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The Vagabond King (1930)
Directed by	Ludwig Berger
Produced by	Adolph Zukor
Written by	Herman J. Mankiewicz based on the play by Justin Huntly McCarthy and the operetta by William H. Post Brian Hooker and the novel by R.H. Russell
Starring	Dennis King Jeanette MacDonald O.P. Heggie Lillian Roth Warner Oland Arthur Stone Tom Ricketts
Music by	Rudolf Friml W. Franke Harling John Leipold Oscar Potoker
Cinematography	Henry W. Gerrard Ray Rennahan (Technicolor)
Editing by	Merrill G. White
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	February 17, 1930
Running time	104 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
IMDb profile

The Vagabond King is a 1930 musical operetta film photographed entirely in Technicolor. The plot of the film was based on the 1901 play, "If I Were King," by Justin McCarthy. The play told the story of a renegade French poet named Francois Villon. The music of the film was based on a 1927 operetta (which was based on the book by Justine McCarthy), under the title of "The Vagabond King," with music by Rudolph Friml and Brian Hooker. The was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Art Direction.

Poster for the film.

The story takes place in medieval France. King Louis XI (O.P. Heggie), hoping to enlist the French peasants in his upcoming battle against the Burgundians, appoints Francois Villon (Dennis King) king of France for one day. Despite being successful against the Burgundians, Francois Villon is sentenced to hang by King Louis XI for writing derogatory verses about him...

Jeanette MacDonald is the high-born girl whom Villon pines for, while Lillian Roth is the street urchin who gives up her life to save her beloved poet.

• "Song of the Vagabonds"
• "King Louis"
• "Mary, Queen of Heaven"
• "Some Day"
• "If I Were King"
• "What France Needs"
• "Only a Rose"
• "Huguette Waltz"
• "Love Me Tonight"
• "Nocturne"

• Dennis King recreated his original London and Broadway stage role as Villon in this film.
• Dennis King was hired by RCA Victor to record several songs from the film.
• Composer Rudolf Friml had a stipulation in his contract that forbade the use of newly composed songs in this production. Paramount attempted to change the film's title to "If I Were King," and also had some new songs composed for the film. When Friml was made aware of the new songs, he sued the studio. As a result Paramount changed the title back to "The Vagabond King" and paid Friml $50,000 to allow for the use of non-original songs.

For many years, only a black-and-white print of this film was believed to be extant. The original color film was presumed lost until a battered nitrate film was discovered in 1998. It was carefully restored and preserved by the UCLA Film and Television Archive.

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