michael_gothard_archive

Marvel Super Special Magazine: For Your Eyes Only on-set report, including an interview with Michael Gothard.

This came out in 1981.

[Contessa Lisl’s] killer in For Your Eyes Only is a cold-eyed assassin called Emile Locque. Played by Michael Gothard, Loque is the film's equivalent of such past villainous henchmen as Red Grant in From Russia With Love and Mr. Wint in Diamonds Are Forever. Gothard is no stranger to cinematic evil – during his career he's played a vampire (in Scream and Scream Again), helped to burn Oliver Reed alive in The Devils and stabbed Simon Ward to death in The Four Musketeers. But he's suffered a lot of on-screen retribution himself.

"I've been killed in so many different ways on both the large and small screens," he said wryly. "I've been hanged, stabbed, strangled, shot, immersed in an acid bath,
crashed on a motorcycle, killed by a 10-year-old boy by a vicious blow to the spine, drowned and – on one memorable occasion – stabbed and drowned simultaneously.

It's quite a challenge to try and make an impact with a character as restrained and quiet as Locque. I had to act in a sort of straitjacket but I certainly did my best to make him into a menacing and evil presence. Audiences usually remember the Bond villains, and their henchmen, so I'm hoping I won't be an exception."

Speculation:
Some of these on-screen deaths are ones we know about:
As John, he was hanged in Michael Kolhlhaas.
As Kodai, he was shot in Stopover.
As Keith, he was immersed in an acid bath in Scream and Scream Again.
As Terry, he crashed on a motorcycle in Up the Junction.
As Hansen, he was killed (or at least maimed, which resulted in his being killed) by a 10-year-old boy by a vicious blow to the spine in The Last Valley.

That leaves four deaths "stabbed, strangled, drowned and stabbed and drowned simultaneously" unaccounted for.

If, as Michael says, these deaths were on film or TV, they must presumably each have occurred in one of five productions:
- the Armchair Theatre play - The Story-teller - in which he played Brian
- the episode of Menace – Nine Bean Rows - in which he played Pip
- the episode of Fraud Squad – Run for your Money - in which he played Jacky Joyce
- the Thirty Minute Theatre play – The Excavation - in which he played Grady
- the TV series - The Further Adventures of the Musketeers - in which he played Mordaunt.

We don't yet know which death belonged to which character.

During 1973, having been noticed by the Director Richard Lester, Michael Gothard was cast in the minor role of Puritan, John Felton in a “project” produced by Ilya and Alexander Salkind, “The Three Musketeers.”

The enterprise was to prove controversial, because enough footage was shot to make two films, “The Four Musketeers” being the second one. It seems that the Salkinds always intended to make two films for the price of one, because they used the word “project” in the actors’ contracts, rather than “film.” They were nevertheless sued by some of the actors, and had to pay them more money, though not as much as if they had originally contracted them for two films.

This resulted in the “Salkind Clause” being included in all Screen Actors Guild contracts, stipulating how many films are being made.

Speculation: this may have been the incident which made Michael Gothard an active union supporter, as witnessed by the appearance of his name in “The Stage” among other Equity members supporting their union’s actions in the 1980s, when under attack by Margaret Thatcher’s government.

In September/October 1973, during filming, at Estudios Cinematografica Roma S.A., the film centre outside Madrid, Michael was interviewed by Jerry Bauer for “Petticoat” magazine.

“The Three Musketeers and I seem to have an affinity for each other. In this film version I portray Felton, the lover of Madame de Winter – Faye Dunaway but on television, I was Madame de Winter’s son in yet another dramatisation. Presumably, I was chosen by Richard Lester for this role because he’d seen me as the inquisitioner in The Devils. Both characters are repressed, violent and mad.”

Full "Petticoat" interview

Michael only appears briefly in the first film, 'The Thee Musketeers', in attendance to the Duke of Buckingham (Simon Ward), whom he kills in the 'The Four Musketeers', having been deceived by Milady de Winter (Faye Dunaway).

Joss Ackland, who had appeared as D'Artagnan in the 1967 TV series, "The Further Adventures of The Musketeers", in which Michael Gothard played Mordaunt, appears as D'Artagnan's father in "The Three Musketeers."

Reviews

Black Hole

The director of photography is David Watkin who'd filmed The Devils two years earlier. I think Ken Russell's approach informed the look, approach and even casting of the two musketeers films, which re-use Oliver Reed and Michael Gothard (also the vampire villain in Scream and Scream Again).

