HOME |  CULT MOVIES | COMPETITIONS | ADVERTISE |  CONTACT US |  ABOUT US
 
 
 
Newest Reviews
American Fiction
Poor Things
Thunderclap
Zeiram
Legend of the Bat
Party Line
Night Fright
Pacha, Le
Kimi
Assemble Insert
Venus Tear Diamond, The
Promare
Beauty's Evil Roses, The
Free Guy
Huck and Tom's Mississippi Adventure
Rejuvenator, The
Who Fears the Devil?
Guignolo, Le
Batman, The
Land of Many Perfumes
Cat vs. Rat
Tom & Jerry: The Movie
Naked Violence
Joyeuses Pacques
Strangeness, The
How I Became a Superhero
Golden Nun
Incident at Phantom Hill
Winterhawk
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City
Maigret Sets a Trap
B.N.A.
Hell's Wind Staff, The
Topo Gigio and the Missile War
Battant, Le
Penguin Highway
Cazadore de Demonios
Snatchers
Imperial Swordsman
Foxtrap
   
 
Newest Articles
3 From Arrow Player: Sweet Sugar, Girls Nite Out and Manhattan Baby
Little Cat Feat: Stephen King's Cat's Eye on 4K UHD
La Violence: Dobermann at 25
Serious Comedy: The Wrong Arm of the Law on Blu-ray
DC Showcase: Constantine - The House of Mystery and More on Blu-ray
Monster Fun: Three Monster Tales of Sci-Fi Terror on Blu-ray
State of the 70s: Play for Today Volume 3 on Blu-ray
The Movie Damned: Cursed Films II on Shudder
The Dead of Night: In Cold Blood on Blu-ray
Suave and Sophisticated: The Persuaders! Take 50 on Blu-ray
Your Rules are Really Beginning to Annoy Me: Escape from L.A. on 4K UHD
A Woman's Viewfinder: The Camera is Ours on DVD
Chaplin's Silent Pursuit: Modern Times on Blu-ray
The Ecstasy of Cosmic Boredom: Dark Star on Arrow
A Frosty Reception: South and The Great White Silence on Blu-ray
You'll Never Guess Which is Sammo: Skinny Tiger and Fatty Dragon on Blu-ray
Two Christopher Miles Shorts: The Six-Sided Triangle/Rhythm 'n' Greens on Blu-ray
Not So Permissive: The Lovers! on Blu-ray
Uncomfortable Truths: Three Shorts by Andrea Arnold on MUBI
The Call of Nostalgia: Ghostbusters Afterlife on Blu-ray
Moon Night - Space 1999: Super Space Theater on Blu-ray
Super Sammo: Warriors Two and The Prodigal Son on Blu-ray
Sex vs Violence: In the Realm of the Senses on Blu-ray
What's So Funny About Brit Horror? Vampira and Bloodbath at the House of Death on Arrow
Keeping the Beatles Alive: Get Back
   
 
  Three Musketeers, The All For One
Year: 1939
Director: Allan Dwan
Stars: Don Ameche, Al Ritz, Jimmy Ritz, Harry Ritz, Binnie Barnes, Gloria Stuart, Pauline Moore, Joseph Schildkraut, John Carradine, Lionel Atwill, Miles Mander, Douglass Dumbrille, John 'Dusty' King, Russell Hicks, Gregory Gaye, Lester Matthews, Egon Brecher
Genre: Musical, Comedy, HistoricalBuy from Amazon
Rating:  6 (from 1 vote)
Review: D'Artagnan (Don Ameche) is travelling from his hometown in rural France to the capital in the hope that he will be accepted as one of the King's Musketeers. He is confident that he will get the job as he is the most skilled swordsman around where he hails from, and on the way he stops to ask directions and let his trusty, if elderly, steed have a rest. As he converses with a group of country folk, a member of the King's guard appears and demands that D'Artagnan's horse move out of the way: incensed, the young man has a brief duel with him that sees the guard flee, an incident that only boosts D'Artagnan's confidence. However, there's a surprise for him on the way...

If there's one story that never seems to go out of fashion, it's The Three Musketeers, and here Alexandre Dumas' novel inevitably succumbed to the parody treatment. Or did it? For much of the film, although ostensibly a musical comedy, is played straight, with Ameche a self-assured hero who is notably lacking in a sense of humour. If you're hoping for a faithful adaptation then look elsewhere, as this one clocks in at hardly over an hour long, so a race through the most basic variation on the well-worn tale is about your lot here.

However, the comedy is provided by the now almost forgotten Ritz Brothers, greatly admired by but not as famous as the Marx Brothers, and their humour, mainly composed of pulling faces and jittery slapstick, is well and truly shoehorned in this time around. They could easily be excised from the film for a half hour adpatation and nobody would be any the wiser. They play three tavern workers who are introduced singing a song about chicken plucking and soup making, but through convoluted means they end up dressed as the Musketeers, who have each appeared at the establishment to give satisfaction to the duel-hungry D'Artagnan.

After drinking the real Musketeers under the table, the Ritzes don their uniforms for reasons purely of propelling the plot forward, and end up battling with the King's troops when D'Artagnan turns up and starts a fight. The comedians might look as if they're overdoing their schtick to modern eyes, but if you relax into their style they're not too painful to watch, and do raise the odd laugh with their energetic antics. You certainly can't accuse them of not trying. This is a musical as well, but the songs are far less memorable than the action or comedy; better to get caught up in the spirited dashing about as the Queen (Gloria Stuart) loses her brooch and must regain it before the King finds out, something the baddies (a game Binnie Barnes stands out as Milady de Winter) are determined to expose. They cram a lot of incident into their short movie, but this is a minor effort in comparison with better known adaptations.
Reviewer: Graeme Clark

 

This review has been viewed 6487 time(s).

As a member you could Rate this film

 
Review Comments (0)


Untitled 1

Login
  Username:
 
  Password:
 
   
 
Forgotten your details? Enter email address in Username box and click Reminder. Your details will be emailed to you.
   

Latest Poll
Which star probably has psychic powers?
Laurence Fishburne
Nicolas Cage
Anya Taylor-Joy
Patrick Stewart
Sissy Spacek
Michelle Yeoh
Aubrey Plaza
Tom Cruise
Beatrice Dalle
Michael Ironside
   
 
   

Recent Visitors
Darren Jones
Mark Le Surf-hall
Enoch Sneed
  Louise Hackett
Andrew Pragasam
Mary Sibley
Graeme Clark
  Desbris M
   

 

Last Updated: