The Four Musketeers: Milady's Revenge (1974)

The Four Musketeers defend the queen and her dressmaker from Cardinal Richelieu and Milady de Winter.

Director:

Richard Lester

Writers:

George MacDonald Fraser (screenplay) (as George Macdonald Fraser), Alexandre Dumas (novel)

Stars:

Michael York, Raquel Welch, Oliver Reed

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Oliver Reed	...	Athos
Raquel Welch	...	Constance de Bonancieux
Richard Chamberlain	...	Aramis
Michael York	...	D'Artagnan
Frank Finlay	...	Porthos
Christopher Lee	...	Rochefort
Geraldine Chaplin	...	Queen Anne of Austria
Jean-Pierre Cassel	...	Louis XIII (as Jean Pierre Cassel)
Roy Kinnear	...	Planchet
Michael Gothard	...	Felton
Nicole Calfan	...	Maid Kitty
Ángel del Pozo	...	Jussac (as Angel Del Pozo)
Eduardo Fajardo
Simon Ward	...	Duke of Buckingham
Faye Dunaway	...	Milady

Storyline

D'Artagnan has become a Musketeer. Protestants hold La Rochelle, and the Queen loves Buckingham, who'll soon send ships to support the rebels. Richelieu enlists Rochefort to kidnap Constance, the Queen's go-between and D'Artagnan's love. The Cardinal uses the wily, amoral Milady de Winter to distract D'Artagnan. But soon, she is D'Artagnan's sworn enemy, and she has an unfortunate history with Athos as well. Milady goes to England to dispatch Buckingham; the Musketeers fight the rebels. Milady, with Rochefort's help, then turns to her personal agenda. Can D'Artagnan save Constance, defeat Rochefort, slip de Winter's ire, and stay free of the Cardinal? All for one, one for all.

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Plot Keywords:

cardinal richelieu | female villain | sword fighting | based on novel | queen | 

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Taglines:

One for all and all for one! (And every man for himself.)

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Genres:

Adventure | History

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

Spain Panama

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 February 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Four Musketeers: Milady's Revenge

Filming Locations:

Twickenham Studios, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alexander, Michael and Ilya Salkind Productions, Film Trust S.A., Este Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Cardinal Richelieu (Charlton Heston) says to d'Artagnan (Michael York) that he has no personal enemies, only enemies of France. This line is in neither the original novel, nor the script. Charlton Heston came across this quote of the Cardinal's when researching the role, and asked Director Richard Lester to find a place to include it in this movie.

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Goofs

Although the artillery pieces used by the rebel (Protestant) garrison at La Rochelle, hidden behind gabions, appear to be more authentic, the loyalist (Catholic) besieging forces appear to have batteries of guns that could not possibly date from 1628, when the garrison surrendered, as these have barrels, and indeed wheels, that are far too slender, and would appear to be replicas of pieces dating from the early 19th century. Both sides also fire projectiles that explode on contact, which wasn't the case. At this point in history, artillery pieces fires solid shot only, not even canister.

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Quotes

Porthos: [a bullet shatters his wine glass] This wine does not travel well.

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Alternate Versions

There exists at least two versions of the ending to this film. The rather curious difference is that in one the narration is spoken by Richard Chamberlain, in the other it is done by Frank Finlay!

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Connections

Referenced in Jeopardy!: Episode #26.34 (2009)

User Reviews

Better than the first

THE THREE MUSKETEERS and THE FOUR MUSKETEERS: MILADY'S REVENGE were shot back-to-back by Richard Lester and I think this is the better film of the two. There's less of the goofy slapstick here, with more focus on a better storyline and more in-depth character work. Michael York has gone from a dumb rookie to a slightly-less-dumb newcomer to the Musketeers and is all the better for it.

The entire cast return for a story that somehow feels fresher and more dangerous, with the stakes raised considerably. Plus, we don't have to go through all of that long-winded character introduction, so we can just get on with the political machinations of the story. The main stars do well in action-oriented roles, but it's supporting players like Christopher Lee and Faye Dunaway who really shine as the villains of the piece. The ending in particular is a ruthless surprise, but it's not quite over as the cast would reunite for one final time in 1989's RETURN OF THE MUSKETEERS.