The Three Musketeers (1935) Directed by Rowland V. Lee
Action / Adventure / Drama / Romance
Film Review
The first English-language sound film adaptation of Alexandre Dumas'
novel The Three Musketeers is
a sprightly romp that manages to compress most of the action of the
original tome into a hectic ninety minute gallop. The production
values are surprisingly good for an R.K.O. film of this time and
Rowland V. Lee directs the film with gusto. The swordfight scenes
are masterfully choreographed but the lack of a charismatic lead
prevents the film from have anything like the impact of other
adaptations of Dumas' famous swashbuckler. Fine actor though he
is, Walter Abel makes a dreary D'Artagnan, and the eponymous musketeers
are so hard to tell apart that they merge into a kind of lumbering
three-headed blob. Margot Grahame spices things up a little with
her deliciously evil Milady de Winter, but Ian Keith's villainous de
Rochefort has even less presence than the sword-fighting heroes.
Compared with some of the other screen adaptations of The Three Musketeers this one is
pretty undistinguished, although it does give the musketeers an amusing
little ditty.
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Film Synopsis
France, 1625. The young D'Artagnan leaves his home in Gascony and
sets out for Paris, hoping to serve under King Louis XIII as a
musketeer. Within hours of his arrival in the capital, he manages
to insult three of the king's musketeers, Athos, Porthos and Aramis,
but having challenged them to a duel he impresses with his
sword-fighting skills, foiling an attempt at capture by the guards of
Cardinal Richelieu. In his lodgings, D'Artagnan is visited by
Constance, lady-in-waiting to Queen Anne, who has arranged a secret
meeting between her queen and the Duke of Buckingham, an English
nobleman. The latter is threatening to start a war against France
but the Queen dissuades him, securing a pact of peace with a gift of
diamonds given to her by the King. When he hears of this, the
calculating Count de Rochefort sees an opportunity to discredit the
Queen and depose the King. He enlists the help of Milady de
Winter to steal the Queen's diamonds from Buckingham. Realising
that her honour and life are in peril, the Queen appeals to D'Artagnan
and his three musketeer friends to recover the diamonds before de
Rochefort can bring his wicked plans to fruition...
Script: Dudley Nichols (play),
Rowland V. Lee (play), Alexandre Dumas père (novel)
Cinematographer: J. Peverell Marley
Music: Max Steiner
Cast: Walter Abel (d'Artagnan),
Paul Lukas (Athos),
Margot Grahame (Milady de Winter),
Heather Angel (Constance),
Ian Keith (de Rochefort),
Moroni Olsen (Porthos),
Onslow Stevens (Aramis),
Rosamond Pinchot (Queen Anne),
John Qualen (Planchet),
Ralph Forbes (Duke of Buckingham),
Nigel De Brulier (Richelieu),
Murray Kinnell (Bernajou),
Lumsden Hare (de Treville),
Miles Mander (King Louis XIII),
Lionel Belmore (King and Peasant Inn Proprietor),
Stanley Blystone (Villard - de Winter's Captain),
Wade Boteler (Peylerand),
Ralph Faulkner (Jussac),
Frank Lackteen (Paris Gate Watch),
Ferdinand Munier (First Innkeeper)
Country: USA
Language: English
Support: Black and White
Runtime: 96 min
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