The Vagabond King

Big staging of the hit Friml operetta from '25, among the countless adaptations (musical and non) of a silly 1901 novel about Francois Villon from (If I Were King). And I do mean staging—King, who created this lead on Broadway, is still playing for the backseats. I love the lavishly theatrical sets more than the show itself; pity then that the extent murky black-and-white print doesn't capture the Technicolor spectacle this really is. At least "Song of the Vagabonds" is always a rousing number.

Very stage bound early musical of that grand theatrical tradition. I felt that worked for the movie, giving it almost a fairytale atmosphere. And the story was of what we associate with fairytales as a drunken vagabond becomes royalty. Dennis King gave movies a few tries without getting over very well, but here he's quite good. Especially when given the chance to sing with Jeanette MacDonald, already the screen songbird. But it got to be said, she got heavy competition from Lillian Roth!