Customer Reviews

The Three Musketeers Vol 1 -Rebel Rifles

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Although this particular serial, one of only three the Duke starred
in, is not up to Republic standards, it is a real actionfest
nevertheless. And the cliffhangers are pretty exciting, too!

Roan's
restoration is as good as any version you'll find, and probably better
considering this is a 1933 effort.

Shot in only 21 days, the serial
boasts not only John Wayne (as hero Tom Wayne), but Francis X. Bushman
Jr., Noah Beery Jr., a brief appearance by Lon Chaney Jr., (billed as
Creighton Chaney), and stunt work by Duke regular Yakima Canutt (who
also plays the villian El Shaitan when masked).

The story is billed
as "a modern retelling" of the classic Dumas story, with
Wayne as D'Artagnan. However, the only thing that remains from the
novel is the three comrades plus one, and the title.

Duke is en
route to visit his sweetheart Elaine in the Sahara (why she's living
there is anyone's guess). On the way, he rescues some French Foreign
Legionnaires from being wiped out by hostile Arabs. From then on, the
three are Tom's pals, and call themselves the Three Musketeers since
they are the only survivors of their outfit left.

El Shaitan is the
leader of a mysterious Arab cult called The Devil's Circle, who are
trying to accquire and take up arms against the Legion (again, no real
reasoning why, other then they are there).

Elaine's brother (Lon
Chaney), is murdered by El Shaitan, and Wayne is incriminated. From
there, Wayne becomes a fugitive from justice as he attempts to track
down and unmask the mysterious El Shaitan.

Ruth Hall, who plays
Tom's sweetheart Elaine Corday is great, although her career amounted
to mostly uncredited bit parts. She appeared in such famous films as
"Easter Parade", "How to Marry a Millionaire", and
"The Farmer Takes a Wife".

Like most thirties action films
and serials, this one features the still-new and ever fascinating
invention of the day, the airplane. Here, Tom is a pilot, as is Elaine
and the evil El Shaitan.

Always interesting to see the young Duke in
action, and this is no dried out piece of toast like some of the
bland, nondescript westerns he was trapped in between "The Big
Trail" (1930)and "Stagecoach" (1939).

This probably is not the serial I would have picked to be the first on DVD (Captain Marvel would be an obvious choice) but it is a good one either way. Roan's restoration is excellent as always. John Wayne makes one of his last attempts to act before making it big and just playing "John Wayne" all the time, and pulls it off in this one, though not nearly as well as in Hurricane Express. Serial veteran Jack Mulhall is a joy to watch, as is Raymond Hatton in this great updating of the Dumas' classic (though it really only takes the name of that fine literary work). Lots of digitally preserved action and cliffhangers make this one a keeper!

The Three Musketeers is a multi chapter SERIAL, of chapters that are about 15 minutes in length. If you are a SERIAL collector as I am, you will like to see this one. John Wayne is a Legion pilot, and he has three buddies also in the legion including: Ray "Crash" Corrigan as one of the legionnaires! Together they go through and happen upon a group of thieves and murderers. Time and time again, Wayne and his pals get in and out of trouble, in the end, they get their bad guys. This Serial is a must, if you are a fan of serials. Also if you are a fan of very early John Wayne pictures, you will get a kick out of him in a serial.

The movie was good, like watching an old movie. But it just ended in the middle of a scene, went to some sort of a commerical and that was it. I looked at the menu scenes and it only had 4 chapters. The dvd just left you hanging until you can get the rest of that movie. Very disappointed!

