At Sword's Point (1952)

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

The first must-see film of the year.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Plugging into a familiar franchise, SONS OF THE MUSKETEERS is perhaps most noticeable for Maureen O'Hara's performance as Claire, daughter of Athos, who adopts masculine attire and joins her fellow junior musketeers (Cornel Wilde, Dan O'Herlihy and Alan Hale Jr.) in writing wrongs. All of them know her true identity, but they are happy to play along in sustaining the illusion that she is actually a man, so that they can enjoy the fun of pranks such as the need for all the musketeers to share a bed together, or to take a shower together.In truth O'Hara does not really make a convincing man, but this doesn't really seem to matter in a Technicolor adventure full of action, sword-fights and stirring music (by Roy Webb). As with many costume pictures made in the early Fifties (notably MGM's IVANHOE), the action unfolds at a brisk pace, leaving viewers little time to notice obvious implausibilities such as the musketeers speaking in a variety of accents ranging from Hollywood English to broad Nebraska. The supporting cast contains a smattering of Brits - to lend classical "authenticity" including Gladys Cooper (delivering her lines in stentorian tones reminiscent of Queen Victoria), and (in an uncredited role) Holmes Herbert, who for decades made a habit of playing butlers, lords, and miscellaneous nobles, his cut-glass British accent (honed in the theater of the early Twenties) contrasting with the panoply of other speaking voices on offer.SONS OF THE MUSKETEERS tells a familiar tale, but it does so in a highly breezy and entertaining manner.

French history has often been altered for Hollywood films, and here, it is the tale of the attempted take-over of the throne by an evil cardinal and his hold on the aging Queen who is acting as a regent for her young son, Louis. The cardinal demands to marry the Princess in order to gain power, and that is where the musketeers come in, this time joined by the sword fighting Maureen O'Hara. She has the stamina of all the musketeers together, giving a feminist aspect to the predictable tale. Leading musketeer Cornel Wilde gets the pleasure of both sparring and romancing her, making this also a variation of Taming of the Shrew where the finale has O'Hara in triumph.Robert Douglas is an appropriate villain with Gladys Cooper a noble yet regal ailing Queen. Wasted in a generic role is European stage legend Blanche Yurka as a tavern owner without the secret menacing of "A Tale of Two City's" wine shop owner Madame DeFarge. A sly wit dominates the screenplay, and the Technicolor photography is stunning, particularly for O'Hara. But, as her oft-costar John Wayne once said about someone else, she'd look good in a burlap bag.

Of all the films I saw as a lad this is the one that made the biggest impression, a good old fashioned hero and heroine and a his-sable villain tons of sword fighting a spot of torture (just the thing for a bloodthirsty schoolboy) and the obligatory happy ending.Seeing the film sixty years later it holds up remarkably well. Cornel Wilde was the best swashbuckler of all,far superior to Errol Flynn.Firstly Wilde was an Olympic class fencer and secondly unlike Flynn he kept in fantastic shape.Technicolor could have been made for Maureen O'Hara with her red hair and lovely complexion.Never more than a discreet show of cleavage,she didn't need it.A dab hand with a rapier but no lady when dispatching baddies.Dan O'Herilhy as Aramis Jnr plays the best friend of the hero with a good grace and has a couple of nice scenes as does Alan Hale Jnr as Porthos Jnr.The scene where he goes berserk in the torture chamber is a highlight,it certainly made a big impression on me as a ten year old.Robert Douglas specialised in villains.Here as the Duc de la Valle he is on top form as a thoroughly nasty piece of work.Like Basil Rathbone he was a world class fencer but on screen they never won a sword fight.Rathbone was even defeated by a hypnotised Danny Kaye in The Court Jester.Gladys Cooper as Queen Anne adds a touch of class.The rest of the cast fit in nicely.As for the plot La Valle wants the throne of France by marrying the Queen's daughter and bumping off the boy King.The sons of the Musketeers ride to the rescue.A scene from The Rogues of Sherwood Forest is inserted into the action,perhaps Robin Hood and his merry men are helping out.It is not meant to be taken too seriously,sit back and enjoy,what more could you ask for,superb fencing scenes,Wilde and Douglas's climatic duel is a humdinger.A spot of torture with Wilde being branded with a hot iron but never mind he gets Maureen at the end as compensation.Villains thwarted wrongs righted and all in glorious Technicolor.A quick word of praise for the director Lewis Allen for making a potential sows ear into a silk purse and all on a budget that wouldn't pay Errol Flynn's bar bill.A wonderful wonderful film,10 out of 10,OK?

At first I was a little wary of watching this, after seeing Miss O'Hara in some clunkers like Forbidden Street, The Black Swan, and Sentimental Journey. But I was pleasantly surprised by its tongue-in-check attitude and the naturalness to it given by its capable stars, in this continuing saga of the three (or four) musketeers' children grown up to defend their country and queen. Gladys Cooper is great as the Queen and gives the film some regard it may not have without such a good actress. And, Robert Douglas is excellent as a duke (our villain) who wants to ascend to the throne by marrying the Queen's daughter and getting rid of others in his way. While I never gave Cornel Wilde much consideration before, he was quite good, and much of the film's dialogue was good without being corny. One line I really appreciated was when Maureen says in response to a man who doesn't fight or duel with a lady that "when I fight, I'm no lady." If you want a good old-fashioned b-picture that gives its heart to a Dumas classic, but really is no classic itself compared to Lana Turner and Gene Kelly's "The Three Musketeers," then this short adventure is for you.