The Three Musketeers (1921)

The young Gascon D'Artagnan arrives in Paris, his heart set on joining the king's Musketeers. He is taken under the wings of three of the most respected and feared Musketeers, Porthos, ... See full summary »

Director:

Fred Niblo

Writers:

Alexandre Dumas (by: "The Three Musketeers") (as Alexander Dumas), Edward Knoblock (adapted by)

Stars:

Adolphe Menjou, Mary MacLaren, Nigel De Brulier

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Adolphe Menjou	...	Louis XIII
Mary MacLaren	...	Anne of Austria
Nigel De Brulier	...	Cardinal Richelieu (as Nigel de Brulier)
Thomas Holding	...	Duke of Buckingham
Marguerite De La Motte	...	Constance
Willis Robards	...	De Treville
Boyd Irwin	...	Rochefort
Barbara La Marr	...	Milady de Winter
Lon Poff	...	Father Joseph
Walt Whitman	...	D'Artagnan's Father
Sidney Franklin	...	Bonacieux
Charles Belcher	...	Bernajoux
Charles Stevens	...	Planchet
Léon Bary	...	Athos (as Leon Bary)
George Siegmann	...	Porthos

Storyline

The young Gascon D'Artagnan arrives in Paris, his heart set on joining the king's Musketeers. He is taken under the wings of three of the most respected and feared Musketeers, Porthos, Aramis, and Athos. Together they fight to save France and the honor of a lady from the machinations of the powerful Cardinal Richelieu.

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Plot Keywords:

17th century | 1620s | cardinal richelieu | early modern period | kingdom of france | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Romance

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Nigel De Brulier would later reprise his role as Cardinal Richelieu in The Iron Mask (1929), The Three Musketeers (1935) and The Man in the Iron Mask (1939).

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Quotes

Anne of Austria: This is the end! I am lost!

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Connections

Version of The Three Musketeers (1957)

User Reviews

Fun, entertaining silent swashbuckler gives us a skeleton of the Musketeer novel.

D'Artangan (Douglas Fairbanks) goes up against his rival Richelieu (Adolphe Menjou), with the help of his Musketeer friends. There is a plot, something to do with the Queen, but don't ask me what it was.

Like most film adaptations of long (in this case about as long as War and Peace, like all other Dumas books) novels, a lot has been simplified and left out, yet the plot is still hard to follow! This means that people who've read the book complain about the missing parts, and people who haven't read it, complain they can't follow the movie! For this reason, i don't know why anybody ever adapts long novels. In this case, the appeal of the swordplay and romance is a well justified reason for putting these characters onscreen.

Like many entertainment-driven silents, it is impossible to delve too deeply into character, let alone themes - so what we have feels like a fairly empty and superficial version of an epic story.

Enjoyable Fairbanks vehicle is just a piece of fluff, the silent era equivalent of Pirates of the Caribbean - which is no small achievement. It has genuine sword-swishing action, and the dashing and charismatic Fairbanks - who makes for both great comic relief, and a great hero.

Highlight: there is some sparkling little samples of dialogue (title cards), which were unexpectedly hilarious. Mainly in D'Artangan's scenes.

7/10.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

None English

Release Date:

28 August 1921 (USA)

Also Known As:

Os Três Mosqueteiros

Filming Locations:

Raleigh Studios - 5300 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$3,270,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Douglas Fairbanks Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White Color (Wyckoff-DeMill Color) (some sequences)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1