A Modern Musketeer

This Douglas Fairbanks vehicle has been noted for its scenes of Fairbanks dressed as D'Artagnan ("The Three Musketeers") anticipating the star's later redirection of his career in the 1920s to more prestigious, costume/historical swashbucklers. Otherwise, "A Modern Musketeer" is similar to the usual modern comedies Fairbanks made before "The Mark of Zorro" and "The Three Musketeers" transformed his career. His scenes as D'Artagnan are only a small part of the picture-mostly the opening sequence where Doug swordfights every man in a tavern to humorously retrieve a lady's handkerchief. Framing this sequence, Fairbanks literally winks at the camera, which the Flicker Alley commentary suggests was to reassure audiences that they were watching the same old Doug, who had by this time firmly established a popular comedic screen persona.

I like Fairbanks's comedies and have viewed about every complete one I could find on home video, but, admittedly, even the best formulas eventually get tiresome and in need of some revision and innovation. The first part of "A Modern Musketeer" is, thus, interestingly unusual. Besides the opening swashbuckling, other sequences seem to be in non-chronological order: first, there's a mythological past of D'Artagnan with a modern sense of humor, then a near-contemporary scene where modern Doug destroys another, but modern, tavern, as he again knocks men about to defend a woman's honor, followed by the cyclone scene of Doug's character's birth and, then, another near-present scene on a streetcar involving giving up seats for ladies. After this, we mostly follow the main chronological story as our hero leaves home and eventually saves the day at the Grand Canyon.

As in his other comedies, Fairbanks is established as out-of-place in modern society, for his restless exuberance and chivalry at the expense of clobbering any fellow seeming to be in his way. The film suggests that this kind of man was more at home in the past, such as in the case of D'Artagnan. The setting of historical swashbucklers befitted Fairbanks's persona, whereas the modern comedies found their comedy in Fairbanks's awkwardness in modern times and his transformation within those constraints. He doesn't belong in his small hometown in Kansas, so he leaves for adventure.

Overall, this is a good Fairbanks comedy. It's the earliest one I've seen directed by Allan Dwan, who was taking over for John Emerson as the star's main director. Apparently, scenarist and title writer Anita Loos had also already departed from Fairbanks's team of filmmakers, but her influence continued to be seen in witty title cards such as this one: "After Fording the desert-- Note:--please pardon the pun." The "note" part, as the DVD commentary points out, is a clever jab at D.W. Griffith, who included historical footnotes, often dubiously, in title cards for his historical epics, such as "The Birth of a Nation".

Some final technical notes: the tornado scene features some decent special effects for 1917, including the use of miniatures. Lots of structures fall over and apart, but there isn't nearly enough dust blowing around to make the scene more realistic. This sequence and the dam break climax in Fairbanks's "When the Clouds Roll by" seem to have had a strong influence on Buster Keaton, who included similar scenes in his later comedies. Additionally, the direction and editing are generally sharp here, as in other Fairbanks's films, but there is one particularly sloppy match-on-action cut about 30 minutes in where there's a temporal replay as the scene cuts to a closer view. Finally, the photography of the Grand Canyon is pretty good.

Although best known for his swashbuckling adventure films of the 1920s like THE MARK OF ZORRO, THE BLACK PIRATE and THE THREE MUSKETEERS, Douglas Fairbanks was already wowing the audiences in earlier years from 1915 onwards, particularly with his amazing physical feats which led to his more famous action hero roles of the 20s. In fact, many of his pre-1920 films have more raw action and amazing feats than the more sophisticated productions of later years, and A MODERN MUSKETEER is a prime example: one astonishing action sequence shows Fairbanks doing some running somersaults, leaping over walls and then a horse in a single bound before virtually running up a perpendicular church wall and its steeple with the speed and ease of a monkey! Anyone who has thrilled to other early Fairbanks films like WILD AND WOOLLY, MANHATTAN MADNESS and HIS MAJESTY, THE American will surely be as amazed and entertained as I was to watch A MODERN MUSKETEER. Although it's incomplete, with only the first 3 reels surviving, it showcases the trademark comedy and action talents of Douglas Fairbanks in his years leading up to his biggest film successes. A few short scenes show Fairbanks as D'Artagnan – a foretaste of his later success in THE THREE MUSKETEERS, and then the story revolves around a young man from Kansas who, like D'Artagnan, is always looking to rescue a damsel in distress. It is wildly funny, and despite its missing ending, really worth while viewing.

