The beggar poet
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The beggar poet |
| Original title | The Beloved Rogue |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1927 |
| length | 99 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Alan Crosland |
| script |
Paul Bern John Barrymore George Marion junior (subtitles) |
| camera | Joseph H. August |
| cut | Hal C. Kern |
| occupation | |
| |
The Bettelpoet is an American biopic from 1927 . The silent film tells the adventurous life of the French poet François Villon (1431–1463).
action
François Villon is a poet and avid patriot whose father was burned at the stake. François is particularly committed to helping the oppressed and the weak. The Duke of Burgundy is out for the French throne. With cunning and deceit he tries to deceive the superstitious king, who is warned by his astrologers about a war with Burgundy. So the king also gives in to the demand that his ward Charlotte marry the Burgundian Count Thibault d'Aussigny.
On "Fools Day" François is elected King of Fools by the population. The citizens protest against the living conditions. The Duke wants to end the uprising, but is offended by François. King Ludwig, fearing an affront to the Duke, banishes François from Paris. With some friends, François steals a wagon with food that the Duke has sent to the King. They use a catapult to transport food into town to care for the poor.
François is accidentally catapulted into the city. It ends up in Charlotte's room, who is waiting there with her groom for the wedding to begin. The count pursues the surprised poet. A battle ensues in which François defeats Thibault. Charlotte decides to run away with the poet. But François is captured and Charlotte surrenders to her fate.
François is brought to Burgundy, tortured and, as a special wedding surprise, locked in a cage. Surprisingly, soldiers attack the king who has been convinced that the wedding is part of an intrigue against him. The soldiers free François and Charlotte, who now want to get married.
criticism
Mordaunt Hall of the New York Times wrote that those who like heroic and wacky escape attempts and fantastic coincidences with underlying romance will love this movie. Others who compare the film to Robert Louis Stevenson's study of the poet as well as Justin Huntly McCarthy's If I Were King will be disappointed.
background
The film premiered on March 12, 1927. In Germany it appeared in cinemas in April 1927 (Illustrierter Film-Kurier No. 632). In Austria it was also shown under the title Der Fürst der Gasse .
The production designer of the film was the future director William Cameron Menzies . Gordon Hollingshead , who later won several Academy Awards, worked as an assistant director .
The film is a remake of the 1920 silent film If I Were King by J. Gordon Edwards with William Farnum in the role of the poet. Ronald Colman played Villon 1938 in the historical drama If I'd king of Frank Lloyd .
The film was thought to be lost for a long time . The only surviving copy was found in John Barrymore's former home by Edgar Bergen, a resident who donated the film to the American Film Institute . The production of the United Artists is public domain and can be viewed in the Internet Archive .
Web links
- The Bettelpoet in the Internet Movie Database (English)