Passport Video and Koch Entertainment Distribution present "The John Wayne Cliffhanger Collection" (1932/33)
(Dolby digitally remastered)...relive those thrilling days from the early '30s and '40s
when John Wayne took us up into the skies to exciting
adventures....some of the best cliffhangers ever to grace the Saturday Matinee
Screen...just remember double thrills, chills, mystery and suspense...hitting the bull's eye
with excitement...don't miss any of the John Wayne features loaded with action that will leave
you wanting more of his high adventures

First up is "SHADOW OF THE EAGLE" (1932 - B&W) (12 Chapters), under director Ford Beebe, produced by Nat Levine, original screenplay & story by Colbert Clark, Wyndham Gittens and Forbe Beebe....the cast include John Wayne (Craig McCoy), Dorothy Gulliver( Jean Gregory), Edward Hearn (Col. Nathan B. Gregory), Richard Tucker (Maj. Evans, company owner), Lloyd Whitlock (Green, a director), Walter Miller (Danby, a director ), Edmund Burns (Clark, a director), Pat O'Malley (Ames, a director), Kenneth Harlan (Ward, a director), Little Billy' Rhodes (Billy Little, the midget), Ivan Linow (Heinie, the strongman), James Bradbury Jr. (Henry, the ventriloquist), Ernie Adams (Frederick 'Pat' Kelly, the barker), Roy D'Arcy (Henchman Gardner), Bud Osborne (Henchman Tim Moore), YakimaCanutt (Henchman Boyle), Billy West (Bob, the clown ), Monte Montague (Callahan, Policeman at circus).......our story has seversal questions will The Eagle use sky writing to make threats against a corporation...can Edward Hearn who owns a travelling fairground and is thought to be the Eagle succeed in his evil plot against all that is good...will John Wayne who is a pilot go searching for the Eagle when Hearn's turns up missing....all of this and more await your viewing pleasure in a 12 Chapter Mascot Pictures thrilling serial adventure that is action packed. . . . . . . Special footnote, actor John Wayne once said, "Every country in the world loved the folklore of the West - the music, the dress, the excitement, everything that was associated with the opening of a new territory. It took everybody out of their own little world - The cowboy lasted a hundred years, created more songs and prose and poetry than any other folk figure - The closest thing was the Japanese samurai. Now, I wonder who'll continue it...His performance as Ethan Edwards in "The Searchers" (1956) is ranked #23 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time...Of his many film roles, his personal favorite was that of Ethan Edwards from The Searchers (1956). Wayne even went so far as to name his son Ethan after that character...The inscription on the Congressional Gold Medal awarded to him in 1979 reads, simply, "John Wayne, American."...After meeting the late Superman star Christopher Reeve at the 1979 Academy Awards, Wayne turned to Cary Grant and said "This is our new man. He's taking over."...Turned down the role of Marshal Dillon on "Gunsmoke" (1955) because he did not want to commit to a weekly TV series. He recommended his friend James Arness for the role, and gave the on camera introduction in the pilot episode...I would like to be remembered, well...the Mexicans have a phrase, 'Feo fuerte y formal'. Which means; he was ugly, strong and had dignity."

Chapter Titles:
1. The Carnival Mystery
2. Pinholes
3. The Eagle Strikes
4. The Man of a Million Voices
5. The Telephone Cipher
6. Code of the Carnival
7. Eagle or Vulture?
8. On the Spot
9. When Thieves Fall Out
10.The Man Who Knew
11.The Eagle's Wings
12.The Shadow Unmasked

SPECIAL FEATURES:
BIOS:
1. John Wayne (aka: Marion Michael Morrison)
Birth Date: 5/26/1907 - Winterset, Iowa
Died: 6/11/1979 - Los Angeles, California

