The Three Musketeers
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Movie Reviews of The Three Musketeers
Movie Review: Dancing through Dumas
Summary: 5 Stars
Like MGM, for which he made many movies, Gene Kelly was best known for musicals, but he's surprisingly effective in a swashbuckling role, and indeed his version of this classic title is about the best short of Richard Lester's two-volume treatment The Complete Musketeers (The Three Musketeers / The Four Musketeers), even if he does only get second billing. (Indeed, looking at the fight scenes, I suspect Lester had more than a nodding familiarity with this one.) He plays the young Gascon, d'Artagnan, who comes to 17th-Century Paris to become a member of the King's Musketeers, meets up with the three veterans Athos (Van Heflin), Porthos (Gig Young), and Aramis (Robert Coote), recovers the diamond studs given by the Queen (Angela Lansbury) to her beloved Duke of Buckingham (John Sutton), and gains the enmity of Cardinal Richelieu (Vincent Price) and Milady de Winter (Lana Turner), while falling in love with the royal maid Constance Bonacieux (June Allyson).
Kelly in his musicals was noted for the athletic exuberance of his performances and for tending to do his own stunts (to the horror of studio execs), and while he'd made only three of them before this (he was 36 but doesn't look it), you can clearly see the tendency carrying over. Heflin is suitably debauched as the cyncical former Count, Price is wonderfully sinister if just a bit campy (nothing unusual for him), and there's lots of action, intrigue, valorous escapes, humor (would you believe Keenan Wynn as d'Artagnan's valet Planchet? Neither would I, but he seems to handle the part), and color (the costumes are great--watch for Turner's sculpted waves and improbable hats). Some minor alterations have been made to keep the storyline acceptable to post-war mores (Constance is d'Artagnan's landlord's goddaughter, not his wife, and the two are eventually quietly married), but otherwise the original is followed almost as faithfully as Lester later did it. Anyone who enjoys lively swashbuckling should like this movie.
Movie Review: Almost the best screen version
Summary: 5 Stars
The influence of Buster Keaton on Jackie Chan's brand of comedy-action stunt work is well documented, but looking at Gene Kelly's impressively energetic stunt work in George Sidney's lavish 1948 MGM version of The Three Musketeers it's clear that his viewing extended beyond the silent era. The sheer amount of vitality and imagination that goes into the first duel with Richelieu's men is absolutely astounding: it's almost like watching a vintage live-action Tom and Jerry cartoon. Unfortunately, while he shares Douglas Fairbanks Sr.'s athleticism, he also shares his penchant for ham, particularly in the love scenes (this is the performance Kelly sends up mercilessly in Singin' in the Rain's The Duelling Cavalier), but he's never quite bad enough to throw the film of course. George Sidney, who had one of the best eyes for striking composition of any directors at MGM, makes sure it always looks good (this is from the days when Technicolor really was glorious), Herbert Stothart's rousing score carries it along with unashamed gusto (though it could have done without the Tchaikovsky for the love scenes) and there's a fine supporting cast - Van Heflin, Gig Young and Robert Coote round out the Musketeers, Angela Lansbury and Frank Morgan play the royalty, Lana Turner the femme fatale while Vincent Price provides superbly underplayed velvet villainy as Richelieu, beating Ernst Stavro Blofeld to the cat on the lap business by a good 19 years (though he opts for a tortoiseshell tabby rather than a Persian White). Great fun in a Christmas Day kind of way.
Warners' DVD is quite a treat - a fine transfer with the theatrical trailer, brief radio promo, cartoon (though sadly not the obvious choice of Tom and Jerry's The Two Mouseketeers but What Price Fleadom?) and a vintage James Fitzpatrick travelog.
Movie Review: My favorite adaptation, but wish this was in widescreen
Summary: 5 Stars
I have loved this version of the Three Musketeers since I was a child. In pre-VCR days, to see an old movie like this, you had to keep scanning the TV Guide and then stay up to watch it on TV. We didn't have a color TV when I was young, so I never saw this in color until I bought it on VHS. WOW
Lana Turner is an awesomely evil Milady. Vincent Price was so handsome back then, and always played the evil villain so well. Gene Kelly shows what a superb athlete he was in the many swordfights. His comic leaning shows in the lighthearted way he portrayed D'artagnan. He was so versatile--could sing (but not in this movie), dance, perform his own stunts.
Van Heflin is my favorite character in this movie--he is so tortured as Athos. This character was cast and played just the way written by Alexandre Dumas--hard drinking, melancholy, but with a sense of humor.
I did not care for the variance from the book in regards to Constance's character. She was not the landlord's niece, but rather his wife. D'artagnan fell in love with and had an affair with a married woman. I understand that Hollywood moral movie standards did not allow for this behavior in "nice" characters. the change was well done.
So my biggest beef is why is this wonderful movie not out in wide screen?
Movie Review: The big horse
Summary: 5 Stars
In the film, Three Muskateers, starring Gene Kelly and a whole host of other great actors of the 1940's...Mr. Kelly, as D'Artanian (sp) the hopeful new muskateer rides into Paris on an old plow horse that his father gave to him. West of Los Angeles is a city called Thousand Oaks.
In the late 40's, an animal park was built, called Jungleland, that was used to care for animals used in the film industry. The owners bought old horses to be slaughtered and fed to the lions on the property. They bought an old large horse that was seen by the producers and was used in the film as Gene Kelly's horse. After the movie's release, the old horse was put out to pasture and was a favorite attraction at Jungleland.
This was an amazing film with many of the stunts actually being performed by Gene Kelly. Others in the cast are Lana Turner, June Allyson, Van Heflin, Vincent Price, Frank Morgan, Keenan Wynn and lots of character actors with recognizable faces. It was Gene Kelly's first comedy/drama where he did not sing or dance. First released in 1948. Don't hesitate.
Order your copy today.
Richard Clayton
Movie Review: One of my favorite Gene Kelly Movies
Summary: 5 Stars
I love Gene Kelly! In recent years I sense that he hasn't gotten the due he has deserved. I might be the only one that feels this way, but it seems that our world today is steadily forgetting the great silver screen stars of our movie past that showed the rest of hollywood past and present what being a movie star was all about. Maybe that's just the way it is... maybe we can't do anything about it... But that doens't mean I have to like it!
Enough of that.. This is a great movie in it's own right. Based on the Alexandre Dumas classic the movie stays true to the book, and pushed me to find other movies based on classic works. The cast is great! June Allison is so sympathetic (to me at least), and the best supporting character in the movie has to be Vincent Price.
Gene Kelly the star of the film shows in comic chops, as well as his dramatic. I can't imagine any major film actor today being able to do what Gene did athletically in the film. Truely a film for the ages that every Kelly fan, silver screen fan, & Dumas fan should pick up.