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
![May Beatty](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/505/505229_a8396e.jpg)
May Beatty
New Zealand
Best movies:
If I Were King (1938)
Mad Love (1935)
Union Pacific (1939)
![Winter Hall](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/052/161052846_6dbbfe.jpg)
Winter Hall
New Zealand
Best movies:
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925)
If I Were King (1938)
Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
![Francis McDonald](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/158/263/158263971_a1f5eb.jpg)
Francis McDonald
USA
Best movies:
The Viking (1928)
The Sea Hawk (1940)
The Ten Commandments (1956)
![Darryl Hickman](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/274/274460_dccc92.jpg)
Darryl Hickman
USA
Best movies:
Rhapsody in Blue (1945)
If I Were King (1938)
Leave Her to Heaven (1945)
Alec Craig
UK
Best movies:
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Gaslight (1944)
To Be or Not to Be (1942)
![Brandon Hurst](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/445/159445116_d4652c.jpg)
Brandon Hurst
UK
Best movies:
He Who Gets Slapped (1924)
Scarface (1932)
The Thief of Bagdad (1924)
![Henry Brandon](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/158/111/158111842_b6ff85.jpg)
Henry Brandon
German Empire
Best movies:
Edge of Darkness (1943)
The Ten Commandments (1956)
If I Were King (1938)
![Jimmy Aubrey](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/507/507478_e50218.jpg)
Jimmy Aubrey
UK
Best movies:
Waterloo Bridge (1940)
If I Were King (1938)
Random Harvest (1942)
Merrill McCormick
USA
Best movies:
Robin Hood (1922)
If I Were King (1938)
Texas (1941)
![Ralph Sanford](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/935/159935030_010c41.jpg)
Ralph Sanford
USA
Best movies:
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
The Big Country (1958)
The Heiress (1949)
![Harry Wilson](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/346/160346073_c6f780.jpg)
Harry Wilson
UK
Best movies:
Some Like It Hot (1959)
The Great Dictator (1940)
Modern Times (1936)
![Russ Powell](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/411/160411815_6c86c4.jpg)
Russ Powell
USA
Best movies:
Modern Times (1936)
The Mysterious Lady (1928)
Flesh and the Devil (1926)
![Lionel Belmore](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/457/160457513_663c01.jpg)
Lionel Belmore
UK
Best movies:
The Last of the Mohicans (1936)
If I Were King (1938)
Three Ages (1923)
![Claude King](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/605/160605867_025c78.jpg)
Claude King
UK
Best movies:
The Last of the Mohicans (1936)
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
If I Were King (1938)
![John George](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/254/161254661_9f1f14.jpg)
John George
Syria
Best movies:
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
The Killing (1956)
East of Eden (1955)
![Ethel Clayton](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/053/160053801_031b9f.jpg)
Ethel Clayton
USA
Best movies:
If I Were King (1938)
Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)
The Major and the Minor (1942)
![Evan Thomas](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/878/160878213_539552.jpg)
Evan Thomas
Canada
Best movies:
If I Were King (1938)
North West Mounted Police (1940)
My Name Is Julia Ross (1945)
![Dorothy White](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/483/161483055_d9ea69.png)
Dorothy White
USA
Best movies:
If I Were King (1938)
Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938)
Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)
![Ed Brady](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/478/161478466_1e24b1.jpg)
Ed Brady
USA
Best movies:
Fury (1936)
City Girl (1930)
Reap the Wild Wind (1942)
Paul Newlan
USA
Best movies:
Monsieur Verdoux (1947)
We're No Angels (1955)
If I Were King (1938)