The Three Musketeers (1939 film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Three Musketeers
Directed byAlan Dwan
Screenplay byWilliam A. Drake
M. M. Musselman
Sam Hellman
Ray Golden (special material)
Sid Kuller (special material)
Based onThe Three Musketeers
1844 novel
by Alexandre Dumas
Produced byRaymond Griffith (associate producer)
StarringDon Ameche
The Ritz Brothers
CinematographyPeverell Marley
Edited byJack Dennis
Music byDavid Buttolph
Samuel Pokrass
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
  • February 17, 1939 (1939-02-17)
Running time
73 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Three Musketeers is a 1939 musical comedy film adaptation of Alexandre Dumas's 1844 novel The Three Musketeers directed by Alan Dwan and starring Don Ameche as d'Artagnan, with the Ritz Brothers as his cowardly helpers. While the film can be found online, it did have an original copyright notice and renewal.[1][2]

Plot[edit]

Cast[edit]

Songs[edit]

Music: Samuel Pokrass, lyrics: Walter Bullock.

  • d'Artagnan song (Vara-vara-vara), Don Ameche.
  • Chicken Soup, Ritz Brothers.
  • Voila, Ritz Brothers.
  • My Lady, Don Ameche.

Reception[edit]

Frank Nugent, critic for New York Times, wrote, "That isn't a buzzing in your ears you've been hearing; it's Dumas, fils, spinning in his grave as the Ritz Brothers play his 'Three Musketeers' ... It seems ironic that Mr. Zanuck's first attempt to deal reverently with a classic—in every respect but the Ritzes' share in it—should be impeded by its very reverence to the classic. The trouble, it appears, is that his burlesques are too serious and that his serious efforts are too often burlesques."[3]

In the Leave it to Beaver episode, "The Book Report" (1963), young Beaver Cleaver gets in trouble at school when he is assigned to write a book report about the Dumas novel, but instead of actually doing his homework and reading it, just watches the movie on television and bases his report on the film's comedic scenes and Ritz Brothers' zany antics.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Catalog of Copyright Entries. Library of Congress. 1939. p. 101. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  2. ^ "Catalog of Copyright Entries - Renewals". Catalog of Copyright Entries.musical Compositions. Library of Congress: 99. 1966. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  3. ^ Frank S. Nugent (February 18, 1939). "The Screen; Dumas's 'Three Musketeers' Falls Afoul the Ritzes at the Roxy--'Off the Record' at the Strand". The New York Times.

External links[edit]

Stub icon

This article about an adventure film is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Stub icon

This article about a musical comedy film is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Three_Musketeers_(1939_film)&oldid=1209894598"