The Four Musketeers (1974)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Richard Lester

Writers:

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

Release Date:

26 February 1975 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | History | Romance

Tagline:

One for all and all for one! (And every man for himself.)

Plot:

The Four Musketeers defend the queen and her dressmaker from Cardinal Richelieu and Milady de Winter.

Plot Keywords:

D'artagnan | Musketeer | Cardinal | Queen | Love

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Oliver Reed	...	Athos
Raquel Welch	...	Constance de Bonancieux
Richard Chamberlain	...	Aramis
Michael York	...	D'Artagnan
Frank Finlay	...	Porthos
Christopher Lee	...	Rochefort
Geraldine Chaplin	...	Queen Anne of Austria
Faye Dunaway	...	Milady
Roy Kinnear	...	Planchet
Michael Gothard	...	Felton
Nicole Calfan	...	Maid Kitty
Ángel del Pozo	...	Jussac (as Angel Del Pozo)
Eduardo Fajardo
Simon Ward	...	Duke of Buckingham
Jean-Pierre Cassel	...	Louis XIII (as Jean Pierre Cassel)
Charlton Heston	...	Cardinal Richelieu
Sybil Danning	...	Eugenie
Gitty Djamal	...	Beatrice
Jack Watson	...	Busigny
Bob Todd	...	Execution Squad Officer
Tom Buchanan	...	Execution Squad Sergeant
Leon Greene	...	Swiss Officer
Lucy Tiller	...	Mother Superior
Norman Chappell	...	Submarine inventor
Richard Adams	...	Tortured thug
Tyrone Cassidy	...	English officer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Richard Briers	...	Louis XIII (voice) (uncredited)
Oliver MacGreevy	...	Headsman (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
Ilya Salkind	....	producer
Michael Salkind	....	producer
Wolfdieter von Stein	....	associate producer
Pierre Spengler	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Lalo Schifrin

Cinematography by
David Watkin

Film Editing by
John Victor-Smith		(as 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	....	hairdresser: Miss Faye Dunaway
Kaye Pownall	....	hairdresser: Miss Raquel Welch
Charlene Roberson	....	makeup artist: Miss Raquel Welch
Carmen Sánchez	....	hairdresser (as Carmen Sanchez)
José Antonio Sánchez	....	makeup artist (as Jose Antonio Sanchez)
José Antonio Sánchez	....	wig maker (as Jose Antonio Sanchez)

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	....	assistant director
Clive Reed	....	first assistant director
Francisco Rodríguez	....	assistant director (as Francisco Rodriguez)
Dusty Symonds	....	assistant director
Alain Walker	....	assistant director

Art Department
Eddie Fowlie	....	property
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
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)

Visual Effects by
Doug Ferris	....	matte artist (uncredited)

Stunts
Joaquim Parra	....	stunt arranger

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

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Manuela Iglesias	....	wardrobe assistant: Miss Raquel Welch
Ron Talsky	....	costume designer: Miss Raquel Welch
Jean Zay	....	costume supervisor

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

Music Department
Aaron Schröder	....	music published under the direction of (as Aaron Schroeder)
Peter Watson	....	music editor

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 (as Jennie McClean)
Jean-Philippe Mérand	....	production coordinator (as Jean Philippe Merand)
Juan Jose Molina	....	production assistant
Maria Monreal	....	producers' secretary
John Ornstein	....	production assistant
Armand Rubin	....	world wide representation: for Europex-Paris
Alexander Salkind	....	presenter
Ann Skinner	....	continuity
Mike Hoare	....	sailing coordinator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Este Films
• Film Trust S.A.

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1975) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1977) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Fox Lorber Home Video (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Fox Lorber (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Berman's and Nathan's  costumes manufactured by
• Camera Effects  main titles
• Cornejo  costumes manufactured by
• Decoraciones Generales  sets built by
• El Patrimonio Nacional De Espana  the producers are grateful to, without whose co-operation the making of this film would not have been possible
• January Music Corporation  music published by
• Mayflower Recording  adr recording (uncredited)
• Mole Richardson  electrical equipment
• Panavision  cameras from
• Twickenham Film Studios  completed and recorded at

Also Known As:

Los cuatro mosqueteros (Spain)
The Four Musketeers: Milady's Revenge (USA)
The Four Musketeers: The Revenge of Milady (UK) (complete title)
The Return of the Three Musketeers (UK) (video title)
The Revenge of Milady

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

Spain | Panama

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Singapore:PG | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | UK:A (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Estudios Cinematografica Roma S.A., Madrid, Spain

Company:

Este Films

Trivia:

Director Richard Lester was sued by the actors who claimed they were tricked into thinking the film was to be part of The Three Musketeers (1973). They won their case in court, but did not receive as much money as they would have if they were paid separately for both films.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the climactic duel in the convent, Rochefort's wound moves lower between shots.

