The Three Musketeers (1948)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

George Sidney

Writers:

Alexandre Dumas père (novel)
Robert Ardrey (screenplay)

Release Date:

20 October 1948 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Romance

Tagline:

Mightiest of All Romantic Adventures! ...Storming it's way to the screen with unbelievable excitement!

Plot:

D'Artagnan and his musketeer comrades thwart the plans of Royal Prime Minister Richelieu to usurp the King's power.

Plot Keywords:

Musketeer | Prime Minister | Friendship | Honor | God Daughter

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Lana Turner	...	Lady de Winter
Gene Kelly	...	D'Artagnan
June Allyson	...	Constance
Van Heflin	...	Athos
Angela Lansbury	...	Queen Anne
Frank Morgan	...	King Louis XIII
Vincent Price	...	Richelieu
Keenan Wynn	...	Planchet
John Sutton	...	The Duke of Buckingham
Gig Young	...	Porthos
Robert Coote	...	Aramis
Reginald Owen	...	Treville
Ian Keith	...	Rochefort
Patricia Medina	...	Kitty
Richard Wyler	...	Albert (as Richard Stapley)

Also Known As:

Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G | West Germany:12 | Argentina:Atp | Finland:K-12 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

In the original novel Constance was the wife, not the goddaughter of D'Artagnan's landlord. By 1948 standards, a hero like D'Artagnan would never dally with a married woman.

Goofs:

Continuity: Over the first hour of the movie, Countess de Winter's mole is below and to the left of her mouth. When Richelieu introduces her to D'Artagnan, her mole is below and to the right of her right eye. When she breaks a mirror several minutes later, she has no mole at all. She then gets dressed and meets D'Artagnan in her parlor without a mole. During their conversation, it reappears near her right eye. When they start wrestling, the mole is again missing. The mole appears, disappears and moves throughout the movie.

Quotes:

D'Artagnan: I come from the end of the earth to implore you.
Constance Bonacieux: I thought you said you came from upstairs.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Singin' in the Rain (1952)

A great movie with spectacular and skillful sword fights

Being only 20 years old, it may be strange for me to have a favourite actor who's era of greatness was that of the mid 20th century. However, the 1948 version of Dumas' 'Three Musketeers' continues to remain one of my favourite movies, especially with the enigmatic performance of Gene Kelly being at the forefront.

The story follows the journey of a young Gascon named D'artagnan who endeavours to become one of King Louis XIV (I think) musketeers. I must point out that at this point, I always thought that there were only EVER three musketeers. However I soon realised that the three charcters at the focus of the story are but three of a large cadre of the aforementioned individuals.

The reason I liked this movie was not for its intriguing story but for the sword fights. The only other movie where I have seen sword fighting of such a skillful measure is that of the duel between Mandy Patinkin and Cary Elwes in 'The Princess Bride'. Even the newer version of 'The Man in the Iron Mask' and the pitifully woeful version of the 'Three Musketeers' starring Kiefer Sutherland, fail to master that sleek elegance and skill that is evident in the Gene Kelly version: rather they resort to a series of hard whacks and punches to achieve their aim.

Even though several of the death scenes involve the swords clearly being passed under armits and next to hips (similar to one of my favourite scenes in Cy Enfield's 'Zulu', where Hook, a soldier, stabs a Zulu with a bayonet under his armpit, and we are witness to a clear indent in the wall), this movie remains one of the better versions of Dumas's novel.

I give it 8.5 out of 10

James Durham