The Three Musketeers (1973)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Richard Lester

Writers:

George MacDonald Fraser (screenplay)
Alexandre Dumas père (novel)

Release Date:

29 March 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | History | Romance

Tagline:

. . . One for All and All for Fun!

Plot:

A young swordsman comes to Paris and faces villains, romance, adventure and intrigue with three Musketeer friends.

Plot Keywords:

Musketeer | Cardinal | Duel | Villain | Foreign Language Adaptation

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 2 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Oliver Reed	...	Athos
Raquel Welch	...	Constance de Bonacieux
Richard Chamberlain	...	Aramis
Michael York	...	D'Artagnan
Frank Finlay	...	Porthos
Christopher Lee	...	Rochefort
Geraldine Chaplin	...	Anna of Austria
Jean-Pierre Cassel	...	Louis XIII (as Jean Pierre Cassel)
Spike Milligan	...	M. Bonacieux
Roy Kinnear	...	Planchet
Georges Wilson	...	Treville
Simon Ward	...	Duke of Buckingham
Faye Dunaway	...	Milady / Lady de Winter
Charlton Heston	...	Cardinal Richelieu
Joss Ackland	...	D'Artagnan's Father

Also Known As:

The Three Musketeers: The Queen's Diamonds (UK) (complete title) (USA)

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | Singapore:PG | Iceland:L | Netherlands:12 | South Korea:All | Australia:G | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1975) | Sweden:11 | UK:U | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Aranjuez, Madrid, Spain

Company:

Alexander Salkind

Trivia:

Various sources including Charlton Heston's memoirs say that Heston was offered one of the Musketeers - the Oliver Reed or Frank Finlay part - but Heston passed on this role or roles because it was too demanding - he had just done a run of action roles - and also because the part was a bit small, so he chose to play a cameo.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During the first duel with the Cardinal's guards that takes place in the Nunnery - Frank Finlay goes behind a piece of laundry to hide from and surprise his opponent. From off-screen we hear a crew member yell "FRANK!" Then Finlay comes out from behind the laundry to hit his mark and finish the scene.

Quotes:

Cardinal Richelieu: Who is the man that accuses you?
Bonacieux: [Rochefort enters and Bonacieux points at him] That! That is the man!
Count Rochefort: Take him away.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Look, Up in the Sky: The Amazing Story of Superman (2006) (TV)

Best Dumas Adaptation is Spectacular Romp...

THE THREE MUSKETEERS, Richard Lester's comic take of the oft-filmed Dumas adventure story, is not only terrific escapist fare with a brilliant cast, but stands as the most faithful adaptation of the Musketeer saga.

The very length of the novel, with it's many plot twists, had resulted in various truncated adaptations over the years, with MGM's 1948 all-star production the only previous attempt to film more than the first half of the book. Lester, however, backed by producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind, and Wolfdieter von Stein, and working from a unrepentantly bawdy script by legendary scribe George MacDonald Fraser, tackled the novel head-on, with extraordinary results.

The novel's hero, young master swordsman D'Artagnan (portrayed by Michael York at his most boyish), is clearly the product of an impoverished Gascon household, unable to read or write, but filled with dreams of heroism in the elite Musketeers, and "fighting frequent duels". Quickly embarrassed by the smoothly villainous Rochefort (Christopher Lee), and ridiculed by the mysterious Milady de Winter, the lad reaches Paris with a broken sword, but his idealism undimmed. With a borrowed sword, he then blunders into a series of challenges from the three title characters, emotionally scarred alcoholic Athos (Oliver Reed), comic buffoon Porthos (Frank Finlay), and dandified ladies' man/priest wannabe Aramis (Richard Chamberlain). When the Cardinal's Guard attempts to arrest the four as Athos and D'Artagnan begin their duel, the Gascon displays such extraordinary skill with a sword that he is happily welcomed into the band of rogues, who help him procure a servant (the wonderfully comic Roy Kinnear) and lodgings at the home of an old reprobate (Spike Milligan) and his beautiful, if klutzy young wife (Raquel Welch, in her finest comic role), who the boy immediately lusts after. The four friends then embark on a series of hilarious, swashbuckling escapades.

Meanwhile, intrigue runs rampant in the Court; the Queen (Geraldine Chaplin) carries on a clandestine affair with the British Prime Minister, the Duke of Buckingham (Simon Ward), under the oblivious eye of her husband, Louis XIII (Jean-Pierre Cassel), while evil Cardinal Richelieu (Charlton Heston, who is marvelous, 'against type') plots to publicly embarrass her, and reveal her involvement, thus provoking a war with England, and the elimination of France's Protestant faction. The object of betrayal is a multi-jeweled necklace, a gift from Louis, given by the Queen to Buckingham, with two jewels stolen during a tryst by the Cardinal's agent, Milady de Winter. The task of recovering of the necklace, and replacing the missing jewels, is given to D'Artagnan and his Musketeer allies, who 'sacrifice' themselves to help the Gascon reach England.

Climaxing in a wild free-for-all at a Royal Ball, love triumphs, Richelieu is temporarily thwarted, Milady swears revenge against D'Artagnan, and he becomes a full-fledged Musketeer, joining his love and three recovered friends to celebrate.

This constitutes only the FIRST half of the novel and movie, and the filmmakers decided to end the picture at this point, releasing a sequel, THE FOUR MUSKETEERS, a year later, which would cover the darker remainder of the story. While it was a wise decision, no one had informed the cast that they were, in fact, making two movies, and not one, at the time of filming, and the stars quickly filed suit against the Salkinds. After a brief but highly publicized court case, the cast were compensated, and the second, equally enjoyable MUSKETEER film was released.

THE THREE MUSKETEERS (and it's sequel, THE FOUR MUSKETEERS) were triumphs for Lester, the Salkinds, and the matchless ensemble of actors. The films have achieved legendary status, over the years, and taken together, stand, today, as one of the finest comic adventures ever made.

If your experience of the tale is only the more recent Disney version, do yourself a favor, and catch the Lester films. You won't be disappointed!