Second film on the bill is "HURRICANE EXPRESS" (1932 - B&W) (12 Chapters), under director's J.P. McGowan and Armand Schaefer, produced by Nat Levine, original screenplay & story by Colbert Clark, Wyndham Gittens, J.P. McGowan, George Moran, Barney A. Sarecky and Harold Tarshis, musical score by Lee Zahler....the cast include John Wayne (Larry Baker), Tully Marshall (Howard L. Edwards, Railroad manager), Conway Tearle (Stevens, Railroad attorney),Shirley Grey (Gloria Stratton), Edmund Breese (Frank Stratton, Gloria's father), Lloyd Whitlock, (Walter Gray, Airline manage), Al Bridge (Carlson, Plainville station agent (as Alan Bridge), Matthew Betz (Tom Jordan, Railroad engineer (as Mathew Betz), Joseph W. Girard (Det. Matthews (as Joseph Girard), James P. Burtis (Det. Hemingway, Matthews, assistant (as James Burtis), Ernie Adams (Henchman Barney, Machine gunner (as Ernie S. Adams), Charles King (Henchman Mike), J. Farrell MacDonald (Jim Baker, Railroad engineer), Al Ferguson (Henchman Sandy, The "Wrecker's" pilot),Glenn Strange (Henchman Jim), Victor Adamson (Train passenger), Yakima Canutt (Henchman ), Eddie Parker (Co-pilot), Fred 'Snowflake' Toones (Sam, the Train porter)........our story opens with a villain known as "The Wrecker" who wrecks only the L & R Railroad trains...who is this evil character and why is he doing this...can John Wayne see through his many disguises, will this evildoers be stopped...don't touch that dial until the final chapter "Unmasked". . . . . .veterans character actors appear as the henchmen Ernie Adams, Charlie King, Glenn Strange and Al Ferguson. . . . . .check out this and more in a new book "Best of the Badmen" by Boyd Magers, Bob Nareau and Bobby Copeland, available from Amazon and Empire Publishing. . . pick up your copy today. . . . .another great serial from Mascot Pictures, proves to be one of Wayne's most exciting performances.

Chapter Titles:
1. The Wrecker
2. Flying Pirates
3. The Masked Menace
4. Buried Alive
5. Danger Lights
6. The Airport Mystery
7. Sealed Lips
8. Outside the Law
9. The Invincible Army
10. The Wrecker's Secret
11. Wings of Death
12. Unmasked

SPECIAL FEATURES:
BIOS:
1. Glenn Strange (aka: George Glenn Strange)
Birth Date: 8/16/1899 - Weed, New Mexico
Died: 9/20/1973 - Los Angeles, California
2. Charles King
Birth Date: 2/21/1895 - Hillsboro. Texas
Died: 5/07/1957 - Hollywood, California
3. Al Ferguson
Birth Date:4/19/1888 - Rosslare, County Wexford, Ireland
Died: 12/04/1971 - Long Beach, Long Island, New York,
4. Ernie Adams
Birth Date: 6/18/1895 - San Francisco, California
Died: 11/26/1947 - Hollywood, California

Final serial is "THE THREE MUSKETEERS" (1933 - B&W) (12 Chapters), under directors Colbert Clark and Armand Schaefer, produced by Nat Levine, screenplay and story by Colbert Clark, Bennett Cohen, Alexandre Dumas, Wyndham Gittens, Norman S. Hall and Barney A. Sarecky, musical score by Lee Zahler...the cast include John Wayne (Lt. Tom Wayne), Jack Mulhall (Clancy), Raymond Hatton (Renard), Ralph Bushman (Schmidt (as Francis X. Bushman Jr.), Ruth Hall (Elaine Corday), Lon Chaney Jr. (Lt. Armand Corday as Creighton Chaney), Hooper Atchley (El Kadur), Gordon De Main (Col. Duval), Robert Frazer (Major Booth), Noah Beery Jr. (Noah Stubbs), Al Ferguson (Ali), Edward Peil Sr. (Ratkin (as Edward Piel) William Desmond (Capt. Boncour), George Magrill (El Maghreb), Robert Warwick (Col. Brent), Yakima Canutt (El Shaitan, when masked/Legion Officer), Frank Ellis (Legionnaire), Kermit Maynard (Legionnaire). . . . . .our story is a good one from the pages of Alexandre Dumas, only this time set in the Arabian desert...our hero John Wayne does it all rescues Jack Mulhall, Raymond Hatton and Ralph Bushman, although Wayne has fourth billing and must prove himself throughout the 12 Chapters...the action is non stop and a physical film all through the perfected stunts of ace stuntman Yakima Canutt, who also trained Wayne to do most of his own stunts in this adventure...will the musketeers stop El Shaitan (who spouts "Death to the unbeliever") who is terrorizing the entire Mascot Picture lot....don't miss a single chapter of this exciting 1933 cliffhanger. . . . . special footnote, one of my favorite character actors was Raymond Hatton (1887-1971) who worked with Buck Jones, Tim McCoy and Johnny Mack Brown as Marshall Sandy Hopkins appeared from 1943 and made 45 films for Monogram Pictures...Hatton who first appeared on film in "Tragic Love" (1909-Silent/unconfirmed), "Oliver Twist" (1917), "The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923), "The Squaw Man" (1931), "Law and Order" (1932)...during the '30s & '40s he played the comical sidekick for Johnny Mack Brown and Bob Livingston...went on to join Buck Jones and Tim McCoy in the "Rough Riders" series...Hatton worked right up to his last film "In Cold Blood" (1967). . . ...check out this and more in a new book "Those Great Cowboy Sidekicks" by David Rothel, available from Amazon and Empire Publishing. . . pick up your copy today

