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I love this movie so much

Fresh and Exciting

Excellent but underrated film

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

Cocky young swordsman D'Artagnan (Walter Abel) arrives in Paris and is taken under the wing of three musketeers (Paul Lukas, Moroni Olsen, Onslow Stevens). First English-language film version of the Alexandre Dumas story. It's pretty dull stuff. Walter Abel is painfully miscast. This was his first starring role. He would have better luck in his career as a character player. Film debut of Moroni Olsen. Three Musketeers movies should be fun, exciting, and action-packed. This one's tedious. Even the action is unexciting. Max Steiner wrote the music and lyrics for the corny theme song. Hardly his best work. Watchable but forgettable.

The Three Musketeers was probably RKO Studio's biggest budget item for 1935. It's a condensed version of the classic novel by Alexandre Dumas and casts Walter Abel in the lead role of D'Artagnan.Walter Abel had a distinguished career as a fine character actor, but from this film he just not have the charisma needed to carry a whole film. Ironic that the three most obvious D'Artagnans all were not available in 1935. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. was in Great Britain, Tyrone Power was a year away from his break out picture, Lloyd's of London and Errol Flynn was just being introduced at Warner Brothers in Captain Blood. Why none of those three ever got to play D'Artagnan is a mystery, especially Flynn who did do a version of The Three Musketeers as a radio play.The best bit of acting is from Ian Keith as DeRochefort. The novel has DeRochefort as Cardinal Richelieu's chief enforcer, but here he's a loose cannon with very much his own agenda. Paul Lukas makes a brooding Athos although the best portrayal of that role comes from Van Heflin in MGM's version in 1948.This is a decent version of the classic and far superior to what Darryl Zanuck inflicted on the public in 1939 with the Ritz Brothers as Athos, Porthos, and Aramis.

This is quite an interesting version of the 3 Musketeers. It does not follow all of the book, and ends about half way into the book. I thought Walter Abel was great in this version. If you see the 1948 Gene Kelly version, you will note that Kelly definitely copies the Abel look for the hero. Also another great film score. Favorite scenes include, the Assembled body of the Musketeers at their fencing exercises, and the meeting between the Queen her English lover. Action packed, because it is shorter than most versions, and quite stirring.

Of all the major American and British sound versions of the Dumas classic made up to 1999, this is easily the worst. The trouble is in the casting and the direction. Walter Abel was "introduced" in this film, although he had actually been in films since as far back as 1930, and because this was his first swashbuckling role, the producers didn't know what to make of him. He has none of the dash of Douglas Fairbanks,Don Ameche, Warren William, Cornel Wilde, or even Gene Kelly, and none of the charming awkwardness of Michael York, all of whom have played D'Artagnan in other films.In fact, Abel gives, in plain English, a bad performance, partly because he is so totally miscast. Film fans will recognize him as one of those actors whom you see often,but never know what their name is. He would give better performances later in his career as worried, nervous managers (in "Holiday Inn") or business executives( i.e. Gregory Peck's boss, who falls memorably out the window to his death in "Mirage"). The other roles are indifferently cast and performed--this could be any one of a hundred B-movies--even the villains,and that's the real problem. A swashbuckler is supposed to be exciting and thrilling,and this one is neither--it's as if director Lee just didn't care.