Modern Musketeer, The (1917)

*** (out of 4)

Fun silent film has Douglas Fairbanks playing a man living in Kansas with his parents who dreams of a more exciting life. Ever since he was a child his mother read to him The Three Musketeers so as an adult he grows tired of his town and heads out west in hopes of romance and adventure. Until recently the second half of this film was lost but it was eventually found and the film recently premiered on Turner Classic Movies. A lot of lost movies that get found are usually big letdowns but this film here actually is pretty good and should keep action fans entertained. The film opens up with a wild, ten minute sequence, which contains just about every type of action you can imagine. We have wild fist fights, broken glasses and various other items. The lively action at the start of the film makes the movie slow down a tad too much in the middle but the movie ends with more great action as Fairbanks must battle Indians. Fairbanks is very energetic in his role and makes a great character here. Another bonus is a terrific wind storm that happens at the start of the film and the special effects here of the city being blown down are very good for their time. Future director Victor Fleming worked as the cinematographer.

Douglas Fairbanks' lasting image on the screen is one of a swashbuckling hero whose athletic skills, in which he performed all his stunts, has become unparalleled in cinema. The actor presaged his famous adventurer persona in December 1917's "The Modern Musketeer." This movie marked the first appearance of his sword fighting skills, appearing in a flashback prologue where Fairbanks, to protect the integrity of a woman's handkerchief, takes on all of the tavern's clientele in an action-packed opening scene.

"The Modern Musketeer" also showcases his tremendous physical agility behind a Grand Canyon backdrop. Director Allan Dwan, who wrote the scenario based on "D'Artagnan of Kansas," by E. P. Lyle, Jr., was able to use the canyon grounds just before the area was declared a national park two years later, where the United States Park Service disallowed filming future dramatic movies within its borders. Fairbanks' hand-stand on the edge of a canyon cliff still has modern audiences gasping for breath, as well as an earlier scene where he climbs atop a church steeple.

After a string of highly-praised and enduring comedy Fairbanks films with screenwriter Anita Loos, "The Modern Musketeer" marked the break between the actor and the scriptwriter and her partner's John Emerson's direction. Ms. Loos was offered more money by the Famous Players-Lasky Studio to work for its New York unit rather than Fairbanks' California subsidiary within the same company.

The actor capitalized on his sudden fame by writing a self-help book, "Laugh and Live," in 1917, which emphasizes the power of positive thinking and raising one's confidence through health (food and exercise), business opportunities and social contacts.

This will be one of the more enjoyable silent movies you'll come across - restored by the Danish Film Institute and of very good quality, and starring one of the greats of the silent era - Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. - as Ned Thacker, a man raised in Kansas being read the stories of D'Artagnan by his mother, and who grows up to be a modern day version of the musketeer, defending the honour of women at every step.

The movie opens with two really good fight scenes - a swashbuckling look back at D'Artagnan (also played by Fairbanks) as he fights to re-claim a woman's handkerchief, and our first look at Thatcher in a bar-room brawl as he defends the honour of a woman he thought was being treated poorly by her male companion. These were both fun scenes, and I enjoyed the unexpected humour as we got a glimpse of how Ned started his career as a chivalrous man by being arrested on a streetcar as he demands that a man give up his seat for two women, only to discover that the man was the chief of police! So the story had a good start.

If it lost its way a bit, it was in the decision to then focus exclusively on Ned's pursuit of Elsie Dodge (Marjorie Daw) - a young woman being forced by her mother into a relationship with a rich man in order to help pay bills. I thought the story might have been more effective if it had continued to be a series of vignettes of Thacker defending women in various circumstances. The move into the Grand Canyon, and the introduction of the bad Indian Chin-de-dah (Frank Campeau) - who fancies himself a king and decides he's going to kidnap and marry Elsie - struck me as an unnecessary diversion, which ended up as far more than a diversion - it becomes the story.

Still, if that goes a little too far, this was still a fun movie. There's no doubt about that. I enjoyed Fairbanks. Overall I thought both the movie and Fairbanks had the feel of something you might have seen remade by Bob Hope in the 1940's - a light, silly, Western-oriented comedy. A typical line, for example, that I could easily have seen put on Hope's mouth (which, of course, in this is simply a caption) comes as Ned and Elsie look at the splendour of the Grand Canyon and Ned says "Golly. A gully." That's the sort of light comedy I hear coming from Hope's mouth. This has a lot of that, and some good action scenes, and those opening fight scenes that really do draw you in. (7/10)