MCM: King François I of France

21 thoughts on “MCM: King François I of France”

1. The dude in the first image of The Tudors is Mark Smeaton,not Francois.That obnoxious goatee is hard to miss.
   Most portrayals are rather lacklustre,but he had a dignified depiction in Ever After(albeit too dignified,as audience seeks a little more from a handsome French Monarch).

2. One thing Ever After gets right is that he brought Leonardo da Vinci to France.

3. Don’t forget his sister, Marguerite of Navarre. Can’t really ttpe left handed . Right handed but rotator cuff surgery Friday

   1. Good luck and a speedy recovery!

      1. Thanks. You don’t know how this has cut down my tweets. And I’m still trying to figure how to vote in person. Can’t drive. Nor sign stuff so vote by mail is out.

   2. Hope you feel better soon!

4. Great list, but you missed an early one.

   “The Sword and the Rose” is a remake of a 1922 Marion Davies silent vehicle “When Knighthood Was in Flower,” based on a popular book of the same title.

   That version had an early appearance by William Powell as Francis I:

   https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0013750/mediaviewer/rm620310272

5. Is that Judy Parfitt in Ever After? Because we need a WCW for her.

6. Hoy! Is that Glynis Johns as Mary Rose in “The S and the R”? Her styling is a ringer for her “Court Jester” role two years later, when the rebel Captain Jean is made over into a court lady to spy on the king. (Has Glynis done enough frock flicks to get her own WCW? She is still alive at 97, and deserves the love.)

   1. That IS Glynis Johns! She looks fabulous.

7. The Ever After thing has ALWAYS confused me.

   They’re dressed in Renaissance gowns, which places them in the late 1400s.

   Da Vinci is at the French Court, which happened in 1516.

   Danielle has owned a copy of Thomas More’s Utopia since childhood (published in 1516). Most of the story takes place a decade later, so 1526.

   Except Da Vinci was dead by 1519.

   And they are talking about Katharine of Aragon and Henry VIII’s divorce as if it has already happened (“Divorce is something they only do in England”) which didn’t happen until 1533.

   So… yeah.

   I tried wrapping my teenage head around that when the movie first came out, and am still doing it all these years later. XD

8. All I know about Francois and Henry is that they staged the Field of the Cloth of Gold, the most lavish tournament in history, probably to show who had the longest lance and the deepest pockets.

   1. I snicker. But historians agree with you. It was a fabulous extravaganza that basically accomplished nothing of diplomatic value. However a good time was had by all and that’s something.

      Henry and Francis had a lifelong and intense rivalry. Ditto for Charles V and Francis. Much of England’s international importance at the time was directly due to the French/Imperial conflict and both sides courted Henry looking for an edge. Henry recognized that playing them against each other was in England’s best interest.

9. I’ve also never understood why Henry I didn’t get more love on screen. 1. His castle, Chateau de Chambord is amazing. So, is one of his other castles, Chateau d’Amboise. They would be BEAUTIFUL filming locations!! 2. His association with Leonardo DaVinci alone is an interesting angle. I liked his portrayal in Ever After, but as has been mentioned, it barely counts as “Francis I”. Of the pictures above, my favorite costume is from If Paris Were Told To Us.

   1. Isn’t that costume great? It’s straight out of the Clouet portrait in the post.

      1. Great catch, Boxermom! I totally didn’t see the resemblance until you pointed it out!

10. Francis may have stayed married til death did them part but he was a lousy, unfaithful husband who both Claude and Eleanor may have been more than happy to be neglects by. He had a nasty habit of saying vicious, catty things about important women of his times, calling Mary the French Queen ‘More dirty than queenly’ and Catherine of Aragon’ old and deformed’ which is why I take his characterization of Mary Boleyn as his favorite ride with a chunk of salt.
    If Mary had truly made herself infamous in France as claimed she’d scarcely have been accepted as a maid of honor. Ditto for Anne.

11. Bassave from “Carlos” was a very good Francis, and his clothes were outstanding! Clothes in “Carlos” were very good in general imho.
    The man in the 1st photo of the Tudors, dancing with Anne Boleyn is Mark Smeaton, the beheades luteplayer

    1. beheadeD*

12. The hat in The Tudors is nothing compared to the patently plastic jewels.

    1. I actually love Francois’ turquoise outfit in The Tudors. And he just annoys Henry VIII so much!

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