THE THREE MUSKETEERS (1974)

STARS: Oliver Reed, Michael York, Raquel Welch, Richard Chamberlain, Faye Dunaway, Charlton Heston, Christopher Lee, Frank Finlay, Spike Milligan, Geraldine Chaplin, Simon Ward, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Roy Kinnear.

DIRECTOR: Richard Lester. DURATION: 105 mins.

SYNOPSIS: Fast-paced adventure comedy. Three swashbuckling heroes join forces with a headstrong country boy who is determined to become a Musketeer. Together they cross swords with the evil Cardinal Richelieu, who is attempting to take the throne by discrediting the good Queen of France.

RC PLAYS: Aramis.

Thanks to director Richard Lester's flamboyant style, this movie ended up being more Keystone Kops than Alexandre Dumas, but it did provide Richard Chamberlain with the first substantial box office success of his career.

But it wasn't without its problems. The film was shot at the same time as its sequel, a fact which annoyed many of the actors who were unaware that a follow-up would also be made and were upset that they would only be paid once.

And then there was Raquel Welch. The actress' colleagues had been led to believe she had not so much of an all for one, one for all attitude, but rather every man for himself.

However, Chamberlain didn't quite see her that way after Welch finally joined the rest of the crew on location. "Apparently Richard (Lester) had been a bit tense with her on the telephone about something and she got angry and started causing a lot of contractual difficulties." explained the actor. "We didn't know she had a perfect right to be peeved, so we'd all decided not to like her when she arrived. Well, she comes on set in a kind of denim outfit, a shirt that's way open - you know, the buttons are bursting open - and her skin is like the surface of the most lovely gentle river. It's just beautiful. And she was so sweet, and everybody just went 'Ahhh. OK, you're OK.' She was fun to work with. She was always on time - as opposed to some members of the cast." Unfortunately, he didn't go on to name names...

Chamberlain's role as lusty would-be priest Aramis wasn't exactly a dry run at Father Ralph in The Thorn Birds, but it did prepare him for parts in three further Dumas adaptations for film and TV - The Four Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo and The Man in the Iron Mask. It certainly seemed as if Richard had set his hat at becoming the Errol Flynn or Douglas Fairbanks of the Seventies.

Nevertheless, the actor was somewhat disappointed by how little he was used here. Of the matter, Chamberlain remarked, "When I saw the movie I couldn't find myself. The character I play sometimes has only one or two lines in one scene, and it's very difficult to establish momentum. More concentration is needed."

Richard was not quite so disappointed though by The Three Musketeers' positive effect on his faltering big screen career.

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