1h 13min || 17 February 1939
Director: Allan Dwan
Stars: Don Ameche, The Ritz Brothers, Binnie Barnes, Joseph Schildkraut
Genres: Action | Adventure | Comedy | Musical | Romance
Out of sequence because I just received the dvd.
Reviewers complain this is not faithful to the story. I don't know about that. D'Artagnan is a musketeer-wannabe who challenges the 3 musketeers to a duel. He meets Constance the lady-in-waiting to the queen, who has given jewelry to the Duke of Buckingham, and needs it back before the ball where Cardinal Richelieu wants to see it (or expose her alliance with the Duke). So D'Artagnan helps Constance, and the day is saved.
Milady De Winter has a smaller role than does Lana Turner in the '48 rendition. This Constance is less familiar to me than June Allyson. But in both films we get a landlord spying on Constance, the Queen and the Duke through a hole in her ceiling. And I'm comparing films from different studios: Fox vs. MGM.
The big difference is the Ritz Bros stealing the uniforms of the 3 musketeers, and posing as them for the balance of the film. Although they are non-heroic, they tend to inadvertently help along the way. Only 1 of the 3 musketeers is familiar to me (Douglass Dumbrille). But frankly, I don't remember who played Athos, Porthos and Aramis in the '48 flick, and now that I've looked it up I still don't remember what they did in the story. (I also have the '21 Douglas Fairbanks version, and the '73 Michael York version, but it's been longer since I watched those.)
I've developed a tolerance for the Ritz Bros. I'm seeing them as more akin to D.Kaye (whom I like, but can be too far over the top sometimes) than to The 3 Stooges. They dazzled me with their dancing many films back (and their dance of the cymbals is pretty athletic here), and I've not noticed them being violent with each other like the Stooges or Laurel and Hardy. The kitchen fight scene is also fun here.
I like Don Ameche's singing, especially here. He doesn't have a terrific range, and I've seen him stretched too far before, but these songs are arranged properly for him. He also swaggers well and sword-plays well. And he's at a nice age (b. 1908), handsomewise. (The Ritz Bros' faces are also well served by the goatees and hair of the time.)
Bonus casting: Joseph Schildkraut as the king. When he is reminding her to wear the (absent) brooch, it's not clear if he suspects it is missing. It's not clear whether he loves and supports her, or if he's hoping she gets caught so he can be rid of her. And it's not that he's neutral; he's cagey. So he's got a lot going on behind those eyes, but don't play poker with him! (I recognized JS as an interesting actor long ago. He's in two of those extra-effective Twilight Zone episodes, one set in a former concentration camp, the other where old people can trade in their bodies; he was Anne Frank's father in the George Stevens movie; he was the enemy officer in Idiot's Delight this year. He was not a war emigre; per the mini-bio, he came to the US in 1912; b. 1896.)
While I have a lot of positive things to say, this doesn't rise to the level where I can recommend it. But I'm happy to have added it to my collection.
Fox; dir. Dwan; 6+
Update 5Jul2023: it still makes me smile, especially when Ameche does. But I expect Dumas would be disappointed/confused to see this rendition of his tale.
