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)
Set in 15th century Paris, a rogue poet matches wits with a crafty king and leads the Empire to victory in the spectacular romantic adventure If I Were King. Ronald Colman is at his swashbuckling best as Francois Villon and Basil Rathbone gives a superb Academy Award-nominated performance for Best Supporting Actor as Louis XI, a tyrant with a besieged city on the verge of revolt. When a twist of fate makes Villon the chief constable, the king gives him a week to save the city and win the love of a beautiful princess (Frances Dee)… or die! Deliciously wicked repartee abounds in the lavish, fast-paced entertainment which writer Preston Sturges claimed as one of his finest achievements. (Kino Lorber)
(more)Cast
![Ronald Colman](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/676/161676225_9cbc2f.jpg)
Ronald Colman
UK
Best movies:
The Talk of the Town (1942)
Random Harvest (1942)
Lost Horizon (1937)
![Basil Rathbone](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/268/268087_79a953.jpg)
Basil Rathbone
South Africa
Best movies:
We're No Angels (1955)
Captain Blood (1935)
The Dawn Patrol (1938)
![Frances Dee](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/162/118/162118782_d40fcc.jpg)
Frances Dee
USA
Best movies:
Come and Get It (1936)
Little Women (1933)
Of Human Bondage (1934)
![Ellen Drew](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/505/505389_25a2da.jpg)
Ellen Drew
USA
Best movies:
Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)
Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938)
Christmas in July (1940)
C.V. France
UK
Best movies:
It Happened One Sunday (1944)
A Yank at Oxford (1938)
Went the Day Well? (1942)
![Henry Wilcoxon](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/386/386795_0e023a.jpg)
Henry Wilcoxon
Best movies:
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
The Last of the Mohicans (1936)
The Ten Commandments (1956)
![Stanley Ridges](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/000/159000160_48dc63.jpg)
Stanley Ridges
UK
Best movies:
To Be or Not to Be (1942)
Union Pacific (1939)
The Sign of the Cross (1932)
![Bruce Lester](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/011/160011789_ecec9b.jpg)
Bruce Lester
South Africa
Best movies:
The Letter (1940)
Man Hunt (1941)
Golden Earrings (1947)
![Walter Kingsford](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/897/159897823_2545f6.jpg)
Walter Kingsford
UK
Best movies:
Captains Courageous (1937)
The Man in the Iron Mask (1939)
Carefree (1938)
![Alma Lloyd](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/448/160448077_f54307.jpg)
Alma Lloyd
USA
Best movies:
Bullets or Ballots (1936)
Anthony Adverse (1936)
Dangerous (1935)
![Sidney Toler](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/066/037/66037407_8ec075.jpg)
Sidney Toler
USA
Best movies:
Double Wedding (1937)
Our Relations (1936)
The Call of the Wild (1935)
![Colin Tapley](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/620/161620641_fab50b.jpg)
Colin Tapley
New Zealand
Best movies:
The Dam Busters (1955)
North West Mounted Police (1940)
Samson and Delilah (1949)
![Ralph Forbes](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/158/003/158003892_b80407.jpg)
Ralph Forbes
UK
Best movies:
Stage Door (1937)
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939)
Romeo and Juliet (1936)
![John Miljan](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/496/496802_f6e790.jpg)
John Miljan
USA
Best movies:
The Ten Commandments (1956)
Juarez (1939)
Samson and Delilah (1949)
![William Haade](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/952/159952326_58cb3e.gif)
William Haade
USA
Best movies:
Action in the North Atlantic (1943)
Reap the Wild Wind (1942)
A Song Is Born (1948)
![Adrian Morris](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/726/159726555_a8a36b.jpg)
Adrian Morris
USA
Best movies:
Gone with the Wind (1939)
Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)
Union Pacific (1939)
![Montagu Love](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/072/312/72312436_7c582f.jpg)
Montagu Love
UK
Best movies:
The Wind (1928)
The Sea Hawk (1940)
The Man in the Iron Mask (1939)
![Lester Matthews](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/228/159228283_c78ffc.jpg)
Lester Matthews
UK
Best movies:
The Name of the Game (1968) (series)
Monsieur Verdoux (1947)
The Sea Hawk (1940)
![William Farnum](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/158/077/158077995_e7cbd7.jpg)
William Farnum
USA
Best movies:
Samson and Delilah (1949)
The Crusades (1935)
The Count of Monte Cristo (1934)
![Paul Harvey](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/000/159000157_558b5a.jpg)
Paul Harvey
USA
Best movies:
Sabrina (1954)
The Ten Commandments (1956)
Spellbound (1945)