PLYMOUTH — Long before it became a candy bar in the concession stand, "The Three Musketeers" was on the big screen as a swashbuckling silent film, a major hit of 1921.
And now, more than a century later, it returns. "The Three Musketeers" (1921), starring Douglas Fairbanks Sr., will be shown with live music on Wednesday, Nov. 8, at 6:30 p.m., at the Flying Monkey Moviehouse and Performance Center, 39 Main St.
The program will feature live accompaniment by silent film musician Jeff Rapsis.
"The Three Musketeers," adapted from the classic Alexandre Dumas novel and directed by Fred Niblo, is a costume drama set amid palace intrigue in 17th century France.
Fairbanks plays the leading role of D'Artagnan, who after challenging musketeers Athos (Leon Barry), Porthos (George Siegmann) and Aramis (Eugene Pallette) to a duel, joins forces with them in opposition of the scheming Cardinal Richelieu (Nigel De Brulier).
Plotting to discredit Queen Anne (Mary McLaren) in the eyes of her husband King Louis XIII (Adolphe Menjou), Richelieu dispatches Milady de Winter (Barbara La Marr) to pilfer the diamond brooch given by Anne to her British lover, the Duke of Buckingham (Thomas Holding).
With the help of the lovely Constance (Marguerite de la Motte), D'Artagnan and the Musketeers race against time to retrieve the brooch and save their queen.
The athletic Douglas Fairbanks's one-handed handspring to grab a sword during a fight scene in "The Three Musketeers" is considered as one of the great stunts of early cinema.
Live music for the film will be provided by silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis, who uses a digital synthesizer to create a traditional full orchestra "movie score" sound.
"Seeing a Fairbanks picture in a theater with live music and an audience is a classic movie experience," Rapsis said, who emphasized the unique value of seeing early cinema as it was originally presented.
"These films were designed for the big screen, live music and large audiences. If you put it all together again, you get a sense of why people first fell in love with the movies," Rapsis said.
For tickets, call 603-536-2551 or visit flyingmonkeynh.com.
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