Tue 18 May 2010
Movie Review: THE THREE MUSKETEERS (1935).
Posted by Steve under Action Adventure movies , Reviews[13] Comments
THE THREE MUSKETEERS. Radio Pictures, 1935. Walter Abel (D’Artagnan), Ian Keith (Count de Rochefort), Margot Grahame (Milady de Winter), Paul Lukas (Athos), Moroni Olsen (Porthos), Onslow Stevens (Aramis), Heather Angel (Constance), Rosamond Pinchot (Queen Anne), John Qualen (Planchet). Based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas père. Director & co-screenwriter: Rowland V. Lee.
When I sat down to watch this, I was taken a bit by surprise. I thought I’d taped the 1948 version. The one with Lana Turner and Gene Kelly? In color? And this one was in black and white and starred Walter Abel.
Walter Abel? Much better a young Walter Cronkite, I thought, than Walter Abel. But even though he was already 37, this was essentially Walter Abel’s screen debut, and as D’Artagnan, the young man who joins the other three musketeers to foil a plot against Queen Anne of France in the 1600s, he shows just enough zeal and wild abandon to carry the day. (He’s the one on the right in the photo above.)
Or so I thought. The general opinion of this movie appears to be rather low, so I may be in the minority on this.
It doesn’t help that none of the other leading players of this movie were big box office stars, then or now. Not that they were unknowns. Paul Lucas, for one, was in numerous films and won an Oscar for Watch on the Rhine, and Margot Grahame was still making movies or on TV through 1959, but neither name, I’m sure, would be recognized in many homes today.
It also doesn’t help that 1600s France and who was King and who was Queen and who in their court and retinue was plotting against whom are some of things that most people no longer know very much about. I suspect that most high school history courses covered that material much more thoroughly in 1935 than I’m sure they do today.
It also doesn’t help that except for Walter Abel, all of the musketeers look alike, and so do most of the other male players, all in proper garb, it is assumed, but nonetheless all but interchangeable.
But there is a good sense of humor that comes along with this version, though, and of course lots and lots of swordplay. (Not many muskets, however, if any.) The story line follows that of the book well enough, as I recall, and you can never go wrong with that, making it about half way through, again as I recall, before wrapping things up, and rather tidily, too.
May 18th, 2010 at 10:55 pm
Considering there isn’t a swashbuckler in the lot this is over all a decent version of the classic with Abel showing a bit of zeal despite being terribly miscast. Ironically the musical version with Don Ameche and the Ritz Brothers is a sprightly entertaining film, and much more worthy of the source and your time despite the slapstick comedy and musical numbers.
But Walter Abel, Paul Lukas, Onslow Stevens, and Moroni Olsen as the immortal musketeers — could they have found four less likely Musketeers? I suppose Groucho, Chico, Harpo, and Zeppo were busy.
Abel’s leading man career didn’t last long, but he had a good career as a character actor for a long time and even a catch phrase: “I’m not happy. I’m not happy,” from the Mitchel Leisen Billy Wilder scripted film ARISE MY LOVE with Ray Milland, Claudette Colbert, and Dennis O’Keefe. He had a nice bit in MIRAGE as a scientist who had betrayed his colleagues late in his career.
Back to the Musketeers, they were better served by Warren William, Alan Hale, Bert Roach, and Miles Mander in James Whale’s 1939 THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK with Louis Hayward doing most of buckling of swashes for the middle age quartet.
May 18th, 2010 at 11:13 pm
David —
I’ve been wondering about the Ritz Brothers and how they fared as three of the Fab Four, or impostors thereof. Not very well, I’d have thought, but you’re not the only who’s told me that it’s entertaining and worth watching.
I never have — watched it, that is — and all things considered, not that I’m doubting you in the least, not being much of a Ritz Brothers fan, I’m not going to believe it until I see it!
— Steve
May 18th, 2010 at 11:28 pm
The Ritz Brothers don’t actually play Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, but three actors who end up impersonating them to help (and hinder) Amechee’s D’Artagnan.
I’m not much of a fan of the Brothers either, but this is surprisingly good, a cleverly written and entertaining film. Douglas Dumbrille, John ‘Dusty’ King, and Russel Hicks are Athos, Aramis, and Porthos. In addition Miles Mander is Richelieu and Lionel Atwill is Rochefort with Joseph Schidlekraut as the King, Binnie Barnes as Milady Gloria Stuart the Queen, and John Carradine as a Navreau.
It’s much better than you might expect.
