The Vagabond King (1956 film)
| The Vagabond King | |
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Film Poster
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| Directed by | Michael Curtiz |
| Produced by | Pat Duggan |
| Written by |
Ken Englund Brian Hooker (book of stage musical) Noel Langley |
| Starring |
Kathryn Grayson Oreste Kirkop Rita Moreno Sir Cedric Hardwicke Walter Hampden Leslie Nielsen |
| Music by |
Rudolf Friml (Operetta) Johnny Burke Brian Hooker |
| Cinematography | Robert Burks |
| Edited by | Arthur P. Schmidt |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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86 Min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1.4 million (US) |
The Vagabond King is a 1956 Paramount Pictures musical film adaptation of the 1925 operetta The Vagabond King by Rudolf Friml. It starred Kathryn Grayson and Oreste Kirkop, with early roles for Rita Moreno and Leslie Nielsen. Sir Cedric Hardwicke played a notable supporting role. It was Kathryn Grayson's and Walter Hampden's last movie. Hampden, who played King Louis XI, died more than a year before its release. Mary Grant designed the film's costumes.
In fifteenth century France, King Louis XI (Walter Hampden) is besieged in Paris by Charles, Duke of Burgundy, and his allies. Even within the city, Louis' reign is disputed. The irreverent, persuasive beggar poet François Villon (tenor Oreste Kirkop) commands the loyalty of the commoners.
Louis goes in disguise to a tavern to see what sort of a man this poet is. Villon reveals he has no love for the king. Afterward, Louis sees Thibault, his provost marshal, meeting in that very place with Rene, an agent of the Duke of Burgundy. Thibault shows Rene a list of those in Paris who are prepared to overthrow Louis. However, Villon, who has a grudge against Thibault, engages his enemy in a sword fight, during which the incriminating document falls on the floor and is picked up by Louis. The duel is stopped by the city guard. Louis reveals himself and has Villon and his companions thrown into the dungeon. Thibault, however, gets away.
Later, Villon is brought to the king in his unusual garden; the trees bear the bodies of hanged traitors. Louis proposes to let him live, as the new provost marshal, until the Duke of Burgundy is driven away. When Villon turns him down, the king sweetens his offer by including time with Catherine de Vaucelles (Kathryn Grayson), a beautiful noblewoman Villon has fallen in love with and the lives of his friends. Villon accepts, and is introduced to Catherine as "Count François de Montcorbier" from Savoy. Rumor reaches her through her maid, Margaret, that she is to marry the count. She is puzzled at first, then becomes furious when she realizes who her betrothed really is. When she berates Villon for playing a horrible joke on her. He cannot convince her that his love is sincere, while she cannot persuade him that the king is a great man.
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