The Three Musketeers (1953 film)

The Three Musketeers
Directed by André Hunebelle
Produced by Paul Cadéac
Written by Michel Audiard
Based on Les trois mousquetaires
by Alexandre Dumas père
Starring Georges Marchal
Bourvil
Jean Martinelli
Danielle Godet
Music by Jean Marion
Costantino Ferri
Cinematography Marcel Grignon
Henri Thibault
Edited by Jean Feyte
Distributed by Pathé
Titanus
Release dates
  • October 7, 1953 (1953-10-07) (France)


December 8, 1953 (1953-12-08) (Italy)

Running time
120 minutes
Country France
Italy
Language French

The Three Musketeers (French: Les Trois Mousquetaires) is a 1953 film based on the French novel of the same name. This adaptation is one of five films director André Hunebelle and screen writer Michel Audiard achieved together.[1] Georges Marchal portrayed d'Artagnan. In real life he was clearly older (born in 1920) than this character, but Marchal happened to be one of the most famous actors of European cinema in these days. With hindsight this adaptation might be regarded as one of his lesser important appearances because later on he even starred for Luis Buñuel.

Plot

Young d'Artagnan leaves his parents and travels from his native Gascony to the capital of France because he wants to prove himself an excellent fencer and to become a musketeer. He is told by his father he must not avoid any duel. On his way to Paris, d'Artagnan feels that his honour is besmirched because he overhears how his horse is derided by a sinister nobleman. He can't help but demand immediate satisfaction. Unfortunately, of all men he finds he has challenged the Count de Rochefort, a shifty character to whom Cardinal Richelieu frequently entrusts covert operations. Rochefort's henchmen take care of d'Artagnan and steal from him. The enraged d'Artagnan is determined to take revenge and will eventually have the chance to do so, for the Queen has given a present to her secret admirer the Duke of Buckingham, and d'Artagnan must retrieve it from him, although he is now already back in England. If he fails her, Cardinal Richelieu is going to disclose Queen Anne's infidelity to King Louis XIII, in order to force a war against England upon him. The Cardinal and Count de Rochefort will do everything in their power if only they can put paid to d'Artagnan's mission. But with help from his three new friends d'Artagnan prevails.

Cast

ActorCharacter
Georges Marchal d'Artagnan
Bourvil Planchet
Jean Martinelli Athos
Gino Cervi Porthos
Jacques François Aramis
Danielle Godet Constance Bonacieux
Marie Sabouret Queen Anne
Louis Arbessier King Louis XIII
Renaud Mary Cardinal Richelieu
Yvonne Sanson Milady de Winter
Jean-Marc Tennberg Count De Rochefort
Steve Barclay Duke of Buckingham
Françoise Prévost Ketty
Félix Oudart M. de Tréville
Claude Dauphin the narrator

Production

The film was shot in the Studios de Saint-Maurice, on the premises of castle Fontainebleau and in the Forest of Fontainebleau. In 1966 André Hunebelle returned to Fontainebleau for his film Fantômas contre Scotland Yard.

Reception

Due to the film's success André Hunebelle directed three more swashbuckler films (Le Bossu, Captain Blood and Le Miracle des loups) and hereby established Jean Marais as a fixture for this genre.

References

This article incorporates information from the French Wikipedia.

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