The two stars of The Three Musketeers, are Douglas Fairbanks and the movie sets. Douglas Fairbanks, brings D’Artagnan to life, in this silent version of the book. He does terrific stunts, and is excellent in the swordplay throughout the movie. The movie’s sets loom large, especially Louis XIII’s castle. Even King Louis, (Adolphe Menjou), seems small in it. There are also the taverns and the streets of Paris, also helping the movie.
The book is long, but interesting. The screenplay has condensed it, still making it interesting. It keeps with the swordplay, and Cardinal Richelieu’s scheming. D’Artagnan has been sent by his father, (Walt Whitman), to go to Paris. His father was a musketeer, and hopes his son can be one. The young man goes from Gascony to Paris. It is a journey that has been done well by the director. D’Artagnan, arrives in Paris, full of himself. He insults the musketeers, Porthos, (George Siegman) Aramis, (Eugene Pallette) and Athos, (Leon Barry). They challenge him to a duel, which he accepts. It is interrupted by Cardinal Richelieu’s guards. D’Artagnan shows great bravery fencing with the guards. The musketeers are impressed, and accept D’Artagnan into their ranks.
The rest of the story is political intrigue, involving the cardinal, Anne of Austria, (Mary MacLaren), The Duke of Buckingham, (Thomas Holding) and a missing diamond broach. The plot unfolds well, and has a more positive ending than the book. It isn’t easy to do a swashbuckling period piece. Fred Niblo has done well in telling this classic tale.
Douglas Fairbanks was a big star during the silent era. He was like Errol Flynn, able to do spectacular stunts. He invented the swashbuckler film, paving the way for others that followed. Fairbanks, in The Three Musketeers, helps the film flow seamlessly. He is what Flynn was in the following decade. He was a screen hero, and his films are fun to watch.