If I Were King

Film: If I Were King
Year: 1938
Cast: Ronald Colman, Basil Rathbone, Frances Dee, Ellen Drew, Henry Wilcoxon, Colin Tapley, CV France, Heather Thatcher, Stanley Ridges, Bruce Lester, Alma Lloyd, Walter Kingsford, Sidney Toler, Ralph Forbes, John Miljan, William Haade, Adrian Morris, Montagu Love, Lester Matthews, William Farnum, Paul Harvey, Barry Macollum, May Beatty, Winter Hall, Francis McDonald, Ann Evers, Jean Fenwick
Director: Frank Lloyd
Nominations: Best Supporting Actor (Rathbone), Best Original Score, Best Art Direction, Best Sound Recording

Hey, a period costume piece! I do so enjoy those. Oscar used to honor them all the time. These days it's kinda rare. I wonder why that is, and when it happened?

The action here takes place in the late 1400's during the Burgundian rebellion against King Louis XI (Basil Rathbone), who is beseiged on all sides by the forces of Charles the Bold, his people driven to thievery in the streets. Meanwhile he has reason to suspect a traitor among his councilors, and thus goes undercover as a commoner among the people to root out the traitor. It is here he encounters that great poet, braggart and criminal François Villon (Ronald Colman).

François has some, shall we say, outspoken opinions on the king, and all members of his council. In a hilarious early scene, he loudly and brashly wishes for the king's defeat, not knowing the king himself is quite near him in his crowd of listeners. But rather than immediately order François's arrest, Louis simply asks the poet what he would do in the king's place. Hence the title.

In a series of hilarious exchanges I'd rather you watch than I describe, François is appointed Grand Constable of France, Commander of the King's armies and dispenser of the King's justice. In other words, it's time for him to put his money where his mouth is. Can he do it? How long will the king last before he tires of this joke?

The answer is a joy to watch. It's funny, it's engrossing, engaging and in all other ways a triumph. Well, the romance angle seems kinda tacked on, but what would a grand tale of a thief given power be if he didn't woo an unattainable woman in the process? And thankfully, his romance with noblewoman Lady Katherine (Frances Dee) does give her some dignity and brains as well. We see why François is attracted to her, and she to him.

Ronald Colman is at the top of his game, here. I wonder if in 1939 he was widely expected to be nominated for an Oscar for this film, and were the masses angry when it didn't happen? Colman has a number of winning scenes, my favorites being his liberal interpretation of sentencing of prisoners (his friends) and a scene where he lambastes the army's generals for their refusal to open the gates and attack the Burgundians. "You've no understanding of military tactics!" growls a general. "Emphatically I do not," says François. "I've studied your campaigns relentlessly and I've learned nothing from them." He would almost walk away with the whole movie if it weren't for one man.

Academy Award nominee Basil Rathbone is equally matched with Colman in this film. As the king, Rathbone is at once hilarious, threatening, cunning, silly and absolutely magnetic. Doddering about like an old hen, laughing like a mad old witch, unpredictable in his decisions, yet solidly in control, Rathbone more than earns his nomination, and so far, among the performances I've watched, he's the winner. It gets more impressive when you realize this film was released the same year that he made The Adventures of Robin Hood and cut an impressive figure as the virile Guy of Gisbourne. In fact, I've now seen two movies featuring actors from that film, both of them released the same year as Robin Hood. Cool.

To be honest, I don't know why this one wasn't a Best Picture contender. As much as I was charmed by Four Daughters this one is the finer film in almost all respects. It was robbed, robbed, I tell you.

We have two films left in this category and year before it's time to evaluate the performances against each other. In light of that, I think I'll reserve speaking further about who's ahead until all five competitors go head to head. Next up is Kentucky, which contains the actual winner for that year, Walter Brennan, who took home Oscar number two. Did he deserve it? We'll see.