Il colpo segreto di d'Artagnan

A vague historical background :La Fronde. Series of civil wars in France between 1648 and 1653, during the minority of Louis XIV. The Fronde comes from the name for the "sling" of a children's game played in the streets of Paris in defiance of civil authorities. It's true that Gaston D'Orléans ,who had been the heir apparent for Anne D'autriche's children had been a long time coming ,played a prominent part in these conflicts but he tried to calm people down.

Keeping from Dumas nothing but the proper nouns and only two musketeers (D'Artagnan and Porthos ),it's the umpteenth story of the wicked uncle who wants to latch onto his sweet niece' s fortune to help the rebels, so as to put Gaston D'Orléans on the throne and to reign in his shadow ; he goes as far as to have the damsel tortured !Georges Marchal is a good villain ,but George Nader ,although he wields the sword with gusto, is not convincing as D'Artagnan, a character who's French to the core ; brunette Magali Noel is the best of the two heroines ,but her friend is totally bland and is hardly moving when the torturer breaks her hand.

The film may possess appeal for viewers who enjoy duels but the plot is thin and poor ; and in this screenplay ,the musketeers make friends with the Cardinal De Richelieu ....who allows a duel "when it's an experiment"!

The chance of learning of an obscure "Peplum" while leafing through Leonard Maltin's Film Guide on one day and coming across the film in its entirety on "You Tube" on the next is very remote…but this is exactly what just happened to me with this Italian variation on the classic Alexandre Dumas tales - in its original language but with hardcoded Greek subtitles, no less! While my rating agrees with the one bestowed on it by the genial American film critic, I have to say that overall this was a rather half-hearted entry in the prolific screen adventures of the altruistic quartet…so much so that only two of them (D'Artagnan and Porthos) put in an appearance here, they are on Cardinal Richelieu's side this time around(!) and, worse still, all that the 40-strong band of villainous conspirators against the French King seem prone to do are meet in various mansions around Paris to discuss what their next move shall be! Consequently, D'Artagnan is forced to show his eminence a secret fencing trick (as per the film's original title) with which he will mark the traitors' foreheads and rout them out…alas, it is nothing more elaborate than a scar in the shape of an "X"!

If the plot (co-written by the American Milton Krims!) is no great shakes, the solid production values and interesting cast make up for that: the enemies of France take to meeting dressed up as friars in a church at the start of the film – which is how we first meet D'Artagnan (George Nader)!; at the same time, we are also introduced to his main antagonist here, treacherous nobleman Georges Marchal (in his official "Peplum" appearance) – whose niece (Magali Noel), unsurprisingly, lives nearby, still roots for the King and nurses the musketeer back to health and right into her heart! True to formula, she also has a swooning maid who falls for Porthos' gruff charm – who, incidentally, had been whisked out of his farmyard retirement by D'Artagnan earlier on. Massimo Serato only has a few scenes as the resourceful Cardinal but easily steals every one of them from under the noses of his colleagues; Carlo Rustichelli's rousing score is another welcome addition to the generally pleasing if unassuming mix. In conclusion, director Marcellini only helmed a handful of movies and I should be watching the Gianni Maria Canale-starring THE DEVIL'S CAVALIERS (1959) before this Epic Easter marathon has run its course; besides, Marchal had already appeared in previous adaptations of "The Three Musketeers", namely as D'Artagnan to Gino Cervi's Porthos in Andre Hunebelle's 1953 eponymous film version.

