MovieChat Forums > The Three Musketeers (1974) Discussion > Limping Richelieu

Limping Richelieu

posted 17 years ago by jeanthebean
2 replies | jump to latest

Every time I watch this flick, it seems to me that Charlton Heston is favoring one of his legs or limping throughout. Do you think it is due to a real problem or just an affectation for the film?

[–] sir_marmalade 17 years ago

In 'The Man Who Framed The Beatles' by Andrew Yule, a biography of Richard Lester, Lester says that Heston played Cardinal Richelieu with a limp throughout filming in order to de-emphasise his height as the Cardinal was a short man...

"Tinkerty tonk," I said, and I meant it to sting.

[–] dh1897 14 years ago

And in the novel Richelieu is described as a physically frail man with a limp, but also one of the greatest minds mankind had ever produced. I think Heston captured that last bit. He is not really the villain. Lady De Winter and the Count are the true villains.