Chapter Titles:
1. The Fiery Circle
2. One For All and All For One
3. The Master Spy
4. Pirates of the Desert
5. Rebel Rifles
6. Death's Marathon
7. Naked Steel
8. The Master Strikes
9. The Fatal Cave
10. Trapped
11. The Measure of Man
12. The Glory of Comrades

SPECIAL FEATURES:
BIOS:
1. Raymond Hatton
Birth Date: 7/07/1887 - Red Oak, Iowa
Died: 10/21/1971 - Palmdale, California
2. Jack Mulhall (aka: John Joseph Francis Mulhall)
Birth Date:10/07/1887 - Wappingers Falls, New York
Died: 6/01/1979 - Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California

BONUS FEATURE:
1. Hollywood Remembers: John Wayne - a tribute to the film career of the Duke (25 mins)

Great job by Passport Video for releasing "The John Wayne Cliffhanger Collection (1932/33), the digital transfere with a clean, clear and crisp print...looking forward to more high quality releases from the vintage serial era of the '20s, '30s & '40s...order your copy now from Amazon or Passport Video where there are plenty of copies available on DVD, stay tuned once again for top notch action mixed with deadly adventure...just the way we like 'em

Total Time: 700 mins on 6-DVD's ~ Passport Video DVD #5890 ~ (7/11/2006)

This is a good bit of entertainment,it is a 1933 serial so don't try to read anything into it other than there is wall to wall action in every episode,good finally triumphs over evil,John Wayne and his lady love fly off into the sunset and the riding skills of the legionnaires is the equal to that in any cowboy serial.

Passport Video and Koch Entertainment Distribution present "The John Wayne Cliffhanger Collection" (1932/33)
(Dolby digitally remastered)...relive those thrilling days from the early '30s and '40s
when John Wayne took us up into the skies to exciting
adventures....some of the best cliffhangers ever to grace the Saturday Matinee
Screen...just remember double thrills, chills, mystery and suspense...hitting the bull's eye
with excitement...don't miss any of the John Wayne features loaded with action that will leave
you wanting more of his high adventures

First up is "SHADOW OF THE EAGLE" (1932 - B&W) (12 Chapters), under director Ford Beebe, produced by Nat Levine, original screenplay & story by Colbert Clark, Wyndham Gittens and Forbe Beebe....the cast include John Wayne (Craig McCoy), Dorothy Gulliver( Jean Gregory), Edward Hearn (Col. Nathan B. Gregory), Richard Tucker (Maj. Evans, company owner), Lloyd Whitlock (Green, a director), Walter Miller (Danby, a director ), Edmund Burns (Clark, a director), Pat O'Malley (Ames, a director), Kenneth Harlan (Ward, a director), Little Billy' Rhodes (Billy Little, the midget), Ivan Linow (Heinie, the strongman), James Bradbury Jr. (Henry, the ventriloquist), Ernie Adams (Frederick 'Pat' Kelly, the barker), Roy D'Arcy (Henchman Gardner), Bud Osborne (Henchman Tim Moore), YakimaCanutt (Henchman Boyle), Billy West (Bob, the clown ), Monte Montague (Callahan, Policeman at circus).......our story has seversal questions will The Eagle use sky writing to make threats against a corporation...can Edward Hearn who owns a travelling fairground and is thought to be the Eagle succeed in his evil plot against all that is good...will John Wayne who is a pilot go searching for the Eagle when Hearn's turns up missing....all of this and more await your viewing pleasure in a 12 Chapter Mascot Pictures thrilling serial adventure that is action packed. . . . . . . Special footnote, actor John Wayne once said, "Every country in the world loved the folklore of the West - the music, the dress, the excitement, everything that was associated with the opening of a new territory. It took everybody out of their own little world - The cowboy lasted a hundred years, created more songs and prose and poetry than any other folk figure - The closest thing was the Japanese samurai. Now, I wonder who'll continue it...His performance as Ethan Edwards in "The Searchers" (1956) is ranked #23 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time...Of his many film roles, his personal favorite was that of Ethan Edwards from The Searchers (1956). Wayne even went so far as to name his son Ethan after that character...The inscription on the Congressional Gold Medal awarded to him in 1979 reads, simply, "John Wayne, American."...After meeting the late Superman star Christopher Reeve at the 1979 Academy Awards, Wayne turned to Cary Grant and said "This is our new man. He's taking over."...Turned down the role of Marshal Dillon on "Gunsmoke" (1955) because he did not want to commit to a weekly TV series. He recommended his friend James Arness for the role, and gave the on camera introduction in the pilot episode...I would like to be remembered, well...the Mexicans have a phrase, 'Feo fuerte y formal'. Which means; he was ugly, strong and had dignity."

