The Three Musketeers (1933 serial)


The Three Musketeers is a 1933 American pre-Code film serial directed by Armand Schaeffer and Colbert Clark, and produced by Nat Levine for Mascot Pictures. The film serial was very loosely based on Alexandre Dumas' 1844 novel The Three Musketeers, with the musketeers changed into three soldiers in the French Foreign Legion, and d'Artagnan being reconfigured as Lt. Tom Wayne, a pilot in the United States military.
Wayne only received fourth billing behind Raymond Hatton, Francis X. Bushman, Jr. and Jack Mulhall who play the three legionnaires. Lon Chaney Jr. had a co-starring role in the serial, mainly appearing in Chapter One. The serial's subject matter, a product of its time, could be considered racist by modern-day standards.

Plot

In the harsh deserts of Northern Africa, the French Foreign Legion provides a military presence. When Lt. Tom Wayne ) is framed for the murder of Armand Corday. He vows to capture the real killer, a mysterious Arab terrorist known only as El Shaitan.
Tom encounters three bumptious legionnaires: Clancy, an Irishman always spoiling for a fight, Renard (Raymond Hatton

Cast

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

  1. The Fiery Circle
  2. One for All and All for One
  3. The Master Spy
  4. Pirates of the Desert
  5. Rebel Rifles
  6. Death's Marathon
  7. Naked Steel
  8. The Master Strikes
  9. The Fatal Cave
  10. Trapped
  11. The Measure of a Man
  12. The Glory of Comrades
Source:

John Wayne

During the 1930s, after starring in The Big Trail, 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 and serials for Mascot Pictures Corporation. Wayne would star in two other Mascot serials: The Shadow of the Eagle and The Hurricane Express.

Citations

Download or view online