Full review


AV Forums review

The Movie Scene review

IMDB entry

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You may recognise him as a screen and television star. But Jerry Bauer talks to the real Michael Gothard.

The Three Musketeers, the film Michael Gothard is making, is set in Estudios Roma, the film centre outside Madrid. The temperature is close to a hundred, although one tried not to think about it.

“The Three Musketeers and I seem to have an affinity for each other. In this film version I portray Felton, the lover of Madame de Winter – Faye Dunaway but on television, I was Madame de Winter’s son in yet another dramatisation. Presumably, I was chosen by Richard Lester for this role because he’d seen me as the inquisitioner in The Devils. Both characters are repressed, violent and mad.”
( Read more... )

Michael Gothard’s first appearance in "The Further Adventures of the Musketeers", as Mordaunt John Francis de Winter, the son of Milady, occurs in episode 3, “Conspiracy”.

While Athos is telling his comrades that he feels guilt over Milady’s death, and that her son is never far from his thoughts, we see Mordaunt in a meadow, thanking God for leading him to the spot where his mother was foully slain. He swears to identify her murderers, and revenge himself upon them.


In episode 4, “Conflict”, Mordaunt is seen in church, asking the Mother of God to help him find the killers; he then vows that if she won’t help him, he'll pray to the Devil instead. His Roman Catholic faith takes second place to his mission. Later, he is even seen working with Cromwell, a Puritan, as a way of achieving his own ends.


Then, in episode 5, “Peril”, an old man, “The Butcher of Lille”, is mortally wounded. D’Artagnan asks a monk - Mordaunt in disguise - to take dying man’s confession. At first, Mordaunt refuses, but when he realises that the dying man is the one who carried out the execution of his mother, he hurries to the bedside.

The old man tells Mordaunt that - on the orders of four men and an Englishman - he killed Milady. He then gave up his post as executioner, because he felt he had served private vengeance rather than the law.

The Englishman was Mordaunt’s uncle, Lord de Winter, but the old man doesn’t know the names of the other four. He then says that Milady was a monster; that is when Mordaunt reveals his identity. He tells the old man that, as he is about to die without confessing to a genuine holy man, he is damned. Saying, “Here’s my absolution!” Mordaunt stabs him, escapes out of the window, and flees the scene on horseback.

Before he dies, the old man warns D’Artagnan that Mordaunt is on his trail. D’Artagnan fires a shot out of the window, but misses Mordaunt, who heads for Paris.


In episode 6, “Abduction”, Athos again expresses feelings of guilt about killing Milady, to whom he was once married. Now, he tells the other Musketeers that Mordaunt “comes in the name of God.”

The question that remains unasked and unanswered throughout the series concerns the relationship between Athos and Mordaunt. Why does Athos, in comparison to the other Musketeers, show such reluctance to move against Mordaunt – refusing to fight him, and even, in the end, trying to save him from drowning? Is this because Mordaunt is all that is left of the woman he once loved? Or does he suspect that Mordaunt is his son?

When the Musketeers warn Lord de Winter that Mordaunt is after them all, de Winter reveals that Mordaunt has risen high in Cromwell’s service; he believes his nephew is now in Paris.

In his capacity as Cromwell’s envoy, Mordaunt has a meeting with Cardinal Mazarin, and demands that King Charles I of England should be refused sanctuary in France, should he request it. Mordaunt suggests that if Mazarin refuses to remain neutral, Cromwell would make war on France, and France has troubles enough of her own already.

Mordaunt wants to remain in Paris until Mazarin has an answer for him. He intends to spend time making further enquiries about his mother’s killers. But Mazarin, reluctant to be seen negotiating with an envoy of Cromwell, tells him to go to Boulogne to await his reply.

Meanwhile, Athos, Aramis and Lord de Winter decide to set off for Boulogne, take passage to England, and fight on King Charles’ side. As de Winter is leaving, he bumps into Mordaunt. They have a brief sword-fight, but Mordaunt backs off, saying he won’t kill de Winter now, because he means to use him to find the other four conspirators.


In episode 7, “The Boy King”, Mordaunt is briefly seen at Boulogne, where he happens to hear Athos and Aramis talking about Lord de Winter, and so learns that they are working together. This must be the point at which he begins to suspect them of being involved in the death of Milady.


