The Three Musketeers (1921)
Directed By: Fred Niblo
Starring: Douglad Fairbanks, Leon Bary, George Siegmann, Eugene Pilete
Length: 119 min.
I'm sure everyone knows the story of The Three Musketeers, so I won't bore with a retelling of that story. Quick plot summery: D'Artagnan (Douglad Fairbanks) travels to Paris to join the Musketeers. He's refused, but taken under the wings of Artho (Leon Bary), Pathos (George Siegmann) and Aramis (Eugene Pilete). Much action ensues.
The film is very action packed, with D'Artagnan picking fights with just about anyone. The stunts are pretty impressive, and the stunt where Fairbanks handsprings with one hand with a sword in the other is considered one of the best stunts of the silent film era.
Where the film fails, for me, is the character of D'Artagnan himself. The Three Musketeers is one of the many books I wish I had read, would like to read, but have not gotten around to it. I can't speak as to whether or not the character is a faithful interpretation. What I can say is that the D'Artagnan in this film is whiney and childish. I just could not, for the life of me, cheer on this character. The character simply wasn't likeable at all.
While the film had some nice fight scenes, I just could not get into it.
For the stunts and fight scenes that are ranked very high for the silent film era, it gets a decent Historical Rating, but as far as Entertainment Rating goes, it gets hurt a lot by the frequently annoying personality of many of the characters.
Entertainment Rating: 4/10
Historical Rating: 6/10