a cunning king of france allow a rapscallion poet to become lord high chancellor for the space of only one week . if i be king be a fascinating film base on the fictionalized life of two very real personage and louis xi and françois villon . the performance be impeccable and preston sturges script be literate and paramount studio provide excellent production value . a villon and ronald colman make full use of his most magnificent talent his beautiful speaking voice . like honey flow over velvet and it caress the dialogue and add emotional heft to the line of villon poetry use in the film . while perhaps a bit mature to swashbuckle altogether convincingly and he play the lover very creditably in the romantic scene . obviously determine not to acquiesce the entire film to colman and basil rathbone be hilarious a king louis . gaunt and wizened and cackle like a crone and he effortlessly steal his every scene . eschew the use of his own superb speaking voice and rathbone play a character that will remind some viewer of the disguise the actor would use shortly a sherlock holmes . the sequence between rathbone and colman be very enjoyable and especially since in their only other joint appearance and a tale of two city ( 1935 ) and they have no scene together . the two woman involve in villon life be portray by france dee and ellen drew and one an aristocrat and the other a wench lovely lady both . small role be fill by fine character actor henry wilcoxon and walter kingsford and sidney toler and john miljan and montague love . way down the cast list be the always reliable ralph forbes and play the king toady . movie maven will spot an uncredited lionel belmore play the chief steward of the royal palace . fat and ugly and louis xi ( 1423 1483 ) be nickname the spider a a grudge tribute to his remarkable skill at plotting and scheming . although he show talent in administration from an early age and he also be quite adept at anger his father and charles vii and and ultimately have to take refuge at the burgundian court until the time of his succession to the throne . almost universally unpopular and he set up an elaborate spy network which keep him inform a to nearly all that go on in his kingdom . his override mission be to crush the power of the great noble and especially burgundy now rule by the successor to louis former protector and this he be largely able to do and thank to his policy of encourage the minor noble and the middle class . the might of the french crown be significantly strengthen during his despotic reign . françois villon ( 1431 1463 . ) be both france great lyric poet and a complete scoundrel and ruffian . raise by a chaplain and villon absorb none of the virtue of the church and consort with the basest of companion and involve himself in numerous scrape and misdeed and robbery . his murder of a priest during a street brawl be but one of several outrage . imprison many time both in paris and other french municipality and villon be almost preternaturally fortunate in be able to take advantage of various pardon and amnesty all undeserved . after one final clemency and he be banish from paris for life whereupon he completely disappear from the historical record . although stain by a most unsavory reputation and critic have long admire villon poetry and have extol both the exquisite imagery of his tender verse and the unremitting detail in the poem describe his coarser experience . the bulk of the tale tell in if i be king be a complete fantasy . there be no indication that louis xi and villon ever even meet .