Then, in episode 9, “Escape”, he receives D’Artagnan and Porthos, who present him with a letter from Mazarin, introducing them as Mazarin’s envoys on a mission to Cromwell. Mordaunt tells them that Cromwell is facing Charles Stuart at Newcastle, and his ship is ready to cast off. He is disconcerted when D’Artagnan addresses him by name.

D’Artagnan has received a letter from Athos (who is now in England), recommending that Porthos should strangle Mordaunt as soon as he sees him, but D’Artagnan says that they should refrain from doing so while acting as Mazarin’s envoys. He suggests that they only try to kill him should he return to France.

In Newcastle, Charles Stuart, is deserted by all his troops. Only Athos, Aramis, and Lord de Winter are left supporting him. Lord de Winter exchanges cloaks with the Charles, fooling Cromwell’s Captain Groslow. Then Mordaunt arrives, (accompanied by D’Artagnan and Porthos) and correctly identifies the King. He asks de Winter, his “Dear Uncle”, whether he remembers Milady, then puffs some poison into his face. Lord de Winter falls dead. A fight breaks out, and D’Artagnan and Porthos ‘capture’ Athos and Aramis.


Episode 10, “The Oath”, picks up from this point, with Mordaunt training a gun on Athos and Aramis, and fully intending to kill them. D’Artagnan stops him, saying that because he and Porthos actually captured them, they belong to him. While Mordaunt is briefly called away, D’Artagnan warns the others not to kill Mordaunt while they are surrounded by Cromwell’s men.

Mordaunt returns, with an escort to take Charles Stuart to London for trial. He wants to take Athos and Aramis as well, but again, D’Artagnan says they are worth a ransom of 1500 pistoles each, and that as Mazarin’s envoy, he has a right to them.

Clearly Mordaunt is close to Cromwell, because though he interrupts his prayers, he is allowed to remain. But their relationship is somewhat strained; Cromwell thinks Mordaunt is too lacking in human feeling. Mordaunt informs Cromwell that the King, deserted by all but three men – one of whom is now dead – was taken prisoner, and sent to London under heavy guard. Cromwell wishes that Charles had died fighting; Mordaunt says he will surely be executed.

Cromwell asks which of Charles’ supporters was killed. Mordaunt says it was Charles’ equerry, whom Cromwell remembers was Mordaunt’s uncle. Mordaunt says that traitors don’t belong in his family. Cromwell wonders whether Mordaunt is human.

Mordaunt tells Cromwell that Mazarin’s envoys fought well on Cromwell's side; Cromwell tells him to bring them to him. Mordaunt asks Cromwell whether he has given good service; he wants the two prisoners as a reward. Cromwell suggests he wants to collect a bounty for them, but Mordaunt insists he doesn’t care about money. Cromwell asks whether they are friends of his.

Pretending to show a weakness, Mordaunt says they have ties with his family that are sealed with blood, and that he’d give his life for theirs. Thinking – as Mordaunt wanted him to - that these ties are of affection, Cromwell agrees that he can have them. Mordaunt says this gift is more precious than gold.

Mordaunt returns to D’Artagnan, and tells him he now has orders from General Cromwell, giving him the right to take the prisoners. When D’Artagnan says he can’t afford to lose the ransom money, Mordaunt offers to pay for them, but D’Artagnan won’t surrender them without a written order from Cromwell. Mordaunt tells him to go and get it himself – Cromwell has sent for them. But D’Artagnan calls his bluff, so Mordaunt returns to Cromwell, who signs the order.

Meanwhile, D’Artagnan sends Porthos to get the horses, and barricades the door while Athos and Aramis escape out of the window. Mordaunt returns with troops, demands entrance, then tries to break the door down. D’Artagnan opens the door, Mordaunt bursts in, but can’t get a clear line of fire, and shoots his own man, who is grappling with D’Artagnan. D’Artagnan then throws the dead trooper at Mordaunt, and makes his escape.

Mordaunt now realises that the ‘envoys’ are the two men involved in the killing of his mother whom he had not previously identified, and that they were in league with their ‘prisoners’ all along. He throws his musket at the wall in frustration.


