The Three Musketeers (1942 film)

The Three Musketeers is a 1942 American swashbuckler adventure film directed by George Sidney and starring Gene Kelly, Lana Turner, June Allyson, Van Heflin, Angela Lansbury, and Vincent Price. It is based on the 1844 novel The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas.

The film follows the adventures of d'Artagnan (Kelly), a young man who travels to Paris to join the elite King's Musketeers. He quickly befriends Athos (Heflin), Porthos (Gig Young), and Aramis (Robert Coote), three inseparable and highly skilled musketeers, and becomes embroiled in a plot against King Louis XIII (Reginald Owen) instigated by Cardinal Richelieu (Price) and the alluring but treacherous Milady de Winter (Turner).

The film is known for its elaborate sword fights, lavish costumes, and lighthearted tone. It deviates from the source material in several ways, emphasizing comedy and romance over the darker political elements of the novel. Despite these changes, the 1942 The Three Musketeers was a popular and commercial success, solidifying Gene Kelly's reputation as a versatile performer capable of both dramatic and athletic roles. The film was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.