The Vagabond King (1956), 6, Color, fs (s/b WS)

Louis XI of France drafts Paris's popular "king" of criminals as Provost Marshal in his fight against usurper Charles of Burgundy and the traitorous nobles who rally around him.
1h 26min | Musical, Romance | 29 August 1956 | Color, WS
Director: Michael Curtiz
Stars: Kathryn Grayson, Oreste Kirkop, Rita Moreno, Cedric Hardwicke.
Hanya Holm ... choreographer
Ralph Faulkner ... fight choreographer (uncredited)
Bella Lewitzky ... choreographer's assistant (uncredited)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049909/

Watched online. Print was cropped to fit analog TV, and so blurry that I could not recognize C.Hardwicke's face despite recognizing his voice.

9 songs in the Soundtracks, all by Rudolf Friml.

KG's final film. She does a little TV next year, and in the '80s has a 3-episode recurring role on Murder, She Wrote.

The leading man (OK) did no other films, and 1 TV opera: supposedly the first ever telecast of Rigoletto (he's the Duke) in '58. NB: the series was NBC Television Opera Theatre (1950–64).

French history should be the gatekeeper for future doctors instead of Calculus. Not just the ability to recite the events in sequence with names, dates and places, but also explanations why. Here we're in a prequel (300+ yrs) of Les Mis, where the people are fighting to preserve Louis XI (r. 1461-83), when the unification of France was still young. KG gets to wear a pointy dunce cap with veil from the time.

Rated 4 on 2014-06-03, right after I retired. I think I've seen others that got extra low ratings that weekend. I don't know what would have been so extra annoying. The history is dull; everyone is 2-dimensional at most. The costumes are colorful, and we get some good ensemble dancing early, but it's edited out of the film, cutting to other action prematurely. Only the singing gets proper attention paid; both KG and OK sing very high, so it can sound screechy. And other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?

Paramount, dir. Curtiz; 6