The Three Musketeers (1973)

Director:

Richard Lester

Writers:

George MacDonald Fraser (screenplay)
Alexandre Dumas père (novel)

Release Date:

29 March 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | History | Romance

Tagline:

. . . One for All and All for Fun!

Plot:

A young swordsman comes to Paris and faces villains, romance, adventure and intrigue with three Musketeer friends.

Plot Keywords:

Musketeer | Cardinal | Duel | Villain | King Louis XIII

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 2 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Oliver Reed	...	Athos
Raquel Welch	...	Constance de Bonacieux
Richard Chamberlain	...	Aramis
Michael York	...	D'Artagnan
Frank Finlay	...	Porthos
Christopher Lee	...	Rochefort
Geraldine Chaplin	...	Anna of Austria
Jean-Pierre Cassel	...	Louis XIII (as Jean Pierre Cassel)
Spike Milligan	...	M. Bonacieux
Roy Kinnear	...	Planchet
Georges Wilson	...	Treville
Simon Ward	...	Duke of Buckingham
Faye Dunaway	...	Milady / Lady de Winter
Charlton Heston	...	Cardinal Richelieu
Joss Ackland	...	D'Artagnan's Father
Nicole Calfan	...	Kitty
Michael Gothard	...	Felton
Sybil Danning	...	Eugenie
Gitty Djamal	...	Beatrice
Ángel del Pozo	...	Jussac
Rodney Bewes	...	Spy
Ben Aris	...	1st Musketeer
William Hobbs	...	Assassin
Gretchen Franklin	...	D'Artagnan's Mother
Francis De Wolff	...	Sea Captain
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Richard Briers	...	Louis XIII (voice) (uncredited)
Frank Thornton	...	Man in small carriage (uncredited)

Directed by
Richard Lester

Writing credits
George MacDonald Fraser		(screenplay) (as George Macdonald Fraser)
Alexandre Dumas père		(novel) (as Alexandre Dumas)

Produced by
Alexander Salkind	....	producer
Ilya Salkind	....	executive producer
Wolfdieter von Stein	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Michel Legrand

Cinematography by
David Watkin

Film Editing by
John Victor-Smith

Production Design by
Brian Eatwell

Art Direction by
Leslie Dilley		(as Les Dilley)
Fernando Gonzalez

Costume Design by
Yvonne Blake

Makeup Department
Cristóbal Criado	....	makeup artist: Charlton Heston (as Cristobal Criado)
Susan Germaine	....	hair stylist: Faye Dunaway
Kaye Pownall	....	hair stylist: Raquel Welch
Charlene Roberson	....	makeup artist: Raquel Welch
Carmen Sánchez	....	hair stylist (as Carmen Sanchez)
José Antonio Sánchez	....	makeup artist (as Jose Antonio Sanchez)
José Antonio Sánchez	....	wig maker (as Jose Antonio Sanchez)
Ziggy Geike	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Francisco Bellot	....	general production manager
Enrique Esteban	....	production supervisor
Pierre Spengler	....	executive in charge of production

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Patricio Beltran Aparicio	....	second assistant director
Clive Reed	....	first assistant director
Francisco Rodríguez	....	second assistant director
Dusty Symonds	....	second assistant director
Alain Walker	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Eddie Fowlie	....	property master
John Lanzer	....	property buyer
Rafael Ablanque	....	assistant art director (uncredited)
José María Alarcón	....	assistant art director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Tom Buchanan	....	boom operator
Don Challis	....	sound editor
Roy Charman	....	sound mixer (as Roy J. Charman)
Gerry Humphreys	....	dubbing mixer (as Jerry Humphreys)
Simon Kaye	....	sound mixer
George Rice	....	boom operator (as George B. Rice)
Don Sharpe	....	sound editor

Special Effects by
Eddie Fowlie	....	special effects
Pablo Pérez	....	special effects supervisor (as Pablo Perez)

Stunts
Joaquim Parra	....	stunt arranger (as Juaquin Parra)

Camera and Electrical Department
Ronald Anscombe	....	assistant camera (as Ronnie Anscombe)
Antonio Colmenar	....	key grip
Enrique de la Jara	....	best boy
Alejandro Diges	....	still photographer
Frank Elliott	....	assistant camera
Peter Ewens	....	camera operator
Francisco Gallardo	....	gaffer
Federico G. Grau	....	still photographer (as Federico Grau)
Luis Peña	....	assistant camera (as Luis Pena)
Vincent Rossell	....	still photographer
Paul Wilson	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Manuela Iglesias	....	wardrobe assistant: Raquel Welch
Ron Talsky	....	costumes: Raquel Welch
Jean Zay	....	costume supervisor
Haleen K. Holt	....	costume illustrator (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Peter Boyle	....	assistant editor
Peter Holt	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Michel Legrand	....	conductor
David Munrow	....	advisor: period music (uncredited)
Peter Watson	....	music editor (uncredited)

