"The Three Musketeers" is a silent film starring Douglas Fairbanks Sr. Although it has the same elements of comedy, swashbuckling action and romance as the superior Richard Lester version from 1973, it is not nearly as good. It is also not as good as some other Fairbanks vehicles such as "The Mark of Zorro" and "The Thief of Bagdad", which were also action epics based on foreign language classics.
"The Three Musketeers" is based on the French novel by Alexandre Dumas. The King of France (Adolphe Menjou) is a weak-minded man manipulated by his sinister advisor Cardinal Richelieu (Nigel de Brulier). The Cardinal conspires against the Queen who opposes his influence. Fortunately for her, she is aided by the King's Musketeers, who have just welcomed young D'Artagnan (Fairbanks) into their ranks.
Fairbanks is truly a hammy actor. He is particularly fond of sweeping arm gestures. Still, over-acting is not necessarily bad acting, and he is fun to watch. One does gets the feeling that he is always playing the same character, whether he is dressed as Zorro, D'Artagnan, or the Thief. Although the setting changes with each film, Fairbank's character is always at the center of attention, and can do the impossible.
The problem with this film is that it lacks cohesion. While there is much action, it is often muddled, and it is tough to follow what is going on. The comic relief does not come off. For example, a Musketeer is invited to dinner, and four show up, including a rotund one who looks like he could consume a whole hog by himself. All for one and one for all, but are fat jokes the best that they could come up with?
"The Mark of Zorro", a Fairbanks film from the year before (1920) is a better film and a lot more fun. The major differences between the two is that the Zorro flick had more swordplay and a simpler story, unencumbered by the heavy plotting and the numerous supporting players that "The Three Musketeers" had. Sometimes more can be less.
By this way, this silent film was not the first adaptation of the French novel. According to the ever-useful imdb.com, there are four earlier versions, the first dating from 1911. (46/100)
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