The Vagabond King

Considering the major names involved (in addition to the performers, it was an early screen adaptation from Herman J.

Mankiewicz!) in this fine reflection of the popular 1925 operetta, it's high time we had a good Technicolor restoration done and issued on DVD.

Jeanette MacDonald as the female lead is, perforce, secondary to the slightly "over the top" Dennis King recreating his starring Broadway role (511 performances at the Casino Theatre), but she gives a pure portrait of the King's niece much more honest and appealing than her later over blown "acting" in the Nelson Eddy screen operettas of the late 30's and 40's.

Lillian Roth's Huguette is more throaty than many familiar with the character's beautiful Rudolf Friml music may be used to, but her acting is impeccable and quite moving. Additionally, the chance to see 20th Century Fox's first major "Charlie Chan," Swedish actor Werner Oland, in another perspective entirely as Thibault, is not to be missed for any fan of Earl Derr Biggers' famous sleuth.

While, after the painful Hollywood custom, much of the rousing score has been sacrificed in the film's fast moving 104 minutes (only 100 surviving in the TV print I've seen), most of the best, "Some Day," "Only A Rose," "Huguette Waltz" and of course, "Song of the Vagabond" are here in fine form. Certainly preferable in this relatively faithful form than the bland 1956 remake. It's an exciting alternative to the fine (if music-less) 1938 Ronald Colman film drawn from The Vagabond King's source material: "If I Were King."

The chance to see a major Broadway star recreate his role for the screen is an opportunity not to be missed. It's sad though that Dennis King was not given proper direction for the screen in his performance.

Of course he and Jeanette MacDonald sing the Rudolf Friml-Brian Hooker songs beautifully. We even get a bonus of Lillian Roth singing the Waltz Hugette which was a big hit for her. If you remember in the biographical film, I'll Cry Tomorrow, Susan Hayward as Roth sings that song among others identified with Roth on the soundtrack.

Probably a lot more of you remember the straight dramatic version of Justin Huntly McCarthy's play If I Were King that starred Ronald Colman eight years later. Seeing both I know where all the songs are, it's like seeing Pygmalion after you've seen My Fair Lady. The Colman version had a much lighter touch to it though. Dennis King played it as a stalwart hero, a little less of the rogue that Colman was.

O.P. Heggie was also a far more serious Louis XI than Basil Rathbone was, though I saw aspects in Heggie's performance that Rathbone no doubt imitated.

Probably The Vagabond King was done just a tad too early. The early sound recording techniques don't help and in a few years King would have learned to dial it down a bit for the screen. Take a look at his dramatic non-singing role as the country vicar in Between Two Worlds.

King was Rudolf Friml's favorite Broadway leading man. He was the original Mountie in Rose Marie for those of you thought the part originated with Nelson Eddy and besides The Vagabond King he also starred as D'Artagnan in The Three Musketeers. For some reason that operetta was never made into a film and I wish it had. Even Dennis King playing it like he would for the stage would have been better than that awful thing with Don Ameche and the Ritz Brothers.

The Vagabond King is certainly a film for Jeanette's legion of fans and it is a chance to see a Broadway star recreate his role for the screen despite the flaws.

This is a terrible early talkie with a flamboyant 19th century ham performance by Dennis King in the lead and a nondescript one from Jeannette MacDonald. It was filmed entirely in 2 strip Technicolor, which makes up for some of its failings. A restored print is housed at UCLA and it is the only known surviving color print. The elaborate art direction deservedly earned an Oscar nomination.

It is available on DVD from Loving the Classics, which uses an old battered 16 mm black and white television print (MCA-TV), which is 3/4 screen, blurry, washed out and with poor sound. The silence surrounding the dialogue is full of white noise.

There is the lovely score - MacDonald has three numbers: Someday, Only A Rose and Love Me Tonight.

Songs:

Act One: 1:08:10

King Louis - King Hymn - Chorus SOMEDAY – sung by MacDonald If I Were King - King What France Needs - King Song of the Vagabonds – King ONLY A ROSE – sung by MacDonald, joined at end by King SOMEDAY – reprise – sung by MacDonald Huguette's Waltz - sung by Roth LOVE ME TONIGHT – sung by MacDonald and King

Act Two: 36:30

Pool Procession - Chorus Song of the Vagabonds – reprise – King Requiem – Chorus ONLY A ROSE – reprise finale – sung by Macdonald and King

This is for die-hard fans of Rudolf Friml (composer) and Jeannette MacDonald.

MacDonald scenes: 11

Act One: Church Interior, Street, King's Observatory, Observing Villon's transformation, Palace Walk, Balcony Scene, Observing Villon and Herald from Burgundy; Act Two: Garden, Huguette's Death Scene, Church, Gallows.

King Louis XI of France (the competent O. P. Heggie) hasn't his problems to seek. The Burgundians are at the gates of Paris and his subjects within are all a bit disgruntled. They are being stirred up by the rebellious poet "Villon" (Dennis King) who repeatedly suggests that Louis is an incompetent fool. He voices those opinions a bit too freely one evening and finds himself arrested by none other than the King himself. Hanged? Well, the rather shrewd monarch decides to see if this loudmouth can do any better. He ennobles him, puts him in charge and tells him his survival depends on him defeating the marauders outside the city walls. Meantime, his time in the palace introduces him to "Katherine" (Jeanette MacDonald) with whom he quickly becomes smitten. Now he has to save the city, get the girl and, ideally, avoid the gallows! It's quite good fun this, when it concentrates on the action. There is some acrobatic sword fencing and great ensemble fight scenes with tables and chairs and bottles used to full effect. The singing, though - well we had to have it, but the mediocre songs do rather break up the pace and there isn't really much chemistry between the rather hammy King and an off-form and pretty unremarkably flat MacDonald. It does look great though, with some stylish and authentic looking scenarios presented, but in the end I was a bit disappointed with this rather muddled historical adventure.

This 1930 talkie is a bit creaky and director Berger doesn't seem to have the skills to really bring it to life. Still, one can see the great production values, the sets, costumes -- the staging is often quite impressive and the camera has occasional fluidity. MacDonald is singing in what I refer to as the "early Jeanette voice" -- not as full and rich as in her MGM films, but still lovely and sweet on the high notes. She seems to still be learning her screen acting technique (this is only her second film) -- she's not the great emotional actress she became later on. I imagine if one could see this film in the original two-toned technicolor it could be quite mesmerizing. Dennis King is a bit strident in the lead. Lillian Roth has the look of Huguette, but doesn't have the style of singing to pull of "The Vagabond Waltz". Highlights and Jeanette's renditions of "Only and Rose" and "Someday".