Chapter Titles:
1. The Carnival Mystery
2. Pinholes
3. The Eagle Strikes
4. The Man of a Million Voices
5. The Telephone Cipher
6. Code of the Carnival
7. Eagle or Vulture?
8. On the Spot
9. When Thieves Fall Out
10.The Man Who Knew
11.The Eagle's Wings
12.The Shadow Unmasked

SPECIAL FEATURES:
BIOS:
1. John Wayne (aka: Marion Michael Morrison)
Birth Date: 5/26/1907 - Winterset, Iowa
Died: 6/11/1979 - Los Angeles, California

Second film on the bill is "HURRICANE EXPRESS" (1932 - B&W) (12 Chapters), under director's J.P. McGowan and Armand Schaefer, produced by Nat Levine, original screenplay & story by Colbert Clark, Wyndham Gittens, J.P. McGowan, George Moran, Barney A. Sarecky and Harold Tarshis, musical score by Lee Zahler....the cast include John Wayne (Larry Baker), Tully Marshall (Howard L. Edwards, Railroad manager), Conway Tearle (Stevens, Railroad attorney),Shirley Grey (Gloria Stratton), Edmund Breese (Frank Stratton, Gloria's father), Lloyd Whitlock, (Walter Gray, Airline manage), Al Bridge (Carlson, Plainville station agent (as Alan Bridge), Matthew Betz (Tom Jordan, Railroad engineer (as Mathew Betz), Joseph W. Girard (Det. Matthews (as Joseph Girard), James P. Burtis (Det. Hemingway, Matthews, assistant (as James Burtis), Ernie Adams (Henchman Barney, Machine gunner (as Ernie S. Adams), Charles King (Henchman Mike), J. Farrell MacDonald (Jim Baker, Railroad engineer), Al Ferguson (Henchman Sandy, The "Wrecker's" pilot),Glenn Strange (Henchman Jim), Victor Adamson (Train passenger), Yakima Canutt (Henchman ), Eddie Parker (Co-pilot), Fred 'Snowflake' Toones (Sam, the Train porter)........our story opens with a villain known as "The Wrecker" who wrecks only the L & R Railroad trains...who is this evil character and why is he doing this...can John Wayne see through his many disguises, will this evildoers be stopped...don't touch that dial until the final chapter "Unmasked". . . . . .veterans character actors appear as the henchmen Ernie Adams, Charlie King, Glenn Strange and Al Ferguson. . . . . .check out this and more in a new book "Best of the Badmen" by Boyd Magers, Bob Nareau and Bobby Copeland, available from Amazon and Empire Publishing. . . pick up your copy today. . . . .another great serial from Mascot Pictures, proves to be one of Wayne's most exciting performances.

