The Three Musketeers (1935)

Cocky young swordsman D'Artagnan (Walter Abel) arrives in Paris and is taken under the wing of three musketeers (Paul Lukas, Moroni Olsen, Onslow Stevens). First English-language film version of the Alexandre Dumas story. It's pretty dull stuff. Walter Abel is painfully miscast. This was his first starring role. He would have better luck in his career as a character player. Film debut of Moroni Olsen. Three Musketeers movies should be fun, exciting, and action-packed. This one's tedious. Even the action is unexciting. Max Steiner wrote the music and lyrics for the corny theme song. Hardly his best work. Watchable but forgettable.

THE THREE MUSKETEERS is a cheap, 1935 version of the Alexandre Dumas novel made by notorious programmer studio RKO Radio Pictures. Despite the shortness of the running time this is a plodding affair that looks quite dated to the modern eye. The heroes are stiff and wooden and the bad guys straight out of a pantomime.It is true that the movie has a sufficient period 'look' to it, although a lot of the locations, like the wooded track which carriages run through repeatedly throughout the movie, are re-used. This kind of film was crying out to be made in colour because the vibrant costumes are wasted. The script is lean but lacks decent characterisation although it has to be said the female characters are far better written and more interesting than the male ones and quite alluring at times, particularly Margot Grahame's de Winter.Sadly, the titular musketeers are both interchangeable and dull and Walter Abel's d'Artagnan is hardly a guy to root for; maybe a sanctimonious fellow you'd like to give a good pasting instead. The sword fights are pretty excruciating and although there are flashes of inspiration here and there (the climactic carriage chase is rather fine) it's not enough to prevent this from being a bore.

Of all the major American and British sound versions of the Dumas classic made up to 1999, this is easily the worst. The trouble is in the casting and the direction. Walter Abel was "introduced" in this film, although he had actually been in films since as far back as 1930, and because this was his first swashbuckling role, the producers didn't know what to make of him. He has none of the dash of Douglas Fairbanks,Don Ameche, Warren William, Cornel Wilde, or even Gene Kelly, and none of the charming awkwardness of Michael York, all of whom have played D'Artagnan in other films.In fact, Abel gives, in plain English, a bad performance, partly because he is so totally miscast. Film fans will recognize him as one of those actors whom you see often,but never know what their name is. He would give better performances later in his career as worried, nervous managers (in "Holiday Inn") or business executives( i.e. Gregory Peck's boss, who falls memorably out the window to his death in "Mirage"). The other roles are indifferently cast and performed--this could be any one of a hundred B-movies--even the villains,and that's the real problem. A swashbuckler is supposed to be exciting and thrilling,and this one is neither--it's as if director Lee just didn't care.

I really enjoyed this old version of the three musketeers. D'Artagnan was not too well cast but I did enjoy the musketeers. This movie did an excellent job of following the book and showed a vile Milady De Winter. There is a lot of the style of older movies in this one, for instance, the four musketeers do a little singing from time to time, but it's surrivable. I would people who like older movies to give this one a try, it's worth it.