1938 – Basil Rathbone
If I Were King
Basil Rathbone’s outstanding performance in this movie took me completely by surprise, and here’s why. The only kind of film I remember seeing him in are swashbuckling movies in which he is a master swordsman and fencer. Even though he generally plays the villain, he is still handsome, brash, bold, and courageous. He is always witty, confident, and even arrogant. But here he plays against that go-to character, and creates a weaselly, sniveling, devious, childish, and crafty king, who looks and behaves like he has never touched a sword in his life.
And yet he pulled it off perfectly. Not only that, he actually made me like the character by the end of the film. The part was so well-written. King Louis XI could so easily have been portrayed as a typical bad-guy, as many villains are in films. But even though he did have plenty of negative qualities, he also had several redeeming traits as well, and Rathbone made them all believable. The part was so contrary to his normal role, his performance impressed me, and showed me a completely different side of the actor. He was amazing.
He created a memorable character. Some of his little quirks were his distinctive cackling laugh, his hunched shoulders, his small steps, his perpetual sneer. He played a little weasel. Clever, confident, and petulant, all at the same time. There was only one thing that I didn’t really care for, but I don’t hold it against him. He was no worse than any of the other actors in the film, certainly no worse than the film’s lead, Ronald Colman. The story takes place in France, but half the cast had a decidedly British accent. The other half had obvious American accents. There was no consistency, and no attention to that little detail.
But like I said, the character was written quite well. He actually had a sense of honor… a skewed one, maybe, but honor nonetheless. There was a touch of honesty and at times, a sense of fairness and decency. After watching the end of the movie, I would hesitate to call his character a villain. I might categorize him as an antagonist, but not a villain. And I think Rathbone’s Oscar nomination was well-deserved. It was the perfect marriage of a smart script and a great actor.