The Three Musketeers (1935 film)
| The Three Musketeers | |
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Walter Abel and Margot Grahame
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| Directed by | Rowland V. Lee |
| Produced by | Cliff Reid (associate producer) |
| Written by |
Alexandre Dumas, père (novel) Rowland V. Lee Dudley Nichols |
| Starring |
Walter Abel Ian Keith Margot Grahame Paul Lukas Moroni Olsen Onslow Stevens |
| Music by | Max Steiner |
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Production
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| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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93-97 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $512,000 |
| Box office | $900,000 |
The Three Musketeers (1935) is the first English-language talking picture version of Alexandre Dumas, père's novel of the same name, starring Walter Abel, Ian Keith, Margot Grahame, and Paul Lukas.
Callow youth D'Artagnan (Walter Abel) sets off from Gascony for Paris, armed with his father's sword, an old horse and a letter of introduction to his godfather, Captain de Treville (Lumsden Hare), commander of the King's Musketeers. Along the way, he attempts to rescue Milady de Winter (Margot Grahame) from highwaymen, but it turns out she came to meet their leader, the Count de Rochefort (Ian Keith). When Rochefort insults D'Artagnan, the latter insists on a duel. Instead, Rochefort has his men knock D'Artagnan out, while he blackmails Lady de Winter into helping him in his plot to seize power.
Upon reaching Paris, D'Artagnan is dismayed to learn from de Treville that he must serve two years as a cadet or perform "extraordinary deeds of valor" before he can become a Musketeer. Then he spots Rochefort on the street. In his haste to confront his enemy, D'Artagnan unintentionally insults three Musketeers: Athos (Paul Lukas), Porthos (Moroni Olsen), and Aramis (Onslow Stevens) in turn, agreeing each time to a duel. When his opponents arrive at the appointed place, they are amused to discover they are all engaged to cross swords with the same man. However, Cardinal Richelieu's Guards try to arrest the Musketeers for dueling. D'Artagnan joins the outnumbered trio and acquits himself well.
His three new friends secure him free lodging by threatening landlord Bernajou (Murray Kinnell) with an imaginary law and find him a servant named Planchet (John Qualen). That night, D'Artagnan is pleasantly surprised when Bernajou's ward Constance (Heather Angel) enters the room. It turns out that it is actually her chamber, though she is rarely there, as she spends most of her time at the palace as lady-in-waiting to the Queen. Constance has arranged a rendezvous between Queen Anne (Rosamond Pinchot) and her lover, the English Duke of Buckingham (Ralph Forbes). Buckingham threatens to wage war to obtain Anne, but she dissuades him by appealing to his love; she gives him her diamonds as a pledge for peace. Bernajou, lusting for Constance and suspicious of her meeting a lover, has hidden in an armoire and witnesses their meeting. He is arrested and reveals the details to Rochefort, who is in league with Richelieu to bring about the Queen's downfall and thus thwart Buckingham. Rochefort lies to Richelieu that the Queen gave her diamonds to start a war between France and England, and they arrange it so that she must appear wearing the diamonds at the King's anniversary ball eight days hence.
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