Le 5e mousquetaire

This may not be the best version of the story (The Man in the Iron Mask), but its period production values, good pace and some of its top cast lift it above the "B" remake some would rate it.

It perhaps marks a minor renaissance of the unrepentant swashbuckler movie. Beautifully filmed on location (Vienna passing for Paris), it delights the eye. There is enough slapstick sword-fighting to please all but the absolute connoisseur; the tension of the plot is well maintained; it is simply fun to watch. Memorable performances by Rex Harrison as Colbert (in one of his last movie roles) and Ian McShane as Fouquet help to keep the viewer's attentions when others of the rather mixed cast falter.

Ursula Andress' (or "Ursula Undress" as she was somewhat unfairly nicknamed after a Playboy Magazine appearance) convincing portrayal of the King's mistress would undoubtedly have been enhanced (as other commentators have suggested) by the restoration of the nudity cut by the US censors (the American running time is 12 minutes shorter than the British).

All in all, not a movie to buy for one's DVD library, but to rent for a rainy day or watch on TV and appreciate for its fun.

It's not a bad movie, but the best parts are played by the women. Ursula Andress looks absolutely incredible (like that comes as a surprise) and is very convincing as the bitchy yet extremely alluring Louise de la Vallière, mistress to King Louis. Sylvia Kristal is also very good in her role as well. If you are looking just to relax and watch a movie that you don't need to think about, this is the one. If you are a fan of women in corsets... have no fear, Ursula can satisfy that pretty well.

Despite a stellar cast, The Fifth Musketeer still remains just an average retelling of The Man In The Iron Mask, Alexandre Dumas's sequel novel to The Three Musketeers.

Ironically in the role of the aging D'Artagnan is Cornel Wilde who I would love to have seen in The Three Musketeers back in the day. Wilde in fact was a fencing champion, he was on the US Olympic team before he became an actor.

No preliminary tale of the birth of the twins to Louis XIII and Anne of Austria. We meet the grownup Louis XIV and Phillipe of Gascony as grown young men. Phillippe's been trained in the military arts by his foster father D'Artagnan and the other Three Musketeers, Jose Ferrer as Athos, Alan Hale, Jr. as Porthos, and Lloyd Bridges as Aramis. Louis and Phillippe are played by Beau Bridges.

That seems to be the main weakness of the film. I think Beau himself would be the first to agree he hasn't the swashbuckling élan of Louis Hayward, but he also isn't as good Leonardo DiCaprio in a later version. As for Queen Maria Theresa whom we meet as the Infanta of Spain, Marie Kristel also lacks some passion. If I were either of these twins I'd have taken up with royal mistress Ursula Andress in a Parisian minute. Now she's full of passion.

Rex Harrison and Ian McShane are an interesting pair of dueling ministers, Colbert and Fouquet, both of whom did vie for Louis XIV's favor, but well into his reign. McShane is not as sly as Joseph Schildkraut in the 1939 The Man With The Iron Mask. Harrison seems preoccupied like he was waiting for his salary check to clear. For the very few minutes Olivia DeHavilland is on screen as Queen Mother Anne of Austria, she's completely wasted.

The cinematography is grand, it always is when Jack Cardiff does it. The film was shot in Vienna which apparently looks more 17th century than Paris does now. But Ken Annakin who usually does films that roar with action and adventure seems not to be able to get this one to rise to the occasion.

THE FIFTH MUSKETEER - what a big disappointment. All that amazing talent, all those famous names, and only a couple of adequate performances in the entire film. What went wrong? I have the sneaking suspicion there were too many Chiefs and not enough Indians working in this film. The filmmakers probably found it hard to control the big names, and it shows. Clever dialogue would have made it possible to overlook the tepid, unoriginal script, but alas, there is very little.

Even if I were not an Ian McShane fan I would be forced to admit his characterisation of Fouquet remains the only one in the film which seems fully formed. Even though he plays the villain I found myself cheering him on because he was the only one with any charisma or humour in the entire film. The female performers are appealing. I hear the UK version has some nudity; the US VHS version has been cut to the point of somnambulism.

Trivia for McShane fans: The hijinx appear to all have taken place off-set rather than on. During the making of THE FIFTH MUSKETEER, Sylvia Kristel (of the EMMANUELLE soft porn series of films) and Ian McShane became involved in a highly-publicized, scandalous long- term affair. And McShane has related memories (complete with a spot-on vocal impersonation) of Rex Harrison imperiously barking orders at him to get out of his light during filming. It was that kind of set.

This retelling of Dumas' The Man in the Iron Mask makes for an ok film for a rainy day, but is hardly an epic swasbuckler. Beau Bridges is good in the dual roles of Louis and Phillipe, as is Rex Harrison as Colbert. Ian McShayne is delightfully evil as Fouquet and Ursulla Andress is wonderfully bitchy. Cornell Wilde and Alan Hale Jr. reprise their roles (sort of) from the film At Swords Point. Papa Bridges is around as a decidedly unreligious Aramis, and Jose Ferrer trades Cyrano's nose, for Athos' tunic. Sylvia Kristel is rather wooden as Marie Therese. In all, there is little for the actors to work with, but the scenery is nice and a few action sequences are quite good. Still one could have hoped for better things with this cast.