New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-08-30
On the Screen
Thrilling, Grip
ping, unadulterated Success
in 1.-The Three Musketeers''
By Harriette Underhill


Half the people in New York
crowded into the Lyric Theater Sunday
night to see THE Three Musketeers. i"
Inc other half crowded into Forty
second Street to see Douglas Fair
banks enter the theater, with Mary
flckford and Charlie Chaplin thrown
III for good measure.
Our taxi man made US get out at
Seventh Avenue and walk over to The
Lyric. Guess there's fire." he said
ana we guessed SO, too, until we at
tempted to go into the lobby of the
policeman. "Where'e your tickets ?" he
demanded. Gimme your tickets and
III get you in and he did! D'Artagnan
himself could not have done better.
inside, the scene in the street was
duplicated. Perfectly nice people were
ready to knock you down or fall on
your bird of paradise in their efforts
to be nearer to the box which held
Douglas and Mary and Charlie. Finally
Doug had 20 ask them please to take
their seats so the picture could go on.
And such q picture! Good news
travels just as fast as bad news, so by
this time it is probable that every one
knows that The Three Musketeers" is
thrilling, gripping, unauthorized
success. If you didn't know who wrote
1t you would insist that the author had
Fairbanks IN mind when he wrote the
story. Surely no other actor on the
screen could have done it.
Douglas does all of the things ne
has been doing so long and so joyously
Joyous for him and for us), but he
does them in the picturesque costume
Of 1900 and something. He fences
better than any twelve men put to-
gether. He rides better-he swims
bette ne runs better. Edward Kno-
block adapted the story for the screen,
and he has followed Dumas very
closely, only, as we remember, the tale
as written did not have such a gener-
ally happy ending.
Of course, rollicking quality is in
PRODUCED by Fairbanks, who seems to
be having the time Of his life even
while he is carrying Constance over
the tops Of the roofs and along the
perilous edges Of castle walls. The
race from Paris to London for the
queens buckle, which was to save her
throne, was the most exciting thing
that ever has been done on the screen.
You knew that DArtagnan was going
to win, but unless you have recently
read "The Three Musketeers" YOU
couldn't remember how he did it and
you couldn't see how he possibly
could do it. But he did, and the nice
part of this picture is that you know
all the time it is really Fairbanks you
are looking at and not double. No
one could double for Doug" for if he
couldn't do the stunt no one could
do it.
There were others in the cast, too,
who deserve honorable mention. Nigel
de Brulier was. most excellent as the
willy Cardinal. The three musketeers
were delightfully."- portrayed by Leon
Barry, George Siegmann and Eugene
Palette. Thomas Holding was Buck
ingham, whose infatuation for the
Queen, played by Mary MaeLaren,
caused all the trouble. Adolphe Men
jou was Louis XIII; Marguerite De La
Motto is seen as Constance and Bar
bara La Mari is Milady, whose sub
tleties are not equal to D'Artagnan's
courage and agility.
The stage settings are by John Wen
ger and the direction is by Fred Niblo.
Although so much has been said OF
"The Three Musketeers" in advance, We
doubt if even the producers had any
idea just how big success it was 90
ing to be. Douglas, In his after cur
tain speech, said that he had no idea,
and we, for one, believe him.