The Return of the Musketeers is a 1989 film adaptation loosely based on the novel Twenty Years After (1845) by Alexandre Dumas. It is the third Musketeers film directed by Richard Lester, following 1973's The Three Musketeers and 1974's The Four Musketeers. Like the other two films, the screenplay was written by George MacDonald Fraser.
The character of Mordaunt, Milady de Winter's son in the original novel, is replaced by Milady's daughter, called Justine de Winter.
Several cast members from the first two reprised their roles in this one. Jean-Pierre Cassel, who played Louis XIII in the original films, has a cameo appearance as Cyrano de Bergerac.
While filming in September 1988, character actor Roy Kinnear died following an on-camera accident in which he fell off a horse. His role was completed by using a stand-in, filmed from the rear, and dubbed-in lines from a voice artist.
Plot
Twenty years after the events of The Four Musketeers, Cardinal Mazarin has imprisoned the Duke of Beaufort. Mazarin hires d'Artagnan to bring together Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, to work for him. Porthos accepts, but Athos and Aramis decline. By this time, Athos has a son named Raoul.
Milady de Winter's daughter, Justine, captures and questions the executioner that the musketeers hired to kill her mother. After finding out that "Comte de la Fere" hired him, she kills him. Raoul happens upon the aftermath of this event and chases after Justine, who is disguised as a priest. After a swordfight, when he discovers who she really is and her plan, Raoul leaves and tells d'Artagnan, Porthos, and Athos that Justine wants to kill them.
Comte de Rochefort is unable to prevent Beaufort from escaping from his prison, and he is subsequently arrested by Mazarin. Mazarin sends d'Artagnan and Porthos after Beaufort, but Beaufort escapes them due to interference from Athos and Aramis, who are working for Beaufort. This starts a fight amongst the Musketeers, in which d'Artagnan slices Aramis' hand. Aramis breaks his sword and rides away. d'Artagnan and Porthos are fired by Mazarin for not catching Beaufort.
Rochefort, who has survived his near-fatal clash with d'Artagnan in the previous film and has gone into hiding, finds Justine (his daughter) and tells her the names of d'Artagnan, Porthos, and Aramis, revealing to her that the Comte de la Fere is Athos. King Charles I of England is to be executed, so Queen Anne of Austria sends d'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos, and Raoul to rescue him. They attempt a rescue by knocking out the executioner, but Justine takes his place and beheads Charles.
The Musketeers have several encounters with Justine: in one, Raoul's true allegiance is revealed to her; in another, Justine and Rochefort attempt to kill the Musketeers by blowing up their ship. The Musketeers notice their trap, set their own bomb and escape. Rochefort is killed when the ship explodes, but Justine escapes.
Justine attempts to kill King Louis XIV, but is stopped by the Musketeers, and their battle concludes with Justine jumping out of the window into the water. Aramis rejoins the Musketeers, and they force Mazarin to sign several forms in favour of them, including making Porthos a baron, Aramis a bishop, and Raoul being commissioned into the Guards. The film ends with the Musketeers riding together again.
Cast
Michael York as d'Artagnan
Oliver Reed as Athos
Frank Finlay as Porthos
Richard Chamberlain as Aramis
C. Thomas Howell as Raoul
Geraldine Chaplin as Anne of Austria
Kim Cattrall as Justine de Winter
Philippe Noiret as Cardinal Mazarin
Christopher Lee as the Comte de Rochefort
Roy Kinnear as Planchet
Eusebio Lázaro as the Duke of Beaufort
Jean-Pierre Cassel as Cyrano de Bergerac
Alan Howard as Oliver Cromwell
David Birkin as Louis XIV
Bill Paterson as Charles I
Billy Connolly as Caddie
Production
The film was Richard Lester's first movie in four years. It reunited him with the main cast of the first two films.
Author George MacDonald Fraser said that in the film "Charles I is seen playing golf, which is, incidentally, true. He was playing golf just before he was captured."
Lester said the two main problems with the film were a lack of money, and a refusal of the Salkinds to let him use footage from the first two films. "The whole concept of making Dumas' Twenty Years After was destroyed," said Lester. "It was the hole beneath the water line." However Lester did admit even that may not have worked as the target audience were unlikely to have been familiar with the original films.
The film was shot in Spain.