The Vagabond King is an old operetta from 1925, adapted first into a film in 1930 with Jeanette MacDonald, and again in 1956 with Kathryn Grayson. I haven't seen the 1930 version, but I did see the 1938 film If I Were King, the story of which-written first in 1901-was the inspiration for the musical.As much as I like Kathryn Grayson, there's just no comparison to the nonmusical version from 1938. The stories and characters are the same, but the added songs are terrible, the lead actor Oreste Kirkop is ridiculous, and the sets and costumes seemed to have been borrowed from The Court Jester. I didn't last the first five minutes without bursting into laughter, seeing all the ways in which The Court Jester had spoofed the movie. As it was, that comedy was released in 1955, so it wasn't intended to be a spoof of The Vagabond King. Still, it seems to be an incredibly funny coincidence.In case you don't know the story, Oreste plays a Robin Hood type who scorns King Louis XI and is the hero of the poor citizens of France. King Louis, played by Cedric Hardwicke, overhears a conversation of how Oreste would be a better ruler, so to humor him, he lets Oreste be "king for a day". Of course, Oreste falls for Kathryn, a noble lady, even though he has the common Rita Moreno back home.Rita Moreno sings the ridiculous song "Vive La You" and the chorus haphazardly dances behind her. Oreste's voice is much too boisterous, and his ego is even funnier than it is annoying. Kathryn is beautiful and has a lovely voice, but she isn't enough to save this terrible musical. If I Were King is a very good movie, so if you like Robin Hood stories, I highly recommend you rent that one. Leave The Vagabond King on the shelf; stick to The Court Jester instead.

The last operetta released by a major studio, and it's a pity, for this adaptation of the 1925 Rudolf Friml war horse is pretty nimble. It stars Oreste, a European tenor with the requisite high notes and a fair amount of dash, as the leader of the Paris rabble; he's quite at ease for such a major screen debut, though his accent, so apparent in song, mysteriously disappears in much of his dialogue, making one wonder if some of his lines were post-dubbed. Kathryn Grayson is her usual shrill and simpering self, albeit in a part Callas herself couldn't have made interesting, and Rita Moreno shows a lot of life and a lot of leg as Huguette. Walter Hampden, as the king, has better lines than most screen kings, and underplays them effectively. Friml, then in his mid-70s, appended his stage score with several new melodies set to adequate Johnny Burke lyrics, and one, "This Same Heart," is quite lovely. It's a studio-bound eyeful, with big sets and colorful costumes that have little to do with reality but everything to do with screen spectacle (did 15th century Parisians really don so much purple and yellow and green?), and the screenplay's pretty erudite for this genre, and Michael Curtiz ably keeps things moving (save a brief, silly Adam and Eve ballet that stops the action dead). Nobody went to it in 1956, audiences just weren't interested in operetta anymore, and they still preferred Mario Lanza to an unknown European quantity. But if you can catch this one--I did on Amazon Prime--you'll get a fine eyeful and earful of the lush melody, sweeping spectacle, and ringing romance that endeared audiences to operetta decades before.

The Vagabond King did have the ingredients in the first place to be good. And it was. The story is rather old-fashioned and has a couple of dull spots, but I also think it is quite charming and well-meant too. You do forget that though when you see the lavish production values, the costumes, sets and photography are all gorgeous to look at, and hear the beautiful score and memorable songs that add so much to the film's quality. Song of the Vagabonds is especially catchy. The choreography and direction, apart from a couple of stage-bound moments, are otherwise skillful. The cast also add a lot. Kathryn Grayson is a charmer, Rita Moreno plays her role with both grace and fire and you can never go wrong with Vincent Price as narrator. The real surprise though was Oreste, handsome in looks, dashing in acting ability and ringingly resonant in voice, one does wonder why he like the film was forgotten afterwards. All in all, a very well-done film that is worthy of more appreciation. 8/10 Bethany Cox

I saw this during its neighborhood run in the year of its release and remember that it made glorious use of Paramount's "high-fidelity" VistaVision process, with some very ripe Technicolor liberally applied to everything about the production (courtesy of the wonderful cinematographer, Robert Burks, who did so much outstanding work for Alfred Hitchcock.)I'd love to revisit this one, despite its very studio-bound aura. It was a feast for the eyes and also for the ears. The handsome tenor, Oreste, had the misfortune to make his screen debut as the Hollywood movie musical was about to be consigned to the fond mists of memory. He and Kathryn Grayson made a great team singing that melodic Friml music.