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:

...it's four for one and fun for all!

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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

Box Office

Gross USA:

$19,096,800

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

WILHELM SCREAM: Heard during the scenes at the nunnery, as a man falls from the burning building.

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Goofs

The English troops being reviewed by Buckingham are carrying Union Flags. Although that flag did exist at this date, it was not used by the Army until the Act of Union (which brought England and Scotland together as one State) roughly seventy years later - they should still have been carrying flags bearing only the Cross of St George.

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Quotes

D'Artagnan: [of Milady] I love her with my head. But my Constance, snatched from my side, I love with my heart.
Athos: You have a conveniently discriminating anatomy.

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Alternate Versions

The version shown on the Encore channel omitted the scene at the end where Milady is executed. D'artagnan kills Rochefort in the church, then the action jumps straight to his meeting with Richelieu, where her death is mentioned(thoroughly confusing the viewer).

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Connections

Followed by The Return of the Musketeers (1989)

User Reviews

Part two of a great action/adventure film

This film is part two of the movie "Three and Four Musketeers".

This film is somewhat more serious in tone as is warranted by the events described in the book. Not quite as fun as the first movie but true to the classic story writen by Dumas back in 1850.

(additional comments are duplicate comments made about the Three Musketeers)

This set of films (3 and 4 Musketeers were filmed at the same time and released 8 months apart) ranks right up there with "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Robin Hood" (with Erol Flynn) as one of the best in its genre (action/adventure). As an historian, I enjoyed the small touches of historical accuracy in the film. As far as I can tell, everything is just about bang-on: the costumes, the settings, the weapons, the street life, and the musketeers themselves (and yes I know the story is not "true"). The two films are quite faithful to the classic book by Alexander Dumas given some small and reasonable changes.

The sword-play in the film is the greatest! The initial duel against the Cardinal's men in the Convent is a masterpiece of choreographed combat. The battle that takes place early in the second film is hysterically funny as our heroes try to eat lunch in the middle of a war.

The actors and actresses are all wonderful, especially Michael York, Oliver Reed, Faye Dunaway, and Charlton Heston. One small weakness in the film is that it does not have the time or interest in describing how Milady de Winter seduces her jailor. I suggest reading the book to get a full understanding of that sequence of events.

Be warned, prolonged exposure to this film is likely to result in a desire for fencing lessons and historical reenactments.

Bottom line: A great film.