A Modern Musketeer (1917)

A young man grows restless living in a small Kansas town, dreaming of the adventures of the Three Musketeers. So in hopes of becoming a modern D'Artagnan, he mounts his steed (a Model T ... See full summary »

Director:

Allan Dwan

Writers:

Allan Dwan (photoplay), F.R. Lyle Jr. (story)

Stars:

Douglas Fairbanks, Marjorie Daw, Kathleen Kirkham

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Douglas Fairbanks	...	Ned Thacker / D'Artagnan
Marjorie Daw	...	Elsie Dodge
Kathleen Kirkham	...	Mrs. Dodge
Eugene Ormonde	...	Forrest Vandeteer
Edythe Chapman	...	Mrs. Thacker
Frank Campeau	...	Chin-de-dah
Tully Marshall	...	James Brown

Storyline

A young man grows restless living in a small Kansas town, dreaming of the adventures of the Three Musketeers. So in hopes of becoming a modern D'Artagnan, he mounts his steed (a Model T Ford) and sets out across the West in search of excitement and adventure.

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Plot Keywords:

kansas | three musketeers | musketeer | family relationships | slapstick comedy | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Western

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Certificate:

TV-G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 December 1917 (USA)

Also Known As:

El moderno mosquetero

Filming Locations:

Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Chinle, Arizona, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Douglas Fairbanks Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

68 min 68 min (2006 alternate)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White (tinted)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The El Tovar Hotel, prominently shown in the movie, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

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Goofs

When Chin-de-dah leads Vandeteer and Elsie through the Canyon, the shadows of the cameraman and another crew member are visible on the ground.

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Crazy Credits

Except for Douglas Fairbanks, whose name appears above the title, there is no cast list. Actors are introduced by intertitle cards just before they appear on the screen. The IMDb cast list therefore uses this "order of appearance" sequence.

User Reviews

Fairbanks before his prime time period in the '20s...

DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS was quite the swashbuckler of his era in the 1920s, especially during the time of his biggest triumphs in ROBIN HOOD, THE THIEF OF BAGDAD, THE MARK OF ZORRO and THE BLACK PIRATE.

But this is an early relic from his silent screen career as early as 1917, and, of course, has to be judged by today's standards of film-making for any potential viewers outside of curious film buffs who want to see it.

Fairbanks was athletic and agile enough, but always looked middle-aged, even though here he's only 34. Furthermore, he looked husky rather than trim--unlike his son, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., a much better looking man. But his physical prowess is amazing. He clambers over fences, cars, horses in a mere jump. He climbs up over anything in his way with the ease of a monkey swinging through trees, exuberantly smiling while he struts his way through whatever impediment is in his way.

And the film itself, for a relic that was filmed in 1917, is in amazingly good condition, fully restored and with a jaunty background score that is not jarring and obtrusive the way so many of the silent film scores were.

The story is really two stories that run concurrently: the D'Artagnan legend is illustrated in a few brief scenes of derring-do with Fairbanks rescuing a damsel in distress. The young Kansas man who desperately wants to leave his provincial roots (in a scene deliriously overplayed by Fairbanks) is also anxious to have a life of adventure and romance, like D'Artagnan. His father and mother give him their blessing and send him on his way--and the rest of the plot is predictable but fun to watch as he finds his own damsel in distress to rescue from a villainous man.

Fun, and thin on plot--but it does move as briskly as Fairbanks himself. Amusing to realize that only twenty years later, his son, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. would be in a little swashbuckler called THE PRISONER OF ZENDA.