Francis the First (1937)

Christian-Jaque takes Fernandel to the court of François Premier and it is,along with "Raphael le Tatoué " and " Un de la Legion" ,one of their best collaborations.Probably inspired by previous Guitry's "Les Perles de la Couronne" which Christian-Jaque co-directed .Not as witty as Guitry's lines,"François Premier" is thoroughly enjoyable -apart from the scenes dealing with the Inquisition where clumsiness expresses-,full of puns ,of mistaken identities and of anachronisms .

For this journey through the past ,no time machine needed;a wizard's occult powers will nicely do the trick.He is none other than Cagliostro (or one of his great grand children?)In the sixteenth century the "hero" is mistaken for a fair knight Bayard style ;but he's only got his Larousse dictionary for a sword.This mini-encyclopedia will be useful when the time traveler wants to know what the Ordeal is ...or to become a fortune teller revealing the nobles what their future will be;the future is really his to see.La Palice,a man famous for his self-evident statements learns that fifteen minutes before his death ,he will be still alive .

The precedent user is right when he writes that the film could be remade.