New Zealand
Best movies:
If I Were King (1938)
The Dam Busters (1955)
North West Mounted Police (1940)
Ralph Forbes
UK
Best movies:
If I Were King (1938)
Stage Door (1937)
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939)
John Miljan
USA
Best movies:
The Ten Commandments (1956)
If I Were King (1938)
Juarez (1939)
William Haade
USA
Best movies:
Action in the North Atlantic (1943)
Reap the Wild Wind (1942)
If I Were King (1938)
Adrian Morris
USA
Best movies:
Gone with the Wind (1939)
Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)
If I Were King (1938)
Montagu Love
UK
Best movies:
The Wind (1928)
The Mark of Zorro (1940)
The Sea Hawk (1940)
Lester Matthews
UK
Best movies:
The Name of the Game (1968) (series)
Monsieur Verdoux (1947)
The Sea Hawk (1940)
William Farnum
USA
Best movies:
If I Were King (1938)
Samson and Delilah (1949)
The Crusades (1935)
Paul Harvey
USA
Best movies:
Sabrina (1954)
The Ten Commandments (1956)
If I Were King (1938)