With Paris surrounded by the Burgundian army, the greater population is slowly starving. Not so the court, where King Louis XI (Basil Rathbone) has an enormous store of food laid in, and he is not sharing. François Villon (Ronald Colman), a poet and rapscallion, robs the King's storehouse of food, to sell to a local pub owner, Robin Turgis (Sidney Toler). Villon's partners in the venture want to kill the Guard of the storehouse (Barry Macollum), but Villon will not allow it; thus, when they are discovered, the Guard protects Villon. But the protection is only temporary - under torture, the Guard reveals the location of the gang's hangout. The King, in disguise, goes to the Fir Cone Tavern to watch the arrest, and overhears Villon boast of what he would do If I Were King (1938). Louis decides to make Villon his new Grand Constable, as the Count de Montcorbier. and gives him one week to solve the problems he bragged he could settle - after which, Louis will hang Villon. The film is VERY loosely based on the life of the poet
Francois Villon, probably best remembered today for the line "oh, where
are the snows of yesteryear?" (from “La Ballade des dames du temps
jadis”). The real Villon was constantly in trouble, was almost hanged,
and was eventually banished from Paris. He had a tendency to get himself
into fights; on at least one occasion, he killed his opponent (that his
opponent was a priest probably didn't help matters any. However,
friends and his adopted father - a lawyer - attested to the fact that
Villon was attacked several times by said priest). Much of what is known
about him is based on his poetry and on a few court documents. For
more information on Villon, visit The Poetry Foundation website.
Never mind that the truth of the narrative is a bit iffy, this is a wonderful film, with an engaging story and strong performances. The combination of Ronald Colman and Basil Rathbone is inspired casting; the way they bounce off one another is one of the highlights of the film, along with a terrific supporting cast, spectacular art design, and gorgeous costumes. Colman gives a Robin Hood flavor to Villon, a man who starts off robbing from the rich to make himself rich, but who, when handed power, finds that his love of his countrymen is stronger than his love of himself. Even when he is seriously misbehaving, the twinkle in Mr. Colman's eyes makes you want to forgive this arrant rogue. He has many fine moments, but he is at his best when he is verbally dueling with Basil Rathbone.
Louis XI is often referred to as The Spider King, and Basil Rathbone takes the name seriously. He literally moves like a spider, as he portrays the devious nature of Louis. He takes genuine pleasure at watching a man being tortured. He chortles with delight at the thought of trapping the robbers in the pub. He eagerly anticipates the fun of tweaking the noses of his courtiers - and of Villon - by making Villon the new Grand Constable. We've never seen Rathbone give a bad performance. This is among his best. Colman was justifiably nominated for his second Academy Award for his performance (he lost to Walter Brennan in Kentucky. The other nominees were John Garfield in Four Daughters, Gene Lockhart in Algiers, and Robert Morley in Marie Antoinette). Frances Dee is quite lovely as Katherine DeVaucelles, but it's Ellen Drew as Huguette who really should have stolen Villon's heart. Ms. Drew makes this little street urchin delightful and sympathetic. She is the only one who really seems to love Villon without question. Ms. Drew's career began in 1936, and continued until her retirement in 1961. She spent her career primarily in B pictures; in the 1950s, she made the change to television. Married four times, she had two children. She died in 2003, at the age of 88. (The Guardian).
Henry Wilcoxon appears in the relatively small part of the Captain of the Watch. Though he's not given much to do, he makes the most of what he has, and is memorable in the film. A favorite of Cecil B. DeMille (he appeared in starring roles in both Cleopatra (1934) and The Crusades (1935)). By this point, he was appearing in secondary roles (Hardy in That Hamilton Woman) or B films (Woman Doctor). Like many others, he made the switch to television in the 1960s, but not before he produced several films with his mentor, DeMille. Married twice (with three children, one of whom was named after his best friend, Heather Angel; another was named Cecilia after Mr. DeMille) he died at age 78 in 1984.
