If I Were King

Colman, of the impeccable diction, stars as swashbuckling 15th-century French poet Francois Villon, who matches wits with King Louis XI (Rathbone), and falls in love with aristocratic Katherine de Vaucellos (Dee). He even manages to save Paris by leading a peasant army against the invading Burgundians. Probably the best scenes are the witty repartee between Colman and Rathbone, each trying to best the other. Also filmed as 1927's "The Beloved Rogue" (with John Barrymore) and the operetta "The Vagabond King."