May 19th, 2010 at 12:24 am
Maybe it’s because I grew up in the 60s, but for sheer entertainment value I think the Richard Lester version can’t be beat. The screenplay by George MacDonald Fraser–one of my favorite authors because of his Flashman books–is very amusing
And Michael York (D’Artagnan), Frank Finlay (Porthos), and especially Oliver Reed (Athos), Richard Chamberlain (Aramis), and Faye Dunaway (Milady) are wonderful embodiments of the characters.
Geraldine Chaplin (Anne of Austria) and Christopher Lee (Rochefort)are quite splendid too. Really an extraordinary cast…
May 19th, 2010 at 1:16 am
Rick
You failed to mention Raquel Welch as Constance and Charlton Heston as Cardinal Richelieu. What a cast!
It’s been quite a while since I saw this one — it was 1973 when it came out, wasn’t it? — but if I remember it correctly, I’m sure they even used muskets.
You’re right. Of all the times the story’s been filmed, if this isn’t the best, I don’t know which one is.
Steve
May 19th, 2010 at 1:30 am
I just went to Amazon to pick up the two-disk set of the The Three Musketeers/The Four Musketeers and ended up buying CROSSED SWORDS also. Fraser was involved with this one also, an adaptation of Mark Twain’s PRINCE & THE PAUPER.
It stars Oliver Reed, Raquel Welch, Mark Lester, Ernest Borgnine, George C. Scott, Rex Harrison, and David Hemmings among others.
I’ve never seen it and I couldn’t resist.
I’ve also just discovered that there was an earlier version of CROSSED SWORDS, one done back in 1954 with Errol Flynn and Gina Lollobrigida. It’s scarce. One person left a comment on IMDB calling it the “Holy Grail for Flynn fans.”
It sounds like a must-see to me.
May 19th, 2010 at 5:19 am
Don’t forget THE RETURN OF THE THREE MUSKETEERS Lester’s version of TWENTY YEARS AFTER in which he and his cast returned to visit the Musketeers later in their career. For that matter if you are including Fraser related swashbucklers ROYAL FLASH is terrific despite the miscasting of Malcolm MacDowall as Flashy.
The Lester films are clearly the best, but there is much to be said for the fine 1948 MGM version including a splendid cast with Gene Kelly’s acrobatics worthy of Doug Fairbanks and a remarkable cast including Lana Turner, Van Heflin, Gig Young, Robert Coote, Vincent Price, Frank Morgan, June Allyson, John Sutton, Angela Lansbury, and Keenan Wynn. It’s a glossy Technicolor delight.
And worth a look AT SWORD’S POINT, a silly but entertaining swashbuckler with the children of the original Musketeers and featuring Maureen O’Hara, Cornell Wilde, Dan O’Herlihy, Robert Douglas, and Alan Hale Jr..
In general Dumas and his Museketeers have been well served on film over the years — I’d even recommend a recent (relatively) French film with Sophie Marceau as D’Artagnan’s daughter and Phillipe Noiret the older Gascon THE REVENGE OF THE MUSKETEERS.
And the Leonardo DeCapprio MAN IN THE IRON MASK with Gabriel Byrne as D’Artagnan and Gerard DePardieu as a magnificent Porthos is well worth seeing as well.
And in regard to CROSSED SWORDS I’ll go so far as to say it is the best version of the Twain tale thanks to Fraser’s intelligent script and Heston’s Henry VIII. Though it is hard to beat the Errol Flynn version, or for that matter Mickey Mouse’s outings in both this and THE THREE MUSKETEERS.
If you like this sort of thing — and I obviously do — find the wonderful French swashbuckler EN GARDE (ON GUARD) from director Phillipe de Broca. It’s based on the Dumas era classic by Paul Feval pere, LE BOSSU (the Hunchback).
Feval was a contemporary of Dumas, Eugene Sue, and Hugo and author of some of the most imaginative and important popular fiction in French literature (much of it reprinted by Black Coats Press — his son Paul Feval fils wrote a long series of swashbuckler’s teaming D’Artagnan and Cyrano de Bergerac).
LE BOSSU is his best known work and has been filmed and done on stage countless times, but this is the best film version, and a masterpiece of modern swashbuckling.
It’s the story of a heroic student who raises the daughter of his aristocratic fencing instructor after his murder and posing as the mysterious hunchback Le Bossu, plots with the now grown daughter an elaborate revenge worthy of Monte Cristo on her father’s murderer. The de Broca film features imaginative swordplay, spectacular sets and stunts, and fine performances, as well as a witty and well written script.
May 19th, 2010 at 5:57 am
Steve
Other than the title the 1954 CROSSED SWORDS (IL MAESTRO DE DON GIOVANNI) has nothing to do with the 1977 film being a swashbuckler set in Italy. In addition to Lolabrigida the cast includes Nadja Gray and Cesare Danova. It is a good late example of Flynn enjoying himself on screen.
