The Fifth Musketeer

First of all: I appreciate all the opinions listed on this page, also those which say this movie stinks... ;-) For me, however, it is quite a special film, because at that time I was in Vienna, attending university/school of medicine. One day in autumn of 1976 a sheet of paper was stuck in the lift cabin of my students' condo, reading "Extras wanted! Be at Rosenhügel Studios by 6 am on October something, 1976. Salary 400 ATS per day, free lunch." Well, not bad, with a monthly ATS 4,000 check from my father to cover all my expenses - and no chance for the revenue office to take its share... Well,at the venerable Rosenhügel studio halls I got a black suit with breeches and a tippet, with red linings, a long-haired whig and a grey hat, and off we went to Laxenburg Castle by bus. It was cold and foggy, and, like soldiers, the main occupation of extras is - to wait. To keep us warm we got tea and coffee and a hot soup.

First shot was: Beau Bridges arrives in a coach, gets out and greets Rex Harrison "Gentleman, I did not expect you so far from the Gascogne". We, as the by-standing crowd, have to cheer, wave hats - but silently, as the "real" actors were recorded live. The brightly polished coach, brought in from the Hapsburg mews at Schönbrunn castle, is treated by a mattening spray to disperse the sunlamps' reflections. The assistant director calls by megaphone ACTIONNN! We cheer, the four horse carriage rolls in, stops. Bridges steps out - and bungles his line. CUT! Coach and horses are pushed back (the horses are not really happy with this), at least 30 minutes later we hear ACTIONNN again. And again something goes wrong, maybe the lacquer af the coach shines too bright, maybe a horse muted, once BB messed up his text again... I think we did it 5 times. And in the finished movie, at about 22 minutes run time, the lines of the twin king still are different from what I remember - seems they overdubbed it anyway.

The next day we, "the people", were told to cheer again, and surge forward, till we get a signal, which tells us to back off in terror. ACTIONNN! We cheer and surge. Suddenly a horrendous BANG hits our faces and ears, obviously released from a saluting cannon hidden under the scaffolding on which the assistant director was standing. We DID back off!! No acting necessary. This big bang comes about five minutes later than the coach scene.

All in all this was an almost magical experience, all the scenery, the big Panaflex camera with the great Mr. Cardiff at the viewer, the wind machine with a DeHavilland Gipsy Major engine - and running at arm's length around all this stellar Hollywood personality, namely Ursula Andress and Sylvia Kristel (after all, I was 22 at this time).

So, despite admitting that the finished movie is quite some disappointment compared to so many other cloak and dagger stuff, be it French or Hollywood, I can't help having a fond eye on it, as you will understand.

¨The fifth Musketeer¨ is packed with derring-do , intrigue , romance, action and exciting swordplay . An excellent casting and lavish production partially shot in Vienna make for a fairly amusement swashbuckler , however it drags in some places . This is a new version of the Dumas's novel with a handsome Beau Bridges in a dual role . This is a slight and simple retelling about the durable Alexandre Dumas's novel and is set in 17th century French court where two twins brothers (Beau Bridges playing a double role) , separated at birth , one nasty become Louis XIV of France compromised to marry to Mª Teresa of Spain (Silvia Kristel) and another , Phillippe who is unjustly imprisoned in the Bastilla . Both of whom are sons of the Queen mother Anna of Austria , turned nun (Olivia De Havilland) . Later on , Phillippe is jailed in prison and hidden his identity wearing an iron mask but his existence threatens the kingdom . But D'Artagnan (Cornel Wilde), Athos (Alan Hale) , Aramis (Jose Ferrer) and the Minister named Colbert (Rex Harrison) scheme an intelligent plan to free Phillippe , clashing a malicious Fouquet (Ian McShane) , the Louis XIV's favorite . They join forces for royal vengeance with the shout : ¨One for all and all for one¨. They are planning a plot involving substitution by the lookalike brother .

It's a mediocre rendition from the immortal novel with quite but wasted budget . The picture contains rousing action , intrigue , exciting swordplay , romantic adventure , and mayhem . Marvelous main actors completed by stellar cast full of classical and veteran players as Cornel Wilde , Rex Harrison , Olivia De Havilland and several others. And being final film of Helmut Dantine and last cinematic intervention of Olivia Havilland . And starred by agreeable Beau Bridges as suffering prisoner turning a valiant swashbuckler and selfish king . It contains some nudism , of course being in charge of expert actresses as Silvia Kristel and Ursula Andress ; nevertheless , in some versions it is cut . Acceptable cinematography by classic cameraman Jack Cardiff , recently passed away , who had a distinguished and long career crowned with some Oscars . Evocative musical score by the Italian composer named Riz Ortalani . Lush production design is well reflected on the glamorous interiors and exteriors filmed at Austrian palaces .

The motion picture was regularly realized by Ken Annakin . Based on Alexandre Dumas's novel, 'The Vicomte of Bragellone', which is often filmed under the title of its final section, 'The Man in the Iron Mask'. This classy story is subsequently remade on several versions , firstly is shot with Douglas Fairbanks (silent rendition, 1929), by James Whale (1939) with Louis Hayward and Joan Bennet , finally in 1998 by Randall Wallace with Leonardo DiCaprio , Jeremy Irons , John Malkovich and featured Gérard Depardieu as Porthos ; furthermore TV version by Mike Newell with Richard Chamberlain and Ralph Richardson . ¨The Fifth Musketeer¨ is an inferior and silly adaptation of the classy that will appeal to the costumer genre buffs and it results to be an average adaptation with big budget based on the immortal tale .

In many ways, this is an unnecessary re-telling of a story we have seen realized many times before (and since), and often filmed better. It was certainly not Beau Bridges's finest hour.

What was unusual and certainly the major selling point of the film was that the leading ladies (Andress and Kristel) would shed their clothes on quite a few occasions. As this film's US rating is PG and as the American running time is 12 minutes shorter than the British 15-rated release (which is the one I saw) it is highly likely that most if not all nudity was cut from the American version. Which is a shame as this is the only proper reason to watch this film.

1st watched 1/26/2001 - 5 out of 10 (Dir-Ken Annakin): Average played out and retelling of "The Man in the Iron Mask" story. A look-alike of King Louie is put into power by the musketeers for political reasons although this version tries to play up a love interest without much success. Could have been a good romantic/adventure but lacking in heart-felt talent.

This may not be the best version of the story (The Man in the Iron Mask), but its period production values, good pace and some of its top cast lift it above the "B" remake some would rate it.

It perhaps marks a minor renaissance of the unrepentant swashbuckler movie. Beautifully filmed on location (Vienna passing for Paris), it delights the eye. There is enough slapstick sword-fighting to please all but the absolute connoisseur; the tension of the plot is well maintained; it is simply fun to watch. Memorable performances by Rex Harrison as Colbert (in one of his last movie roles) and Ian McShane as Fouquet help to keep the viewer's attentions when others of the rather mixed cast falter.

Ursula Andress' (or "Ursula Undress" as she was somewhat unfairly nicknamed after a Playboy Magazine appearance) convincing portrayal of the King's mistress would undoubtedly have been enhanced (as other commentators have suggested) by the restoration of the nudity cut by the US censors (the American running time is 12 minutes shorter than the British).

All in all, not a movie to buy for one's DVD library, but to rent for a rainy day or watch on TV and appreciate for its fun.