Director: Bernard Borderie
Year: 1961
Country: France
Rating: 6.0
Aka - The Three Musketeers - The Queens Diamonds,
Part 1
Unfortunately, I have not come across part
2 of this classic Dumas tale, with this part taking the viewer up to the
return of the jewels to the Queen and Milady de Winter seething with notions
of vengeance. This is where the Three Musketeers belongs, in France and speaking
French. There was also a recent two-parter of the film produced in France
that is very good. This follows the basic story that has been told many times
of d'Artagnan coming to Paris to immediately jump into an adventure and to
fall in love.
The 102-minute running time is too short
to really flesh out the plot points, characterize, differentiate the Three
Musketeers and create the tension that most other versions have. It flies
by too quickly. But what it does have is a charming and joyful performance
by Gérard Barray as d'Artagnan, a few fine action sequences and two
lovely female leads. Barray was one of France's top actors during the 1960s
appearing in numerous period adventure films such as The Sea Pirate, Pyramid
of the Sun God, The Corsican Brothers and The Adventures of Scaramouche.
The female leads are Perrette Pradier as Constance and the stunning Mylène
Demongeot as Milady.
D'Artagnan immediately clashes with Rochefort,
Cardinal Richelieu's enforcer, sets up duels with Athos, Porthos and Aramis,
joins them in fighting the Guards, falls instantly in love with Constance
and saves the Queen's reputation. All with youthful enthusiasm. His declarations
of love for Constance is a bit flowery and over the top but this is French.
Some fine sword play and one terrific set piece in which the Musketeers get
into a wonderful freewheeling brawl in an inn. It is directed by the very
commercial Bernard Borderie, who helmed the Angelique films and many of the
early Lemmy Caution films with Eddie Constantin
