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Sunday, May 18, 2008

THE FIFTH MUSKETEER (1979)

Under Ken Annakin’s sleepy direction, this pointless retread of Dumas’ THE IRON MASK wastes a huge cast (Ursula Andress, Lloyd Bridges, Jose Ferrer, Ian McShane, Cornel Wilde, Olivia de Havilland, Sylvia Kristel) & even makes legendary lensman Jack Cardiff look not-so-hot. The stolid plot construction and flatfooted staging plays like a Hallmark tv special of the time. The lead, Beau Bridges, shows no aptitude for derring-do or period manners, which leaves whatever’s left for Rex Harrison to shuffle off with. He gets special guest star billing, yet may have the most screen time and he certainly shows how to make the best out of this sort of embarrassment.

WATCH THIS, NOT THAT: Stick with Doug Fairbanks’ wonderful version of THE IRON MASK/'29. It's one of the very last big Hollywood silent pics and a beauty.

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