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| ~A Modern Musketeer~ 1917 |
| Directed by: Allan Dwan Written by: Allan Dwan - photoplay Based upon "D'Artagnan of Kansas" by E.P. Lyle Jr. |
| ~Cast~ Douglas Fairbanks ... Ned Thacker / D'Artagnan Marjorie Daw ... Elsie Dodge Kathleen Kirkham ... Mrs. Dodge Eugene Ormonde ... Forrest Vandeteer Edythe Chapman ... Mrs. Thacker Frank Campeau ... Chin-de-dah Tully Marshall ... James Brown Jim Mason ... Bandit (uncredited) Zasu Pitts ... A Kansas Belle (uncredited) Charles Stevens ... Indian (uncredited) |
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| ~Remaining Credits~ Production Company: Douglas Fairbanks Pictures Distribution Company: Artcraft Pictures Corporation Produced by: Douglas Fairbanks Cinematography by: Hugh McClung & Harris Thorpe Film Editing by: William Shea Camera Operator: Victor Fleming Assistant Cinematographer: Glen MacWilliams Supervising Editor: Allan Dwan General Manager: John Fairbanks Fencing Instructor for Douglas Fairbanks: M. Harry Uttenhover Fencing Advisor: H.J. Utterhore Length: 5 Reels Runtime: 68 Minutes Released: December 30, 1917 Filmed at: Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Arizona, USA El Tovar Hotel, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, USA Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, USA Jesse Lasky Studios - 6284 Selma Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA (studio) |
| ~Plot Synopsis~ |
Douglas Fairbanks Sr. stars as Ned Thacker, who is born during a Kansas cyclone (coincidentally the
same manner in which Fairbanks' real-life contemporary Buster Keaton came into the world!) and is
thus imbued with the spirit of adventure. Having been virtually weaned on Alexandre Dumas' novel
The Three Musketeers, Ned grows up dedicated to old-fashioned chivalry. Alas, his well-meaning
efforts to emulate his Musketeer idols nearly always backfire in a hilariously disastrous fashion.
Ultimately, however, he is afforded an opportunity to rescue heroine Dorothy Moran (Marjorie Daw)
in a true D'Artagnan-like manner. Unfortunately, only the first three reels of A Modern Musketeer
are known to exist. Happily, however, this fragment includes a delightful dream sequence in which
Fairbanks imagines himself to be a 16th-century swashbuckler -- a fascinating (and arguably more
enjoyable) precursor to his own 1921 screen version of The Three Musketeers.
Plot Synopsis by Hal Erickson, AllMovie.com
same manner in which Fairbanks' real-life contemporary Buster Keaton came into the world!) and is
thus imbued with the spirit of adventure. Having been virtually weaned on Alexandre Dumas' novel
The Three Musketeers, Ned grows up dedicated to old-fashioned chivalry. Alas, his well-meaning
efforts to emulate his Musketeer idols nearly always backfire in a hilariously disastrous fashion.
Ultimately, however, he is afforded an opportunity to rescue heroine Dorothy Moran (Marjorie Daw)
in a true D'Artagnan-like manner. Unfortunately, only the first three reels of A Modern Musketeer
are known to exist. Happily, however, this fragment includes a delightful dream sequence in which
Fairbanks imagines himself to be a 16th-century swashbuckler -- a fascinating (and arguably more
enjoyable) precursor to his own 1921 screen version of The Three Musketeers.
Plot Synopsis by Hal Erickson, AllMovie.com
