MARIO GAUCI
Alexandre Dumas's classic tale is one of the most filmed epic adventures; in fact, yet another version is upcoming from a dried-up-of-ideas Hollywood! Emanating from France, that country obviously produced its own adaptations over the years – but, when stacked against the best of the English-speaking renditions, this 'foreign' one definitely comes up lacking! For the record, I own a 1942 Mexican film by the same title (where the story was, however, tailored for comedian Cantinflas) and should also be checking out THE FOUR MUSKETEERS from 1963 (which also promises to be heavy on the comedy). That said, I was impressed with Vittorio Cottafavi's MILADY AND THE MUSKETEERS (1952) – which, as the overseas title suggests, had presented the familiar events from the perspective of Milady De Winter.The main reason for the failure of the film under review, it seems to me, is that the script basically chose to deal with only the skeleton of the narrative – which, coupled with the thoroughly uninspired handling, makes for an overlong and, frankly, tedious outing! In fact, the tale's nominal villains – the afore-mentioned Milady and Cardinal Richelieu – are pretty much kept in the background, so that the ensuing action (with the swordplay seldom rising above the adequate anyway!) and drama lack suspense because a sense of real danger is never actually felt throughout! Even if the extensive cast does include a handful of familiar faces (Georges Marchal's overage D'Artagnan, Gino Cervi's Porthos, Yvonne Sanson's sexy but, as I said, ineffectual Milady – also unaccountably saddled here with a buffoonish husband! – and Bourvil's Planchet – whose comedy relief overshadows even the romance and intrigue!), few of the famous characters ever truly come to life!! While one could have argued against it being in black-and-white (since the two most popular versions i.e. 1948 and 1973/4 were in color), it is worth noting that some of the very finest swashbucklers were filmed that way too! For the record, both star and director would often return to the genre over the years: the latter most notably with LE BOSSU (1959), but he also made concurrent spoof versions of the source material here to counter Richard Lester's own "jokey" revamps(!), and the former's include two semi-sequels in 1954's THE LAST MUSKETEER and 1962's THE SECRET MARK OF D'ARTAGNAN (in both of which, however, he played different parts!) – incidentally, I should be watching 4 more of his Epic efforts during the course of this Easter marathon.
FromBookstoFilm
I first saw this version in the early 1970's on late night TV and recently in the 1990's can't wait for it to come out on DVD! Georges Marchal does a fantastic acting job as D'Artagnan. A gorgeous man for sure physically though he doesn't resemble the D'Artagnan character in the book Jean-Paul Belmondo in the 1959 and Gerard Barray in Bernard Borderie's 1961 2 part TV production did resemble the character. This story followed the book and thankfully did not omit too many characters or streamline characters. The Musketeers are well cast and defined. The Constance and Kitty are well cast. They are just like the characters written in the book.Cardinal Richelieu and Count de Rochefort excellent. Yvonne Sanson was a beautiful Mediterranean dark haired Milady de Winter and against physical type (Milady as everyone knows was a blonde)turned in a wonderful performance. Her performance was very much like Lana Turner's 1948 and Mylene Demongeot's 1961 and in my opinion she was just as good. Pia Douwes in the Dutch 2003 made a stunning auburn haired Milady de Winter.Acting and looks make the difference not hair color or physical type. Bourvil did a great job as Planchet as did Keenan Wynn in the 1948 and George Kinnear 1973 but for those familiar with the book Planchet though a lackey was not a clown and he himself went into military service himself at the end of the novel. The sets,scenery,authentic 17th century costumes are great.This movie did get film awards. As one user said the movie is slow and is right but it is not boring! I recommend this film to anyone who likes classic takes on Alexandre Dumas Three Musketeers. This film compares favorably with the Gene Kelly 1948 Three Musketeers and the 1961 Gerard Barray 2 part production.
André-7
But worth seeing if you are a Dumas fan. The only version I've seen where Planchet plays a more important role than D'Artagnan. French star Bourvil probably forced the director to expand the nothing part into something more significant. That aside, if you speak and understand french you will find this a rewarding version of the Dumas classic. Its main qualities are a masterful use of language in the service of wit and above all, the expression of D'Artagnan's Gascon pride.Best scene: D'Artagnan jealously follows Constance on her covert mission to meet Buckingham and bring him to meet the queen, thinking she has gone to meet another lover. Upon finding out the secret he throws himself to his knees at the englishman's feet and offers his life-No other version comes close to showing D'Artagnan's reckless nobility...
