The Three Musketeers

D'Artangan (Douglas Fairbanks) goes up against his rival Richelieu (Adolphe Menjou), with the help of his Musketeer friends. There is a plot, something to do with the Queen, but don't ask me what it was.

Like most film adaptations of long (in this case about as long as War and Peace, like all other Dumas books) novels, a lot has been simplified and left out, yet the plot is still hard to follow! This means that people who've read the book complain about the missing parts, and people who haven't read it, complain they can't follow the movie! For this reason, i don't know why anybody ever adapts long novels. In this case, the appeal of the swordplay and romance is a well justified reason for putting these characters onscreen.

Like many entertainment-driven silents, it is impossible to delve too deeply into character, let alone themes - so what we have feels like a fairly empty and superficial version of an epic story.

Enjoyable Fairbanks vehicle is just a piece of fluff, the silent era equivalent of Pirates of the Caribbean - which is no small achievement. It has genuine sword-swishing action, and the dashing and charismatic Fairbanks - who makes for both great comic relief, and a great hero.

Highlight: there is some sparkling little samples of dialogue (title cards), which were unexpectedly hilarious. Mainly in D'Artangan's scenes.

7/10.