Chapter Titles:
1. The Wrecker
2. Flying Pirates
3. The Masked Menace
4. Buried Alive
5. Danger Lights
6. The Airport Mystery
7. Sealed Lips
8. Outside the Law
9. The Invincible Army
10. The Wrecker's Secret
11. Wings of Death
12. Unmasked

SPECIAL FEATURES:
BIOS:
1. Glenn Strange (aka: George Glenn Strange)
Birth Date: 8/16/1899 - Weed, New Mexico
Died: 9/20/1973 - Los Angeles, California
2. Charles King
Birth Date: 2/21/1895 - Hillsboro. Texas
Died: 5/07/1957 - Hollywood, California
3. Al Ferguson
Birth Date:4/19/1888 - Rosslare, County Wexford, Ireland
Died: 12/04/1971 - Long Beach, Long Island, New York,
4. Ernie Adams
Birth Date: 6/18/1895 - San Francisco, California
Died: 11/26/1947 - Hollywood, California

Final serial is "THE THREE MUSKETEERS" (1933 - B&W) (12 Chapters), under directors Colbert Clark and Armand Schaefer, produced by Nat Levine, screenplay and story by Colbert Clark, Bennett Cohen, Alexandre Dumas, Wyndham Gittens, Norman S. Hall and Barney A. Sarecky, musical score by Lee Zahler...the cast include John Wayne (Lt. Tom Wayne), Jack Mulhall (Clancy), Raymond Hatton (Renard), Ralph Bushman (Schmidt (as Francis X. Bushman Jr.), Ruth Hall (Elaine Corday), Lon Chaney Jr. (Lt. Armand Corday as Creighton Chaney), Hooper Atchley (El Kadur), Gordon De Main (Col. Duval), Robert Frazer (Major Booth), Noah Beery Jr. (Noah Stubbs), Al Ferguson (Ali), Edward Peil Sr. (Ratkin (as Edward Piel) William Desmond (Capt. Boncour), George Magrill (El Maghreb), Robert Warwick (Col. Brent), Yakima Canutt (El Shaitan, when masked/Legion Officer), Frank Ellis (Legionnaire), Kermit Maynard (Legionnaire). . . . . .our story is a good one from the pages of Alexandre Dumas, only this time set in the Arabian desert...our hero John Wayne does it all rescues Jack Mulhall, Raymond Hatton and Ralph Bushman, although Wayne has fourth billing and must prove himself throughout the 12 Chapters...the action is non stop and a physical film all through the perfected stunts of ace stuntman Yakima Canutt, who also trained Wayne to do most of his own stunts in this adventure...will the musketeers stop El Shaitan (who spouts "Death to the unbeliever") who is terrorizing the entire Mascot Picture lot....don't miss a single chapter of this exciting 1933 cliffhanger. . . . . special footnote, one of my favorite character actors was Raymond Hatton (1887-1971) who worked with Buck Jones, Tim McCoy and Johnny Mack Brown as Marshall Sandy Hopkins appeared from 1943 and made 45 films for Monogram Pictures...Hatton who first appeared on film in "Tragic Love" (1909-Silent/unconfirmed), "Oliver Twist" (1917), "The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923), "The Squaw Man" (1931), "Law and Order" (1932)...during the '30s & '40s he played the comical sidekick for Johnny Mack Brown and Bob Livingston...went on to join Buck Jones and Tim McCoy in the "Rough Riders" series...Hatton worked right up to his last film "In Cold Blood" (1967). . . ...check out this and more in a new book "Those Great Cowboy Sidekicks" by David Rothel, available from Amazon and Empire Publishing. . . pick up your copy today

Chapter Titles:
1. The Fiery Circle
2. One For All and All For One
3. The Master Spy
4. Pirates of the Desert
5. Rebel Rifles
6. Death's Marathon
7. Naked Steel
8. The Master Strikes
9. The Fatal Cave
10. Trapped
11. The Measure of Man
12. The Glory of Comrades

SPECIAL FEATURES:
BIOS:
1. Raymond Hatton
Birth Date: 7/07/1887 - Red Oak, Iowa
Died: 10/21/1971 - Palmdale, California
2. Jack Mulhall (aka: John Joseph Francis Mulhall)
Birth Date:10/07/1887 - Wappingers Falls, New York
Died: 6/01/1979 - Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California

