This entertaining swashbuckler does not deserve such a low rating; if you forget history ,you can appreciate the nice cinematography ,particularly the scenes in the Pyrénées mountain , Jean-Claude Pascal as the dashing hero and mainly the great Madeleine Robinson, very convincing as François Premier's mother ,Louise De Savoie ,who played a prominent part during her regencies .
The Connétable de Bourbon, whose accomplice is no other than the governor of Languedoc , embraced Charles Quint's cause and fought against his king who was defeated in Pavie and was held in captivity in Madrid .This traitor had ,at least in history ,some excuses:after the death of his wife,Suzanne De Bourbon , the queenmother seized her properties and fiefs ;moreover, the Connetable was handsome and Louise had reportedly a crush on him , which turned into hatred .
In the first scene , the queenmother who puts her trust in her southsayer(Michel Galabru) is closer to
the king's future daughter-in-law ,Catherine De Medicis.
Jean -Claude Pascal is in charge of carrying the ransom to Spain and he wields the sword with gusto ;apart from Robinson,the female characters ( including Valérie Lagrange ,later ...a rock singer) are purely decorative ; on should note that the king's young sons were sent to Charles Quint as hostages first ,and that they were released when the gold arrived.
