Directed by Richard Lester and written by George MacDonald Fraser, this is a masterclass in swashbuckling cinema. Based on Alexandre Dumas’s novel, this isn’t some sanitized costume drama; it’s a bustling, brawling and brilliantly funny epic. The story kicks off when a young, hot-headed country bumpkin named d’Artagnan (Michael York) rolls into Paris packing plenty of ambition and a heavy dose of naivety. Armed with swordsmanship taught by his father, he immediately manages to make a mess of things by getting robbed by the menacing Comte de Rochefort (Christopher Lee; his performance was so influential that in every movie version since, Rochefort has worn an eye patch, despite it not being mentioned in the original books) and accidentally insulting three elite members of the King’s Guard: Athos (Oliver Reed), Porthos (Frank Finlay) and Aramis (Richard Chamberlain).
Instead of a fatal duel, the quartet finds themselves ambushed by the Cardinal’s guards. D’Artagnan leaps into the fray alongside the musketeers, forging an unbreakable brotherhood. Together, they must thwart the insidious political machinations of the power-hungry Cardinal Richelieu (Charlton Heston) and the lethal, seductive Milady de Winter (Faye Dunaway). When the Queen of France foolishly gifts her diamond necklace to her former lover, the Duke of Buckingham, the Cardinal plots to use the missing jewels to disgrace her. It’s up to d’Artagnan and his brothers-in-arms to race against time, cross oceans and save the royal crown from total humiliation.
Believe it or not, before Richard Lester signed on to direct, producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind briefly considered casting The Beatles as the Musketeers! Lester, who had previously directed the Fab Four in A Hard Day’s Night and Help!, ultimately steered the project toward a traditional cinematic cast, leaving the musical ambitions behind. As for Charlton Heston, he initially hesitated to join the cast, wondering why they wanted to pay his high rate just for standing around. When director Richard Lester offered him the role of Cardinal Richelieu and promised all his scenes could be filmed in just ten days, Heston happily signed on. This film also won Racquel Welch a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. The cast also includes Spike Milligan, Joss Ackland and Sybil Danning.
Yes, Sybil Danning in a Sybil Danning’s Adventure Video movie. It can happen!
The cast endured an onslaught of real-world casualties that culminated in Oliver Reed nearly dying from a throat stabbing during the windmill duel, alongside Michael York suffering a cut leg, a near-loss of an eye and taking over for his own injured stuntman while stuffing his script into his clothes for armor; meanwhile, Frank Finlay battled facial strikes from a two-by-four and accidental burns and Sir Christopher Lee escaped comparatively unscathed with merely a sprained knee and a pulled shoulder.
The biggest danger? Oliver Reed. Beyond replacing all of the goldfish in a hotel bond with carrots and acting like he was consuming those fish, he was terrifying to fight. Stunt performers routinely drew lots to determine who would have to face the menace of Oliver Reed; this volatile intensity even extended to co-star Sir Christopher Lee, who recalled having to forcefully remind a reckless Reed during one attack that he had taught Reed how to fence on the set of The Pirates of Blood River because Reed went completely flat-out and forced everyone to leap out of his way.
As you can imagine, Welch and Dunaway also had issues.
Originally shot as a massive, single epic, producers made the eleventh-hour decision to split the footage into two separate films (The Three Musketeers in 1973 and The Four Musketeers in 1974) to hit release windows. Because the actors were only contracted and paid for a single film, this sparked a wave of lawsuits. The resulting legal battles forced the Screen Actors Guild to introduce the “Salkind Clause,” which legally prevents studios from splitting single productions into multiple theatrical installments without prior contractual agreement.
You can watch this on Tubi.
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