Passable swashbuckler with adventures , emotion , intrigue and spectacular fencing . At the begining of the movie a group of conspirators led by Duke of Montserrat (Georges Marchal) dressed up as friars in a church , but there shows up D'Artagnan who fights in sword-crossing against them . He escapes and stumbles through the neighborhood , unsurprisingly living nearby the Duke Monserrat's niece (Alessandra Panaro) . As D'Artagnan finds himself in a bedroom with Diana and Carlota (Magali Noel) who nurse the musketeer back to health . After that , his usual enemy Cardinal Richelieu assigns him a dangerous mission : thwart a scheme to overthrow Louis XIII. D'Artagnan promises to discover the true culprits , a cunning band of villainous conspirators against the French King by cutting a cross into their foreheads to later identify them as villains . This plot is led by the treacherous nobleman Georges Marchal , and other aristocrats : Savignac (Franco Fantasia) , Montfort (Raf Baldassarre) and the religious Hugonots and the Queen Mother Maria de Medicis herself . Then D'Artagnan joins his friend Athos (Mario Petri) and both of whom face off a lot of dangers , risks , and fencing . In fact , the film is partially on historical events about the long confrontation between Maria of Medicis and her son Louis XIII supported by Richelieu . In 1616 Marie's rule was strengthened by the addition to her councils of Armand Jean du Plessis (later Cardinal Richelieu), who had come to prominence at the meetings of the Estates General. However, her son Louis XIII, already several years into his legal majority, asserted his authority the next year. The king overturned the pro-Habsburg, pro-Spanish foreign policy pursued by his mother, ordered the assassination of Concini, exiled the queen to the Château de Blois and appointed Richelieu to his bishopric. After the death of his favourite, the duke of Luynes, Louis turned increasingly for guidance to Richelieu. Marie de' Medici's attempts to displace Richelieu ultimately led to her attempted coup; for a single day, the "Day of the Dupes", in November 1630, she seemed to have succeeded; but the triumph of Richelieu was followed by her self-exile to Compiègne in 1630, from where she escaped to Brussels in 1631 and Amsterdam in 1638.

This Spaghetti adventure dealing with two musketeers D'Artagnan and Porthos as likable protagonists is plenty of action , thrills , court intrigue , spectacular pursuits and a lot of sword-play . Meanwhile , two gorgeous and swooning damsels Alessandra Panaro and Magali Noel fall for the attractive muskeeters , George Nader and Mario Petri . This D'Artagnan is decently starred by George Nader (1921-2002) . George Nader's luck changed when Italian directors persuaded him to go overseas to star an adventure movie and later on , he continued to play several other genres . He took a chance and jumped from B American movies to costumed Italian adventure , Swashbuckler , Eurospy and thriller genres . As the starred some acceptable B movies , as in America as Italy , such as Lady Godiva, Sins of Jezabel , Robot Monster , The duplicators , The house of 1000 dolls , Beyond Atlantis . Here George Nader steals the show by riding , executing bounds and leaps , twists and throughly enjoys himself . As D'Artagnan pulls off a fencing trick (that's why the film's original title) with which he will mark the traitors' foreheads and carrying out an elaborate a scar in the shape of a "X" . He is accompanied by Mario Petri as Porthos who easily steals the spectacle as the veteran and sympathetic musketeer . As well as an agreeable support cast full of ordinary secondaries of the Italian genres of the sixties and seventies such as : Raf Baldassarre , the regular arms-master : Franco Fantasia who here proves splendidly his skills , his brother Andrea Fantasia and Massimo Serato has a nice little character as Cardinal Richelieu, as he has a few scenes as the resourceful and astute Cardinal . Colorful cinematography by Alvaro Mancori , though an alright remastering being necessary . Carlo Rustichelli's moving musical score is another enjoyable addition to this costumer film .

This picture was regular but professionally directed by Siro Marcellini who was a good craftsman who made all kind of genres , and especially adventure movie , though with no originality . Marcellini was a nice artisan who who wrote and directed Westerns titled ¨L'uomo Della Valle Maledetta" or "Man of the Cursed Valley" and ¨Lola Colt¨ but his speciality was the adventure genre such as "The Beast of Babylon Against the Son of Hercules" , I Cavalieri del Diablo¨, "The Two Rivals" and "The Secret Mark of D'Artagnan" .

George Nader seems miscast and out of place in this Grade B adventure. He sports a dainty mustache, is wrapped in 17th-century costumes, and has little opportunity to display any of his on-screen charm. What's worse, he never once gets to take his shirt off. What's a George Nader without some good ol', all-American "beefcake?" The plot here is routine and while there's a bit of swordplay, the movie's modest budget keeps everything disappointingly small-scale and constricted. (The fact that only D'Artagnan and Porthos show up from the original "Three Musketeers" indicates that corners are being cut.) The result isn't so much bad as just oh-so-forgettable, and if you're wondering what the "Secret Mark" of the title is, it refers to the "X" which our hero cuts into the foreheads of his enemies with the tip of his sword.