A modern musketeer

As the first Douglas Fairbanks-Allan Dwan collaboration for Artcraft Pictures, A Modern Musketeer (1917) is significant as the link between Fairbanks's contemporary comedies and the later costume films.
A flamboyant action comedy-adventure based on E.P. Lyle Jr.'s story 'D'Artagnan of Kansas' (first published in Everybody's Magazine in 1912), A Modern Musketeer winningly combines elements of comedy and melodrama. Moreover, as the title suggests, it was the harbinger of the great things to come, for in it Fairbanks dons the cloak and sword of the legendary fourth musketeer for the first time. Fairbanks was testing the waters of public acceptance of himself in a costume film. Appearing as d'Artagnan in early sequences, Fairbanks is wonderfully acrobatic as the Gascon swordsman, particularly in his first sequence, in which his chivalrous nature is showcased as he slays a tavern full of adversaries to obtain the lost handkerchief of a damsel in questionable distress. However, most of A Modern Musketeer is dedicated to exploring the exploits of Ned Thacker (Fairbanks), who emulates d'Artagnan as a result of his mother's prenatal influence. (His romantic mother read the Dumas novel incessantly during her pregnancy with Ned, resulting in his being instilled with the spirit of the Gascon hero.) The Kansas community can barely contain the frustrated young man, who literally climbs the steeple of a nearby church to vent his pent-up energy. His father takes a page from Dumas¿s novel and provides Ned with the 20th-century equivalent of d'Artagnan's plug horse: a Model T Ford. As the irrepressible young man makes his way across the dusty prairie, he happens upon a trio whose transcontinental auto tour has been disrupted by a washed-out bridge. He is immediately enamored of the youngest member, pretty Elsie Dodge (Marjorie Daw), who is accompanied by her 45-year-old suitor, Forrest Vandeeter (Eugene Ormonde), and her mother (Kathleen Kirkham). Ned comes to their rescue by ingeniously adapting his Model T to maneuver on the nearby railroad tracks, and effortlessly conveys them to the El Tovar Hotel near the rim of the Grand Canyon.
The chivalrous spirit of d'Artganan is quickly called into service at the hotel as Ned discovers that the respected Vandeeter is in actuality a bigamist and embezzler. Further, he finds that a Navaho chief, Chin-de-dah (Frank Campeau), intends to abduct Elsie and make her his latest 'bride.' The exciting climax of the film finds Ned literally scaling down the walls of the Grand Canyon on a rope to vanquish the evil Navaho, rescue Elsie, and elicit a full confession from the villainous Vandeeter. The tableau of the Grand Canyon serves as a stunning backdrop for Ned and Elsie to embrace at the film's happy conclusion.
The breathtaking scenery of the Grand Canyon, superbly photographed by cinematographers Hugh McClung, Harris Thorpe, and Glen MacWilliams, under Dwan's direction, helped to make A Modern Musketeer an outstanding artistic achievement. Cast and crew went on location in October 1917 to the Grand Canyon and the Canyon de Chelly in Arizona, where they camped in tents during the 3-week location shoot. Fairbanks was in his element on location with the stunning landscapes, distinctive rock imagery, and the community of Hopi and Navaho people. 'I was disappointed in the Grand Canyon,' he joked. 'I couldn't jump it.'
The world premiere of A Modern Musketeer was held at the newly constructed Rivoli Theatre in New York City on 28 December 1917. The film was a great commercial success. (From the Pordenone Silent Film Festival Catalogue 2008)