The Three Must-Get-Theres (1922) :
Brief Review -
Linder destroys Douglas Fairbanks' "The Three Musketeers" to give us the funniest "d'Artagnan". Firstly, I must hail the one who thought of this title 10 decades ago. From The Three Musketeers to "The Three Must-Get-Theres".. How amazingly funny and insanely humourous thing this is. We don't get to see such humour in 2023, and they did a century ago. Kudos!!! Max Linder's spoof of the popular tale will have you in gag-riot mode for sure. Linder was a legend-a less-known one too. People often talk about Buster Keaton's spoof of DW Girffith's "Intolerance" (1916), so why isn't there enough talk about this spoof by Max Linder? Was it because his stardom was in decline in the 20s? God knows why, but I feel it was unfair to the legend. Anyway, The Three Must-Get-Theres is a thoughtful comedy. A spoof that actually redefines the meaning of the word and explains how one should actually do this thing right. You know the story, but just see how he did it here. He did not really change anything in the basic plot, right from d'Artagnan's entry, his challenge to three knights, the queen's necklace, her maid, and whatever there is. He just added his comic flavour to it with everything possible at that time. He had telephones installed at the palace and even on trees, and he had a typewriter too. That's definitely a spoof, and a damn funny one. Intertitles like "You killed 99 when you knew we needed 100 to get a discount" are hilarious. Speaking of a rare experiment in comedy, Linder even had one slow-mo shot of horseback riding. It's just brilliant. Max Linder's d'Artagnan is extremely entertaining right from his first scene. Action, adventure, romance, expressions, physical comedy, and what not. He has done everything to make sure that you enjoy it. Fairbanks feature will always have its place, but what Max did shouldn't be written in mini format. It would be an insult for us movie lovers.
RATING - 7.5/10*
By - #samthebestest.
