WHY YOU NEVER HEARD OF LOUIE THE 17th

January 21 . . .

Louie the 16th (formally known as Louis the XVI) wasn’t the most popular monarch in the history of France – which is why, on this day in 1793, he was executed by guillotine in the Place de la Revolution in Paris. By most accounts, he was ill suited for his job; a pleasant enough aristocrat, he was simply in . . ahem . . . over his head . . the victim of poor timing, a bad economy, unfortunate circumstance and unfavorable numerology. His wife, the cake-craving Marie Antoinette, suffered the same fate as her husband nine months later.

Commemorate the demise of the French aristocracy with ‘Start the Revolution Without Me’ (1970), an underappreciated farce that revolves around Louis’s court and the intrigues of the French Revolution. The unlikely team of Gene Wilder and Donald Sutherland are genuinely funny together as two sets of twins separated at birth, who find themselves on opposing sides of the revolution. It’s the kind of silly wink at history that brings to mind what was best about Mel Brooks – except that this film wasn’t by Mel Brooks; it was written and directed by Bud Yorkin, who would go on to create All In The Family with Norman Lear. Orson Welles lends a certain class as the narrator – for the first 5 minutes of the film. That was all the filmmakers could afford him for.

Enjoy this clip . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Grjph8pQmPg