''The Three Musketeers'' (aka ''Three Musketeers'') is a 1933 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known ...

film serial A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater, gene ...

directed by Armand Schaeffer and

Colbert Clark Colbert Clark (August 31, 1898 – May 4, 1960) was an American screenwriter, film director and film producer. He particularly specialized in making western films.Tuska p.196 As a producer at Columbia Pictures, Clark was responsible for resum ...

, and produced by

Nat Levine Nat Levine (July 26, 1899 – August 6, 1989), was an American film producer. He produced 105 films between 1921 and 1946. He was personal secretary to Marcus Loew, formed Mascot Pictures in 1927, and merged Mascot with Herbert Yates's Re ...

for

Mascot Pictures Mascot Pictures Corporation was an American film company of the 1920s and 1930s best known for producing and distributing film serials and B-westerns. Mascot was formed in 1927 by film producer Nat Levine. In 1936 it merged with several other ...

. The film serial was very loosely based on Alexandre Dumas' 1844 novel ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' (french: Les Trois Mousquetaires, links=no, ) is a French historical adventure novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight ...

'', with the musketeers changed into three soldiers in the

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, Armoured Cavalry Arm, cavalry, Military engineering, engineers, Airborne forces, airborne troops. It was created ...

, and d'Artagnan being reconfigured as Lt. Tom Wayne (played by John Wayne), a pilot in the United States military.Harmon and Glut 1973, p. 325. Wayne only received fourth billing behind

Raymond Hatton Raymond William Hatton (July 7, 1887 – October 21, 1971) was an American film actor who appeared in almost 500 motion pictures. Biography Hatton was born in Red Oak, Iowa. His physician father steered him toward a career in medicine. Howev ...

, Francis X. Bushman, Jr. and

Jack Mulhall John Joseph Francis Mulhall (October 7, 1887 – June 1, 1979) was an American film actor beginning in the silent film era who successfully transitioned to sound films, appearing in over 430 films in a career spanning 50 years. Early years Mu ...

who play the three legionnaires. Lon Chaney Jr. had a co-starring role in the serial, mainly appearing in Chapter One.

Plot

In the harsh deserts of

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

, the French Foreign Legion provides a military presence. Lt. Tom Wayne is framed for the murder of Armand Corday, the brother of his fiancé. He vows to capture the real killer, a mysterious Arab

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

known only as El Shaitan. He encounters three bumptious legionnaires: Clancy, an Irishman always spoiling for a fight; Renard, a wily Frenchman; and Schmidt, a German who loves

sausage A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs may be included as fillers or extenders. ...

s). They are the surviving members of a Foreign Legion unit that was wiped out in an attack. Nicknamed the "Devil of the Desert", El Shaitan remains a shadowy figure, hiding his face and his true identity, as a result of which many people are mistakenly suspected of being the cult leader in the course of the serial, while other characters impersonate him for their own ends. At a meeting place called, "The Devil's Circle", El Shaitan commands a fanatic desert cult, a secret society formed to fight against the French authorities. When Clancy, Renard and Schmidt are trapped by a horde of Berber tribesmen, Lt. Wayne quickly stops the attack using the machine gun mounted on his aircraft. The three legionnaires are in constant danger but Wayne comes to their rescue many times, acting as a modern-day d'Artagnan. Eventually the trio, with the aid of their new friend, triumph over their adversaries.

Cast

* John Wayne as Tom Wayne * Ruth Hall as Elaine Corday *

as Clancy *

as Renard * Francis X. Bushman, Jr. (Ralph Bushman) as Schmidt * Noah Beery, Jr. as Stubbs * Al Ferguson as Ali, chief henchman *

Hooper Atchley Lemuel Hooper Atchley (April 30, 1887 – November 17, 1943) was an American film actor. Atchley was the son of Mr. and Mrs. P. S. Atchley. He was a 1908 graduate of the Knoxville, Tennessee, school system. Atchley's first professional ac ...

