The Beloved Rogue

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Audience Member A charming lesser grand John Barrymore film that you find is hard not to like although it is a 'little' fluffy. The story of French poet, playboy & socialite and all of his misadventures. The film is predictable but that doesn't disregard it's entertainment value. Filled with some great one liners, classic romance & a few sword duels...it's not as strong as When a Man Loves but still an enjoyable film. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Viva Villon: The Adventures of a Vagabond Lover--An Entertaining Feature With Excellent roles for Barrymore & veidt!! Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member The place, Paris. The time, the 15th century. An introductory title card says that the time of Joan of Arc is past and France is still trying to maintain its independence from various supplanters. We are shown François as a baby. In comic manner it is suggested that he had a love of wine as a young man because he was bottle-fed a mixture of milk and wine from the beginning of his life. Then we jump ahead some twenty-five years. François Villon is shown having some shenanigans with his two best friends, Jehan (Summerville) and Nicholas (Swain). Like in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the Festival of Fools and the Court of Miracles are portrayed. Barrymore as Villon clowns around as the king of fools. Everyone knows him to be a clever poet and he loves his fellow poor people of Paris. He gets mixed up in some political posturing however. The Duke of Burgundy and Thibault want to take over France. The Duke hopes to marry Thibault to King Louis XI's ward Charlotte de Vauxcelles. Conrad Veidt of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is the superstitious, indecisive, and easily manipulated King. He does turn out to be a bit more sympathetic than he appears at first, since Villon remains loyal to the King for some foolish reason. The uppity Charlotte is played by Marceline Day. Of course she rebels against the arranged marriage, escapes by rooftop with our hero, is trapped in a high tower for a time, and reluctantly realizes she loves the rogue Villon. The costumes and scenery take you to Medieval Europe. The performances are strong with Barrymore showing a wide spectrum of emotions. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member A fun lark of a film from the silent era and great introduction for me to the films of John Barrymore as a modest rogue of a poet who helps stand up for the poverty stricken people of his town and trying to win the heart of the fair lady. Managed to catch a fairly decent print in part of the silent film festival at one of the local rep houses. Good times. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member Great showcase for the 'Great Profile', John Barrymore, taking a page from rival Douglas Fairbanks in his swashbuckling portrayal of 15th Century poet Francois Villon. Pretty impressive production for its time. Conrad Veidt (Casablanca's Major Strasser) makes a creepy turn as Louis XI of France - looks a lot like his Casare character from Caligari. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member So I've been on this John Barrymore/Conrad Veidt kick, and when I found out that both of them are in this movie I had to check it out. No surprise that it's awesome! John Barrymore is more gorgeous than ever in this role, and he even ends up in a loin cloth at one point, yowza. His facial expressions and body language are unmatched, especially in romance scenes, so precise and emotive, he's truly brilliant! Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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