Ironically Flynn did star in THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER back in 1937 directed by William Keighly and with a fine cast including twins Billy and Bobby Maunch, Claude Rains, Alan Hale, Barton MacLane, Henry Stepehenson, and Montagu Love. Flynn doesn’t show up until mid film (as in the book), but it’s a rousing piece of entertainment though the version I’ve seen needs to be restored and cleaned up badly.
Flynn also seemed to have a good time in THE WARLORD as Prince Edward, the Black Prince with Peter Finch another good late swashbuckler in his career.
May 19th, 2010 at 10:36 am
David
Amazon is good. You buy one movie and they give you a choice of six or seven more that you might want as well. I resisted temptation for now on RETURN OF THE MUSKETEERS, but they hooked me last night on ROYAL FLASH, not that I needed much hooking, even before I read your comments above.
I’ll add the rest of your recommendations to my Wish List. I haven’t seen an Errol Flynn movie in a long time. I don’t know why. Rather foolish of me, I’d say.
— Steve
May 19th, 2010 at 12:33 pm
Anyone seen Abel Gance’s CYRANO AND D’ARTAGNAN? A long-ago magazine article in pre-DVD, pre-streaming-video days whetted my interest. There’s a clip on Google Videos which suggests that the movie is worth watching for Sylva Koscina and Dalhia Lavi if nothing else. … Other baby boomers may remember the old LEAVE IT TO BEAVER episode in which the Beav was assigned to write a book report on The Three Musketeers. Not knowing anything about the novel, he thought he’d lucked out when the movie played on the late show, and he based his paper on the film. It turned out to be the Ritz Brothers version.
May 19th, 2010 at 1:30 pm
I must admit that I didn’t even know that the version of 3 MUSKETEERS that appears in this post even existed. My favourites are the Gene Kelly and the probably definitive Richard Lester adaptions of the story
I’m such a sucker for a swashbuckler that I think that I’ve seen nearly all of the different movies mentioned here. As well as the silly but wonderful AT SWORDS POINT, I must also make a mention of AGAINST ALL FLAGS. This wonderfully daft Erroll Flynn Pirate movie has Maureen O’Hara as Spitfire Stevens-Lady Pirate. You know, if you’re anything like me you believe that movies, and especially colour movies, were invented so that we would be able to watch O’Hara swordfighting!
May 19th, 2010 at 2:56 pm
Bradstreet
Technicolor was invented just so we could see O’Hara period. But she is the only true female swashbuckler — picking a favorite of her sword fighting roles is hard, but AGAINST ALL FLAGS and AT SWORDS POINT are great ones, although THE SPANISH MAIN, despite an uninspired lead in Paul Henried, features fine villainy from Walter Slezak and the great Binne Barnes as Anne Bonney. She is also great in THE BLACK SWAN with Tyrone Power and Thomas Mitchell and a virtually unrecognizable George Sanders as Redbeard. Laird Cregar is a delight as Henry Morgan and there is additional villainy by Anthony Quinn. It may be the best swashbuckler that never gets mentioned with the greats despite being a major production based on a novel by Sabatini and one of the best films of its kind ever made.
Check out Richard Sale’s FIRE OVER AFRICA to see how O’Hara fares as a tough undercover cop battling drug smuggling in a non swashbuckler that reteams her with Binnie Barnes and Macdonald Carey in international intrigue. Nothing great, but fun to see O’Hara as a tough Bondish undercover agent.
Though I haven’t seen it, I think the Abel Gance film is based on one or more of the books by Paul Feval fils that I mention. I’m not sure if anyone is certain if the historical D’Artagnan and Cyrano met, though it certainly seems likely as they were both Musketeers and in some of the same battles. Since Cyrano was a celebrity even then and D’Artagnan ended up a Marshal of France it would seem inescapable that the did meet. H. Bedford-Jones had them meeting in his novel D’ARTAGNAN too, so it is a popular idea.
Athos, Porthos, and Aramis appear to have been the real life brothers of the historical D’Artagnan, though there is, sadly, no real life Milady de Winter — though she likely had enough real models.
Incidentally the Lester film is the only one where the muskets play much if any role, though I think they come into play in one battle scene in the 1948 version if I remember correctly.
And is anyone but me still impressed by that standing back flip Gene Kelly does in the 1948 version during the duel on the beach? I don’t think even Doug Fairbanks could top that.
March 30th, 2011 at 9:10 pm
Hello,
Where can I get the 1935 version with walter able. I think this one is good in a strange sort of way. I rented it form Blockbuster about ten years ago on VHS. I can’t find it now anywhere. Does anyone know how and where I can get it?
Thanks,
Thomas