''The Three Musketeers'' is a 1933 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was an era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry that occurred between the widespread adoption of sound in film in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship gui ...

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, ge ...

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 resumi ...

, and produced by Nat Levine for Mascot Pictures. The film serial was very loosely based on

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...

' 1844 novel ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' () is a French historical adventure novel written and published in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is the first of the author's three d'Artagnan Romances. As with some of his other works, he wrote it in col ...

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

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (, also known simply as , "the Legion") is a corps of the French Army created to allow List of militaries that recruit foreigners, foreign nationals into French service. The Legion was founded in 1831 and today consis ...

, and d'Artagnan being reconfigured as Lt. Tom Wayne (played by

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne, was an American actor. Nicknamed "Duke", he became a Pop icon, popular icon through his starring roles in films which were produced during Hollywood' ...

), a pilot in the United States military.Harmon and Glut 1973, p. 325. Wayne only received fourth billing behind Raymond Hatton, 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 chapters one and ten.

Plot

In the harsh deserts of

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

, 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 violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

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 Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...

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

as Tom Wayne * Ruth Hall as Elaine Corday *

as Clancy * Raymond Hatton as Renard * Francis X. Bushman Jr. (Ralph Bushman) as Schmidt * Noah Beery Jr. as Stubbs *

Al Ferguson Al Ferguson (19 April 1888 – 4 December 1971) was an Irish-born American film actor. Born in County Wexford, Ireland, he appeared in nearly 300 films between 1912 and 1956. Billed as Smoke Ferguson, by 1912 he was making Westerns for Selig Po ...

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 as El Maghreb * Edward Peil Sr. as Ratkin * Gordon de Main as Colonel Duval * William Desmond as Captain Boncour *

Robert Warwick Robert Warwick (born Robert Taylor Bien; October 9, 1878 – June 6, 1964) was an American stage, film and television actor with over 200 film appearances. A matinee idol during the silent film era, he also prospered after the introduction ...

as Colonel Brent * Creighton Chaney (Lon Chaney Jr.) as Armand Corday *

Robert Frazer Robert Frazer (born Robert William Browne, June 29, 1891 – August 17, 1944) was an American actor who appeared in some 224 shorts and films from the 1910s until his death. He began in films with the Eclair company which released through Unive ...

as Major Booth. ''The Three Musketeers'' title card screenshot Three Musketeers-1933-002

Reception

Like many other serials, ''The Three Musketeers'' was reedited into a feature film version when it was rereleased. 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 epic 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. It is the final completed film ...

'' (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 Westerns, mostly at

Monogram Pictures Monogram Pictures Corporation was an American film studio that produced mostly low-budget films between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram was among the smaller studios i ...

and serials for Mascot Pictures Corporation. Wayne would star in two other Mascot serials: '' The Shadow of the Eagle'' (1932) and '' The Hurricane Express'' (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 (1933 serial), 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 English-language adventure films