Other crew
Christina Bracht	....	production secretary
Antonio Del Toro	....	production assistant
Quinn Donoghue	....	unit publicist
Norman Enfield	....	publicity assistant
Louis Diaz Gonzalez	....	production assistant
Norma Gorcey	....	production secretary
William Hobbs	....	fight director
Jennie McLean	....	production secretary
Jean-Philippe Mérand	....	production coordinator (as Jean Philippe Merand)
Juan Jose Molina	....	production assistant
Maria Monreal	....	secretary to producer
John Ornstein	....	production assistant
Armand Rubin	....	world wide representative: Europex-Paris
Ann Skinner	....	continuity
Mike Hoare	....	sailing coordinator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Alexander Salkind
• Este Films
• Film Trust S.A.
• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1974) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1977) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Filmtrust (1986) (USA) (VHS)
• International Video Entertainment (IVE) (1986) (USA) (VHS)
• USA Home Video (1986) (USA) (VHS)
• Fox Lorber (1998) (USA) (DVD) (VHS)
• EuroVideo (199?) (Germany) (VHS)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• CFDC-UGC (1973) (France) (theatrical)

Other Companies

• Berman's and Nathan's  costume maker
• Camera Effects  titles
• Cornejo  costume maker
• Decoraciones Generales  set construction
• Mole Richardson  electrical equipment
• Panavision  camera equipment provided by
• Twickenham Film Studios  sound re-recording

Also Known As:

The Three Musketeers: The Queen's Diamonds (UK) (complete title) (USA)
Les trois mousquetaires (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Üç silahsorlar (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
A három testör (Hungary) [hu]
De tre musketörerna (Sweden) [sv]
De tre musketerer (Denmark) [da]
Die drei Musketiere (West Germany) [de]
I tre moschettieri (Italy) [it]
Kolme muskettisoturia (Finland) [fi]
Los diamante de la reina (Spain) (subtitle) [es]
Los tres mosqueteros (Spain) [es]
Muskettisoturien seikkailut (Finland) [fi]

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | Singapore:PG | Iceland:L | Netherlands:12 | South Korea:All | Australia:G | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1975) | Sweden:11 | UK:U | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Aranjuez, Madrid, Spain

Company:

Alexander Salkind

Trivia:

Originally conceived as a Beatles vehicle by veteran Beatle director Richard Lester.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Athos is hitting a Guard with a stick in the climatic scene at the palace, in one shot his sling falls off, but in the very next shot it is back on again.

Quotes:

M. Bonancieux: The Bastille! Well, I tell you, I don't want to go to the Bastille! Because it's got very deep dungeons and terrible instruments of torture operated by very unsympathetic men! And they snip very important parts off people!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Jeopardy!: (#26.34)" (2009)

Genius Lester brings out the book's true comedic nature.

Director Richard Lester hit it right on the nose! Dumas's book THE THREE MUSKETEERS is generally regarded as a kind of classic adventure, but it's more than that. Throughout all the romance and swordplay, it is humor, not adventure, that prevails. D'artagnan is even introduced as "Don Quixote at eighteen", which is clear indication of humorous intent. Lester's pop-comedies like THE KNACK and A HARD DAY'S NIGHT made him perfect for directing this film. George MacDonald Fraser's screenplay for THE THREE MUSKETEERS preserves the original dialogue with all its humor and adventure to the letter (even though this is only half the book). This gave Lester free reign to fill the picture with physical comedy and sight gags, particularly in the swordfights. The heights of such humor show in a scene where the musketeers fake a duel in order it steal food. Michael York excels in the role of D'artagnan using sword skills picked up while making ROMEO AND JULIET. The late/great Oliver Reed is a suitably drunken, overpowering Athos. Another highpoint is the film's villain. Charlton Heston's restrained performance brings the puppet-master Cardinal Richelieu to life (and far better than Tim Curry did in 1993). He can break a man with a word and we believe it. Raquel Welch brings her usual talents to the role of Constance. Perhaps the most important of all is Bonnie herself, Faye Dunaway, as the Countess DeWinter. Dunaway brings to life all the character's cold allure that appeared as good on the screen as it did on the page. The action is well choreographed and satisfies, and the humor is good. This combines with "sequel" THE FOUR MUSKETEERS, with the same cast and director, to form the perfect film version of a wonderful novel. If nothing else, it at least beats the Disney version into the morgue. Not To Be Missed!