The Three Musketeers (1948)

Director:

George Sidney

Writers:

Alexandre Dumas père (novel)
Robert Ardrey (screenplay)

Release Date:

20 October 1948 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Drama | History | 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 | Hangover | Alcoholic

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Lana Turner	...	Lady de Winter / Charlotte
Gene Kelly	...	D'Artagnan
June Allyson	...	Constance
Van Heflin	...	Athos / Robert
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:

Robert Taylor, Ricardo Montalban, and Sydney Greenstreet were originally cast as Athos, Aramis and Richelieu.

Goofs:

Continuity: Near the end of the movie, D'Artagnan removes and drops his hat as he leaps into the water from the castle parapet. Seconds later, he is riding at full gallop with his hat on.

Quotes:

D'Artagnan: I kissed the Queen's hand!
Constance Bonacieux: Have you no higher ambitions?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Biography: Angela Lansbury: A Balancing Act" (1998)

exciting spectacle from MGM

MGM pulled out all the stops for this 1948 version of "The Three Musketeers." Filmed in color and directed by George Sidney, it has a large, all-star cast consisting of Gene Kelly, Lana Turner, June Allyson, Van Heflin, Cornell Wilde, Vincent Price, Angela Lansbury, Robert Coote, Frank Morgan, Keenan Wynn and John Sutton. Gene Kelly is D'Artagnan, who arrives to join the Musketeers and ends up having to fight three duels in a day with Athos (Heflin), Porthos (Young) and Aramis (Coote). They all wind up friends.

The Musketeers' first assignment is to steal the Queen's jewels back for her - a gift of twelve diamond studs from her husband (Morgan). She has given them to her lover, the Duke of Buckingham, but now needs them back to wear in nine days' time. Cardinal Richlieu (Price), anxious to reveal the secret relationship between the two, dispatches his evil mistress, Lady De Winter (Turner) to steal two of the studs. Richlieu wants France to declare war against England and completely destroy the King's powers.

The Musketeers have to get the jewels from the Duke and return with them to Paris. With two diamond studs missing, they have an added task of picking up two replacements from a jeweler and getting them to the Queen in time to wear them at a banquet. In the process of all of this, D'Artagnan falls in love with the Queen's lady-in-waiting, Constance (Allyson).

All of the acting is wonderful, with the role of Lady De Winter expanded from the original book. Lana Turner is perfect as De Winter - gorgeous, cool, irresistible and deadly. The scenes between Constance and De Winter toward the end of the film are among the best in the movie, very suspenseful (and different from the book). Turner to me looks carefully made up to hide some extra pounds, not to mention being tightly corsetted. The movie was filmed right after Lana had broken up with the great love of her life, Tyrone Power, which may have had something to do with it.

Van Heflin is sympathetic and strong as Athos, who has a past with De Winter and still loves her, and Vincent Price makes an excellent Cardinal Richlieu. Gene Kelly is the ideal D'Artagnan, and his casting is very clever, giving him a chance to show the great athleticism that contributed so much to his dancing. His swordplay is amazing, really making the swordfights entertaining. Though the role has very serious moments, Kelly gives it a lightness and humor when needed. Especially fun is the scene where D'Artagnan, in the dark, poses as Lady De Winter's lover.

There are, as mentioned, many versions of this Dumas classic. This one is vividly entertaining, colorful and energetic, with a very attractive cast, good direction, and a thrilling score. Highly recommended.