The Three Musketeers

USA 1935
produced by
RKO
directed by Rowland V. Lee
starring Walter Abel, Ian Keith, Margot Grahame, Paul Lukas, Moroni Olsen, Onslow Stevens, Heather Angel, Rosamond Pinchot, John Qualen, Murray Kinnell, Nigel De Brulier, Lumsden Hare, Miles Mander, Ralph Forbes, Stanley Blystone, Ralph Faulkner, Lionel Belmore
screenplay by Rowland V.Lee, Dudley Nichols, based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas père, music by Max Steiner

Three Musketeers

review by
Mike Haberfelner

This story might sound familiar to you:

France, the 17th century: D'Artagnan (Walter Abel), a young Gascon, comes to Paris to become a Musketeer, challenges the three finest and fiercest Musketeers (Paul Lukas, Moroni Olsen, Onslow Stevens) to duels all on the same day, but ends up becoming friends with them - and before you know it, he learns about a love affair between the Queen of France (Rosamond Pinchot) and English Lord Buckingham (Ralph Forbes), and as a token of their love, the Queen hands Buckingham some one-of-a-kind jewellery.

Somehow, the evil Count de Rochefort (Ian Keith) and his partner in crime Milady de Winter (Margot Grahame) learn about this, and since they want to start a war between France and England, they persuade the King (Miles Mander) to tell his queen to wear the jewellery at some official function a mere ten days away. Fortunately though, the Queen's lady-in-waiting Constance (Heather Angel) just happens to be D'Artagnan's girlfriend, and she tells him, he fetches the thrree Musketeers, and off they are on their way to England. One after the other though, the three Musketeers are left behind to guard D'Artagnan's back, while he eventually falls prey to Milady de Winter, who makes him his captive ... but carries the jewellery in question with her and inexplicably lets D'Artagnan know. Then she makes a stop at exactly the inn where the three Musketeers await D'Artagnan's return ... and they free their friend and make the Milady their captive (she soon kills herself, too).

Of course, in the end, D'Artagnan delivers the jewellery to the Queen just in time ...

Basically, this first Hollywood sound version of The Three Musketeers is a pretty forgettable affair. It comes off as incredibly heavy-handed when it's supposed to be light-footed, is ill-paced, leaves too much action out of the frame, is hampered by a boring lead mediocre cast that lacks exceptional talents, and is generally just boring.

To put it another way, it's hardly surprising that this version of the story is by now largely forgotten.

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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