"The Beloved Rogue" has everything. It has drama, comedy, adventure, pathos, fantasy all rolled into one entertaining movie. John Barrymore plays 15th century French poet Francois Villon who with his pals Jehan (Slim Summerville), Nicholas (Mack Swain) and Beppo the Dwarf (Angelo Rossito) live among the beggars of Paris. They go about life with a devil may care attitude enjoying the wine, woman and song of the Parisian streets.
The film opens on a serious note with Villon's father being burned at the stake for being a patriot. When Francois grows to be a famous poet, hope is held out that as his father had DIED for France, his son would LIVE for France. But Francois has become a beggar in the streets and is elected as "The King of Fools" by the street crowd. When confronted by the Duke of Burgundy (Lawson Butt) who has designs on the French throne held by King Louis XI (Conrad Veidt), Francois insults him and is ordered arrested by Louis who also happened on the scene.
Francois is banished from the kingdom and is forced to live outside the walls of the city. The Duke of Burgundy asks Louis a favor of allowing his ward Charlotte de Vauxcelles (Marceline Day) to marry his friend Thibault d'Aussigny (Henry Victor). The King reluctantly agrees.
Villon and his pals commandere a wagon full of food and drink bound for the Paris aristocrats. They take over one of Louis' catapults and send the food and drink over the walls to the starving peasants below. To escape the soldiers, Villon catapults himself over the wall landing coincidentally in the bedroom where Charlotte is being held. An immediate attraction ensues. Villon spirits the young woman away over the roof tops to his mother's home. But Louis' soldiers intervene and arrest Villon.
Villon is brought before the King and is sentenced to be hung for breaking his banishment. However, silver tongued Francois talks the King out of the execution because he prevented the marriage of Charlotte to his enemy, which Louis is no longer in favor of. But then....Charlotte is kidnapped by Burgundy's men and taken to his stronghold and imprisoned in a tower.
Villon immediately goes to save her but is felled from the tower by an arrow and taken prisoner. He is brutally tortured to near death and placed in a box which is raised to Charlotte's window to torture her. As the wedding plans proceed, Burgundy brings Francois down to earth planning to publicly disgrace him. But unbeknownst to Burgundy, Francois has rallied the beggars and peasants of Paris to help him. King Louis has also infiltrated the ceremony and....................................................................................
Barrymore was still at the peak of his popularity at this time. His excellent physical condition is evident during the torture sequence. Unfortunately, his career would begin to decline in the 1930s as his high living life style was beginning to catch up to him. Conrad Veidt has largely been forgotten. He is probably best remembered as Major Strasser in "Casablanca", but he had a career dating back to the early silents and gave many memorable performances.
Mack Swain, you might remember, appeared in many of Charlie Chaplin's early two reelers leading up to "The Gold Rush" (1925)
The film opens on a serious note with Villon's father being burned at the stake for being a patriot. When Francois grows to be a famous poet, hope is held out that as his father had DIED for France, his son would LIVE for France. But Francois has become a beggar in the streets and is elected as "The King of Fools" by the street crowd. When confronted by the Duke of Burgundy (Lawson Butt) who has designs on the French throne held by King Louis XI (Conrad Veidt), Francois insults him and is ordered arrested by Louis who also happened on the scene.
Francois is banished from the kingdom and is forced to live outside the walls of the city. The Duke of Burgundy asks Louis a favor of allowing his ward Charlotte de Vauxcelles (Marceline Day) to marry his friend Thibault d'Aussigny (Henry Victor). The King reluctantly agrees.
Villon and his pals commandere a wagon full of food and drink bound for the Paris aristocrats. They take over one of Louis' catapults and send the food and drink over the walls to the starving peasants below. To escape the soldiers, Villon catapults himself over the wall landing coincidentally in the bedroom where Charlotte is being held. An immediate attraction ensues. Villon spirits the young woman away over the roof tops to his mother's home. But Louis' soldiers intervene and arrest Villon.
Villon is brought before the King and is sentenced to be hung for breaking his banishment. However, silver tongued Francois talks the King out of the execution because he prevented the marriage of Charlotte to his enemy, which Louis is no longer in favor of. But then....Charlotte is kidnapped by Burgundy's men and taken to his stronghold and imprisoned in a tower.
Villon immediately goes to save her but is felled from the tower by an arrow and taken prisoner. He is brutally tortured to near death and placed in a box which is raised to Charlotte's window to torture her. As the wedding plans proceed, Burgundy brings Francois down to earth planning to publicly disgrace him. But unbeknownst to Burgundy, Francois has rallied the beggars and peasants of Paris to help him. King Louis has also infiltrated the ceremony and....................................................................................
Barrymore was still at the peak of his popularity at this time. His excellent physical condition is evident during the torture sequence. Unfortunately, his career would begin to decline in the 1930s as his high living life style was beginning to catch up to him. Conrad Veidt has largely been forgotten. He is probably best remembered as Major Strasser in "Casablanca", but he had a career dating back to the early silents and gave many memorable performances.
Mack Swain, you might remember, appeared in many of Charlie Chaplin's early two reelers leading up to "The Gold Rush" (1925)