BONUS FEATURE:
1. Hollywood Remembers: John Wayne - a tribute to the film career of the Duke (25 mins)

Great job by Passport Video for releasing "The John Wayne Cliffhanger Collection (1932/33), the digital transfere with a clean, clear and crisp print...looking forward to more high quality releases from the vintage serial era of the '20s, '30s & '40s...order your copy now from Amazon or Passport Video where there are plenty of copies available on DVD, stay tuned once again for top notch action mixed with deadly adventure...just the way we like 'em

Total Time: 700 mins on 6-DVD's ~ Passport Video DVD #5890 ~ (7/11/2006)

As I looked at all of the reviews that preceded mine, I would have to say that they were all encouraging. I was of the opinion that I had bought a bad DVD because, towards the end of the 4th chapter, the action stopped and the commercial began. I tried several times to see if I could somehow skip the commercials and pick up where "The Three Musketeers" but I realized that it wasn't going to happen. After reading the other reviews, I understood that the DVD was at fault. For some reason, Digiview appears to have released an incomplete serial that gives us the first 4 of 12 episodes. There is nothing on the DVD case to suggest that this is the first of three releases, nothing that says to look for volumne 2. Thanks to Mr. Jim's review, we see that there IS a way to watch the whole 12 episodes of this and the other Wayne serials. I'll have to look for the "John Wayne Cliffhanger Collection" (that is, if I want to see how "The Three Musketeers" turns out).

What I saw of "The Three Musketeers" wasn't all that great but I knew that those John Wayne B movies, made on a shoestring budget, weren't classics. I just enjoy watching the Duke in action, even if the dramatic moments sometimes leave me laughing. I have found that watching the early movies of Wayne, Clark Gable, James Cagny, Alfred Hitchcock, and others, has given me an appreciation of the development of the movie industry. Let's face it, there's a lot of movies coming out today that aren't much better, overall, that what Wayne was making back then. The difference now is that the technological abilities of the industry gives us a lot to gawk at but, plot wise, not always that much more to enjoy. Todays stars are stars overnight without the mediocre beginnings that the old-timers cut their teeth on. So I know that there are a lot better movies to watch but, what the heck, "The Three Musketeers", in its' entirity, is probably better than a lot of the movies my kid rents these days.

This dvd is pretty funny. I didn't realize when I bought it that it would not be a self-contained story. It is separated into four episodes, and the fourth episode leaves you no closer to a conclusion than the first.

I love the way the final episode on this dvd ends. The girl gets captured by a bad guy, and she screams. Next thing you know, they are showing you ads for other videos. Funniest damn thing.

The stories are actually pretty interesting, though extremely silly and amateurish. John Wayne plays a guy named Tom Wayne. What a coincidence. He knocks people out by giving them a little hug.

This is a really dumb dvd, but it may make you laugh.

This movie was very entertaining but also very confusing. You think that the evil mastermind (El Shaitan, NOT El Shasta!) is someone different in every chapter. Then there are characters that appear to be the enemy but turn out to be good guys. It seems like the writers of this film wrote the storyline from week to week and forgot what they had written the week before. Nevertheless, this film is amusing. The three musketeers are the comic relief, but they are also brave soldiers who are not afraid to die and who are loyal to their friend. The acting is not the best, the sound is poor at times, and the motions sometimes are jerky, but it's still a nice look at an old movie.
A brief summary:
Three soldiers of the Foreign Legion in Algeria are rescued from Arab gun runners by an American pilot, Tom Wayne (John Wayne). His best friend Armand (a very young Lon Chaney, Jr.) is one of the gun runners, and he ends up getting Tom accused of being one of them. Armand confesses to Tom that he is a member of the Devil's Circle, a group of Arabs that want to overthrow the French. Before Armand can spill all the beans, however, he is killed by El Shaitan, the ringleader. Tom is blamed. He escapes French custody and gets into adventure after adventure, always getting bailed out by his three friends. He has to elude the French while trying to find El Shaitan. This DVD only has four chapters, and the next DVD has 7-12. Maybe 5-6 have been lost in the mists of time...