as El Kadur *

George Magrill George Magrill (January 5, 1900 – May 31, 1952) was an American film actor who appeared in more than 320 films between 1923 and 1952. Magrill performed on stage before he began to work in films. Besides his acting, Magrill worked as a s ...

as El Maghreb * Edward Peil, Sr. as Ratkin * Gordon de Main as Colonel Duval * William Desmond as Captain Boncour * Robert Warwick as Colonel Brent * Creighton Chaney (Lon Chaney, Jr.; credited as Armand Corday) * Robert Frazer as Major Booth. ''The Three Musketeers'' title card screenshot Three Musketeers-1933-002

Reception

Like many other serials, ''The Three Musketeers'' was re-edited into a feature film version when it was re-released. In 1946, Favorite Films Corporation edited the serial into a 60-minute feature film called '' Desert Command''. The chapter screen titles were eliminated to create a more continuous flow.

Chapters

# The Fiery Circle # One for All and All for One # The Master Spy # Pirates of the Desert # Rebel Rifles # Death's Marathon # Naked Steel # The Master Strikes # The Fatal Cave # Trapped # The Measure of a Man # The Glory of Comrades _Source:

John Wayne

During the 1930s, after starring in ''

The Big Trail ''The Big Trail'' is a 1930 American pre-Code Western early widescreen film shot on location across the American West starring 23-year-old John Wayne in his first leading role and directed by Raoul Walsh. In 2006, the United States Libra ...

'' (1930), its subsequent commercial failure meant that Wayne was relegated to minor roles in A-pictures, or starring, with his name over the title, in many low-budget

Poverty Row Poverty Row is a slang term used to refer to Hollywood films produced from the 1920s to the 1950s by small (and mostly short-lived) B movie studios. Although many of them were based on (or near) today's Gower Street in Hollywood, the term did ...

Westerns, mostly at Monogram Pictures and serials for

Mascot Pictures Corporation Mascot Pictures Corporation was an American film company of the 1920s and 1930s best known for producing and distributing film serials and Western (genre), B-westerns. Mascot was formed in 1927 by film producer Nat Levine. In 1936 it merged wit ...

. Wayne would star in two other Mascot serials: ''

The Shadow of the Eagle ''The Shadow of the Eagle'' (a.k.a. ''Shadow of the Eagle'') is a 1932 American Pre-Code Mascot 12 episode film serial, directed by Ford Beebe and B. Reeves Eason and produced by Nat Levine.Farmer 1984, p. 325. The film stars John Wayne in his ...

'' (1932) and ''

The Hurricane Express ''The Hurricane Express'' is a 1932 American Pre-Code 12-chapter Mascot Pictures film serial. Written by Colbert Clark, Barney Sarecky, Wyndham Gittens, George Morgan, and J.P. McGowan, the serial was directed by Armand Schaeffer and J.P. M ...

'' (1932).Clooney 2002, pp. 195–196.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Cline, William C. "9. They Who Also Serve (The Citizens)"; "Filmography", ''In the Nick of Time''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 1984, . * Clooney, Nick. ''The Movies That Changed Us: Reflections on the Screen''. New York: Atria Books, 2002. . * Harmon, Jim and Donald F. Glut. ''The Great Movie Serials: Their Sound and Fury''. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1972. . * Rainey, Buck. ''Serials and Series: A World Filmography, 1912–1956''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2010. . * Shaheen, Jack G. ''Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People''. New York: Olive Branch Press, 2001. . * Weiss, Ken and Ed Goodgold. ''To be Continued ...: A Complete Guide to Motion Picture Serials''. New York: Bonanza Books, 1973. .

External links

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Episode 1
on Google Video {{DEFAULTSORT:Three Musketeers, The 1933 films 1933 adventure films American aviation films American black-and-white films 1930s English-language films Films based on The Three Musketeers Films directed by Armand Schaefer Mascot Pictures film serials Films set in Africa Films about the French Foreign Legion Films produced by Nat Levine American adventure films 1930s American films