The Three Musketeers (1939)

I gave it a 7.5 out of 10

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

The only way to make a bad movie out of The Three Musketeers is to cast Charlie Sheen in it as they did in 1993. Note to other reviewers: EVERY filmed version of this Dumas' tale has to be a chop job—unless it becomes a multi-episode cable TV series. Note #2: most classics get spoofed (think how delightfully well Mel Brooks has done with Life of Brian, Frankenstein, Dracula, Robin Hood. Few actors of his day could surpass Don Ameche for versatility (singer, physical actor, comedy actor), and Binnie Barnes rivals any other female actor who's played Lady d'Winter, and she proved a fine foil for the Ritz Brothers. Add John Carradine and Lionel Atwill for villainy and we have a fine cast of pros. As to the Ritz Brothers, they were superb talents: precision dancers, singers and comedians who were among the highest paid revue and nightclub acts in the USA. Like many variety comedians (Beatrice Lillie, Bert Lahr, The Wiere Brothers, Shaw & Lee, Jimmy Savo), it was difficult to adapt narrative material for three surreal madcaps like the Ritzes. The Three Musketeers is enjoyable not only because of Ameche, Barnes, Carradine and Atwill, but for the bright and witty story curve fielded by Al, Harry & Jimmy Ritz. The Three Musketeers does not showcase the Ritzes at their best (see: You Can't Have Everything; Sing, Baby, Sing; and On the Avenue. Pass on The Gorilla; it doesn't merit anyone's consideration. But The Three Musketeers may be their best film in overall quality—after all, it was directed by Allan Dwan (who helmed the Doug Fairbanks version). Frank Cullen founder: ABQ Film Club and American Vaudeville Museum author: Vaudeville Old & New (Routledge 2007).

Silent film veteran Alan Dwan had helmed several of Douglas Fairbanks' best movies, and here turned out another swashbuckler, but with a difference: those zany Ritzes are on hand as a decidedly non-traditional trio of musketeers. Unlike the Marx Bros., whose movies were A-picture events, the now mostly forgotten Ritz Bros.' antics played in second features that failed to properly showcase their unique brand of knockabout comedy. Here they finally got a chance to perform in a good picture with a strong story and a good lead actor (Don Ameche as D'Artagnan) anchoring the proceedings, rather than just running about and being silly to no obvious purpose. The anarchic Ritzes here unleash their trademark catastrophic comedy to frustrate the machinations of Cardinal Richelieu and Lady deWinter. The Ritzes, of course, are not actual cavaliers, but rather a trio of dolts forced to masquerade as such to protect the Queen's honor. Much hectic action abounds, plus a few comedy songs, great silly costumes and a few of the Ritzes stage numbers such as a beautifully choreographed dance with cymbals on their bodies that must have taken years to perfect. The complex story is efficiently handled - the fat original novel plays out in a mere 72 minutes - and the straight action, heroically played by Ameche, and elaborately staged silliness of the Ritzes mixes well. An action comedy- musical would seem a difficult thing to blend correctly, but everything here is deftly handled and the cheapish production elements (leftover sets and contract players in supporting roles) do not hinder the overall effect. Worth going out of one's way to catch.

A musical comedy version of the swashbuckling classic starring Don Ameche and the Ritz Bros? It sounds like a Catskill burlesque sketch, but turns out to be a straight, if bare-bones, version of Dumas, with mistaken identity (times 3) swapping Al, Jim & Harry in for Athos, Aramis & Porthos. Vet megger Alan Dwan was an old hand at this type of material (his THE IRON MASK/'29 -- in the restored KINO edition, please -- is one of the great Dumas adaptations) and the production has a giddying pace and a surprisingly sumptuous look to it. But the songs are unmemorable (to put it nicely) and leave an already short film with hardly enough time to fit in a measly Cliff Notes edition of the narrative.

With the many, many film versions of Dumas' classic tale out there, it became necessary (to some filmmakers) to mix it up a bit and put a spin or two on the story or use stunt casting in order to make the material seem fresh or different to an audience. In some cases, this has worked (as in the splendiferous 1973 version and its sequel) and in others it hasn't (the heinous Brat Pack version with Charlie Sheen.) This 1939 version is probably somewhere in the middle. The title characters barely appear at all as they are disposed of right off the bat and replaced by The Ritz Brothers. It is these three bumbling oddballs that Ameche (as D'Artagnan) meets with and enacts the story beside. Ameche and the Ritz's are enlisted to save the Queen of France's honor when she gives a priceless brooch to her lover, the Duke of Buckingham, but then needs it back in order to save face before her husband the King and his second-in-command Cardinal Richelieu. Standing in their way is the deceptive Barnes (as Milady De Winter) and the Cardinal's guards, led by Atwill (as Rochefort.) In the meantime, Ameche woos the Queen's dressmaker Moore through song and derring-do. This is a very pared down, simplified version of the story, ending before the plot becomes too dark (about a decade later, the Gene Kelly version would show the tale all the way to the end.) All but the bare bones of the story is hacked out or altered in order to house wacky comic schtick from the Ritzes or musical numbers, mostly supplies by Ameche. That said, enough of the tale remains to create some level of interest and a decent cast helps to put the thing over for the most part. Ameche is handsome and charming. Moore is reasonably appealing. Barnes is intriguing and game to the comic shenanigans while retaining her dignity. Stuart makes a lovely Queen Anne and does the best she can with a rather thin role. Familiar faces like Schildkraut and Carradine dot the cast. One disappointment is Mander as Richelieu. He doesn't bring an ounce of the sinister charm and menace that later actors like Vincent Price and Charlton Heston gave to the role. As for the Ritz Brothers, their brand of comedy is a matter of taste. They display a sort of mincing quality and don't particularly impress here in their series of bits, though they do show a flair for physical comedy at times. Thanks to lengthier careers, more distinct personalities and the aid of television reruns, The Three Stooges have nearly completely eclipsed these three gents who only enjoyed roughly a decade of film stardom. Likely to disappoint stalwart fans of the novel, the film is a pleasant enough diversion for others and is brief and nice to look at.