Quotes:

Duke of Buckingham: [upon learning that Milady had planned to kill him] Trust to the Cardinal to employ every diplomatic argument. At least it relieves my conscience of any doubts I may have had of assisting the French rebels.
MiLady DeWinter: I shall inform His Eminence.
Duke of Buckingham: Lady, you'll inform no one! You came here as an ambassadress, but by God, you'll *stay* here as an assassin!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Look, Up in the Sky: The Amazing Story of Superman (2006) (TV)

Recommended

Don't watch this movie alone. That is, watch Richard Lester's "The Three Musketeers" with it. The two are actually the same film, shot simultaneously (in fact, the cast thought they were making one long movie, to the extent that they were *paid* for one movie; they later sued, as well they should have). In fact, one who hasn't seen Lester's "Three Musketeers" might not understand this movie. Videos and DVDs should be released only in a double-box.

Most "Musketeer" movies are travesties loosely based on Dumas. The 1993 version with Chris O'Donnell is a case in point. It uses little more than the names of characters, and it's woefully inadequate.

The script-writer in Lester's "Musketeers" movies was George MacDonald Fraser, author of the "Flashman" series. And Fraser, unlike writers of all other "Musketeer" movies, seems to have read the book. Some of the wildest things in both movies (for instance, Buckingham's shrine to Anne of Austria) are actually from Dumas. The script, rambunctious and silly as sometimes is, is startlingly close to the book.

Rumor has it that Lester envisioned "Musketeers" as a project for the Beatles. If this is true, he's fortunate he lost them. The cast is uniformly wonderful. Oliver Reed, Richard Chamberlain, and Frank Finlay are perfect in their roles (Finlay is particularly marvelous as he, not a large man, is able to portray the huge, blustering Porthos). Michael York is a fun D'artagnan. Faye Dunaway and Christopher Lee are suitably evil. Rachel Welch, the Pamela Anderson of the late '60s, shows a flair for light comedy that was not often utilized (most of her other movies highlight her . . . ahem . . . other talents). Charlton Heston is the anchor at the center of the film as the scheming Richelieu. He doesn't have much screen time, but his presence dominates the movies, as well it should. Lester also has small parts filled with amazing talents, including Spike Milligan and Roy Kinnear. Keep your eye on a genuine Frenchman, Jean-Pierre Cassel, as the king (and, much later, in Lester's "Return of the Musketeers", as Cyrano); he's a delight in every scene.

Lester's locations are fabulous. His France looks lived-in. One gets the sense of a long, medieval period that has decayed by the time of D'artagnan in the early 1600s, and of a struggling monarchy dominated by the Cardinal trying to rebuild it. Even Cardinal Richelieu, who wasn't really evil, comes off as three-dimensional (compare Heston's subtle performance to Tim Curry's bizarre, anti-historical, one-dimensional inquisitor and fool in the 1993 version).

Being "The Three (Four) Musketeers", there are many sword-fights; Lester somehow is not a great action director, but he somehow manages to make each duel unique, and funny. In "The Four Musketeers" he's given us a duel on the ice between York and Lee that's very funny. And the climactic duel in a church is sublime.

In 1989 Lester released "Return of the Musketeers" with the same cast. Fraser's brief script for that movie (about 100 minutes) gives us the gist of "Twenty Years After", and is quite amusing and a good coda for the series (it's a shame Lester didn't get a chance to do "The Man in the Iron Mask" with a G. M. Fraser script and the same cast. The version with Jeremy Irons and John Malkovich will do, though it's darker and less loyal to Dumas).

On the whole, "The Three Musketeers" and "The Four Musketeers" are the best Musketeer movies ever made. They star men and women who were at the top of their profession at the time. The scripts are superb and there's not a wasted moment. Do not accept lesser substitutes.