The Three Musketeers (B- or 2.5/4 stars)
'The Three Musketeers', directed by George Sidney & based on the classic novel by Alexandre Dumas, is a rousing comedy swashbuckler from MGM studios. I liked it in spurts, but there are dead spots, and to say that it feels artificial is an understatement. In 1625, the eager young swordsman D'Artagnan (sprightly Gene Kelly) leaves his quiet village of Gascon, France, & sets out for Paris to be ... a musketeer. D'Artagnan pleases all with his exceptional swordplay. And he soon joins up with 3 veteran swordsmen, Athos (solid Van Heflin), Porthos (a very young Gig Young), & Aramis (Robert Coote) in joint efforts to protect the weak King Louis XIII (Frank Morgan) from his powerful prime minister Richelieu (a moustache twirling Vincent Price), who is trying to start a war with England.
Furthermore, these 3 - ahem - 4(!) Musketeers would also have to save their beloved Queen Anne (a young Angela Lansbury) from disgrace when the jewels given to her by the evil prime minister falls into the clutches of her secret English lover, The Duke of Buckingham. The foursome are aided in their heroic efforts by the loyal Lady Constance (June Allyson, who said that she felt like a fish out of water in this medieval/period film), their landlord's daughter who works in the palace, whom D'Artagnan eventually falls in love with at 1st sight {gag me}. Swordplay & melodrama ensues.
You know, there are plenty of moments throughout this bloated Technicolor spectacle that arrested my attention & pleased me. But other parts of this motion picture made my eyes roll, haha. The Musketeers play their roles with a slight, carefree, almost Vaudevillian foolishness that made me not take them seriously as dramatic swordsmen. There is one set piece early on where Gene Kelly leaps & bounds & skips & swishes his sword as if he were in an elaborate choreographed dance sequence. The outdoor props/sets that adorned this swashbuckling/dance sequence were so PAINFULLY fake looking that they took me out of the moment; ruining any sense of fun that I was supposed to be having.
What else made my eyes roll? Keenan Wynn (who I normally like) as D'Artagnan's loyal servant; he just didn't fit in. What else? Lana Turner. The actress is gorgeous & is a capable thespian. Howwwwever, how could I take anything seriously that she was saying or doing as she paraded around with her perfectly coiffed bleach blonde hair, her impeccable make-up application, enormous plumed hats, & crayon-colored satin gowns?? I was entertained by her for sure, but I couldn't take anything about her seriously. This is not a movie to take seriously; as much of it is Hollywood fluff.
The plentitude of duel scenes grow repetitive after a while. The non-dueling segments do not always rivet. And the script lacked some heft -- there's a scene where Van Heflin character gets emotional & cries. Was I impressed by his acting skills? Yes. Did I care? Not really. Because the movie contains too much lame slapstick to be taken seriously. His tears meant little in the grand scheme of things because the very next scene would contain something lamebrain happening. So yeah, genial performers {including wonderful Angela Lansbury}, beauuutiful Technicolor, some fun scenes, lush period costumes ... I really like all of that stuff. And the movie expectedly did gangbusters at the box office. But I do not feel that the film quite achieves the splendorous, epic action scope that it aims for.
Furthermore, these 3 - ahem - 4(!) Musketeers would also have to save their beloved Queen Anne (a young Angela Lansbury) from disgrace when the jewels given to her by the evil prime minister falls into the clutches of her secret English lover, The Duke of Buckingham. The foursome are aided in their heroic efforts by the loyal Lady Constance (June Allyson, who said that she felt like a fish out of water in this medieval/period film), their landlord's daughter who works in the palace, whom D'Artagnan eventually falls in love with at 1st sight {gag me}. Swordplay & melodrama ensues.
You know, there are plenty of moments throughout this bloated Technicolor spectacle that arrested my attention & pleased me. But other parts of this motion picture made my eyes roll, haha. The Musketeers play their roles with a slight, carefree, almost Vaudevillian foolishness that made me not take them seriously as dramatic swordsmen. There is one set piece early on where Gene Kelly leaps & bounds & skips & swishes his sword as if he were in an elaborate choreographed dance sequence. The outdoor props/sets that adorned this swashbuckling/dance sequence were so PAINFULLY fake looking that they took me out of the moment; ruining any sense of fun that I was supposed to be having.
What else made my eyes roll? Keenan Wynn (who I normally like) as D'Artagnan's loyal servant; he just didn't fit in. What else? Lana Turner. The actress is gorgeous & is a capable thespian. Howwwwever, how could I take anything seriously that she was saying or doing as she paraded around with her perfectly coiffed bleach blonde hair, her impeccable make-up application, enormous plumed hats, & crayon-colored satin gowns?? I was entertained by her for sure, but I couldn't take anything about her seriously. This is not a movie to take seriously; as much of it is Hollywood fluff.
The plentitude of duel scenes grow repetitive after a while. The non-dueling segments do not always rivet. And the script lacked some heft -- there's a scene where Van Heflin character gets emotional & cries. Was I impressed by his acting skills? Yes. Did I care? Not really. Because the movie contains too much lame slapstick to be taken seriously. His tears meant little in the grand scheme of things because the very next scene would contain something lamebrain happening. So yeah, genial performers {including wonderful Angela Lansbury}, beauuutiful Technicolor, some fun scenes, lush period costumes ... I really like all of that stuff. And the movie expectedly did gangbusters at the box office. But I do not feel that the film quite achieves the splendorous, epic action scope that it aims for.