The story was originally a play with E.H. Sothern in the lead. Later, it was a silent movie with John Barrymore (TCM article). Lux Radio Theatre
presented an adaptation with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Frances Dee in October 1939. In the broadcast, host Cecil
B. DeMille mentions that the story holds memories for him: he had appeared in the 1901 Broadway cast with
his wife.
According to this AFI catalog article, "a replica of the throne of the Louvre Palace was made in cooperation with the French government." Needless to say, the set design is spectacular. Equally impressive are the costumes by Edith Head; whether she is dressing the commoners or the nobility, the costumes tell a story as well. We'll leave you with this brief documentary on the making of the film. We heartily recommend that you give this one a try.
The war is raging in England, and filmmakers rally to do their bit for the war effort. The results of one of those endeavors is That Hamilton Woman (1941), starring Vivien Leigh as Emma Hart, Lady Hamilton and Laurence Olivier as Horatio Nelson. The film was recently shown as part of AFI 100th Anniversary tribute to Vivien Leigh. Leigh, still basking in her post-Gone With the Wind fame gets top billing here, in this story of passion and devotion to country. Clearly, the love affair between Nelson and Lady Hamilton becomes an example of England's strength in the face of attack, with tyrant Napoleon standing in for dictator Hitler, and the lovers representing England giving up everything to preserve the nation. The story sticks pretty close to history - and juicy history it was. Told in flashback, this is the story of Emma Hart, the lover of Charles Francis Greville, who arrives in Naples to visit Greville's uncle, the wealthy Sir William Hamilton (Alan Mowbray). Hamilton is a lover of beauty, in music, in art - and in women. Unbeknownst to Emma, Hamilton has literally purchased her from his nephew. Within a few years, Emma, already the darling the English art circle, becomes the wife of Hamilton, as well as his hostess, and a major player in the Naples diplomatic circles. Enter Horatio Nelson, a young Captain of the fleet. Emma helps him approach the Queen of Naples for military assistance; afterwhich he departs. Five years later, he returns; this time, they find themselves deeply in love. Only problem is, both are married: Nelson's wife, Frances (Gladys Cooper) is at home in England. and quite naturally, she is none too pleased about her husband's involvement with the now notorious Lady Hamilton.
That the film is attempting to put the past into the context of the present conflict facing England is quite apparent. As mentioned above, the use of the term "dictator" in connection with Napoleon is a clear pointer to Adolf Hitler. Nelson, of course, stands in for all the men who would give their lives for the nation. while Emma stands in the for the women who will lose all they love in the fighting. The film even brings in some of the pictures done of Emma Hamilton: the picture on the left is used as an emblem in the film. Next to it is the original George Romney painting of the real Lady Emma.
The film caused some real consternation among some representatives in Washington, DC, who were eager to stay out of the war. They even went so far as to subpoena Alexander Korda. His appearance was to be on December 17, 1941, but the events of December 7th eliminated the need for his visit. This TCM Article goes into more on the history of the film.
This was the only film that the always wonderful (and so spectacularly beautiful) Vivien Leigh, and her equally talented spouse, Laurence Olivier did together during the period of their marriage. The film is also filled with splendid supporting actors. Gladys Cooper is excellent as Frances Nelson. The scene in which she sits down to knit as she is forced to converse with her rival, Emma, is great. Obviously, Ms. Cooper was a knitter - and her needles do as much of the talking as does her voice. Also good are Sara Allgood as Emma's lower-class mother, Mrs Cadogan-Lyon and Henry Wilcoxon as Captain Hardy.
As a knitter myself, I was interested to see the use of crafts to further our understanding of the main female characters. As mentioned before, Frances knits. Knitting, in the era, would have been a middle-class craft, used to create usable clothing for the members of the family. Knitting was no hobby here; it was a necessary skill to keep the family warm. Emma however, embroiders. Embroidery was an upper-class craft, used to create pieces of art. It was a hobby - an occupation for a woman who had no real work. The lower-class Emma has risen to the position of having no need to work, while Frances remains the middle-class housewife, despite her husband's rise in status.