Towards the end of episode 11, “The Trial”, the Musketeers, masquerading as Roundheads, go to London and attend the trial of Charles Stuart. Mordaunt is also in attendance. Despite the presence of his enemy, Athos, angered by the treatment of the King, stands up, shouting in protest. Mordaunt recognises him and calls on the guards to catch or kill him and his friends, but they escape. Mordaunt angrily says he’d kill fifty to get those four.


In the second half of episode 12, “The Scaffold”, the Musketeers, hoping to delay the execution for long enough to rescue Charles Stuart, detain the Public Executioner. They intend to spirit Charles away through a tunnel beneath the scaffold, where Athos conceals himself. To their dismay, an Executioner – of whom little can be seen, apart from his bearded chin – comes for the King, and takes him to the scaffold.

Charles asks whether his hair will impede the Executioner, who replies that he should move it out of the way. Charles then asks whether the Executioner will be able to sever his head with one blow; the Executioner says that he hopes so. Charles tells him to wait until he gives the word, before striking. He then whispers something to Athos, says a prayer, then lets the Executioner know he is ready. After his head is severed, the Executioner holds Charles’ head up, for the crowd to see.

Thinking that D’Artagnan must have released the Public Executioner, Athos quarrels with him, but D’Artagnan denies this. He had the man who executed Charles Stuart followed to his home, and left a man on guard. When they go to the house, and spy through the windows, they see the Executioner remove his hooded robe, then his mask, then his false beard, and reveal himself as none other than Mordaunt.


At the start of episode 13, “Treachery”, Mordaunt, without noticing the Musketeers outside on the balcony, closes the blinds. Cromwell comes in, and is surprised to see Mordaunt. Mordaunt says he came through a secret passage; this is rather puzzling, given that D’Artagnan claimed to have had him followed.

Cromwell had heard about the plot to save Charles Stuart; he thought Mazarin was behind it, and that the plotters were four Frenchmen, including Mazarin’s two envoys. Mordaunt says they are all guilty of crimes against England, and asks for the power of life and death over them, which Cromwell grants.

Mordaunt questions Cromwell’s non-attendance at Charles’ execution; Cromwell says he didn’t want to be there. Mordaunt says he was standing where he could see and hear all. Cromwell mentions the “impromptu executioner” – Mordaunt tells him that Charles died from a single blow.

Well aware that Mordaunt was the executioner, Cromwell disingenuously claims to wonder who would want to have to perform such a function if it weren’t their job. Mordaunt suggests that it was someone who, like himself, wanted revenge for the confiscation of his lands by Charles. He asks whether Cromwell would condemn such a man, if he knew him. Cromwell passionately affirms, “I do not know him!” and Mordaunt looks wounded.

Cromwell wishes Charles had escaped onto the boat to France with the plotters, because his men had planted some barrels of gunpowder in their hold. Charles was to have been blown up on the way across the English Channel – and Cromwell would have appeared innocent of the King’s death.

He tells Mordaunt to go and fetch the gunpowder, but Mordaunt suggests that they leave it on the vessel, let the Frenchmen get on board, and use it to blow them up instead. Cromwell grudgingly agrees, and Mordaunt thanks god that he’ll be able to complete his vengeance. Cromwell leaves.

Mordaunt goes back to the window and opens it; the Musketeers lure him out, surround him, and then hustle him back inside. D’Artagnan says they have been running after each other for so long, they ought to have a talk, and say that it is appropriate that he is dressed as an assassin. Mordaunt says he is the one who will be assassinated.

D’Artagnan points out that Mordaunt has a sword – Mordaunt doesn’t think his one sword is a match for their four. D’Artagnan thinks he should have kept the axe – the role of Executioner suited him.

Mordaunt scores a palpable hit by reminding D’Artagnan of how he had Milady killed. D’Artagnan’s bluster covers a rather weak response: that they could hardly have offered her a sword to defend herself.

Mordaunt asks whether it’s a duel D’Artagnan wants – he’d like to kill all of them. D’Artagnan agrees; he wants to fight Mordaunt. But Mordaunt claims the right to choose which of them he fights first, and Porthos agrees, he has that right. So Mordaunt challenges Athos - his mother’s former husband.

But Athos says that a duel between them is impossible, though he gives no reason for this. If Athos won’t fight him, Mordaunt doesn’t care who goes first, so the others draw lots, and D’Artagnan wins. Mordaunt asks for their word that the others won’t stab him in the back while he is fighting D’Artagnan, and insists they retire to a far corner.

A fierce duel ensues, but when D’Artagnan finally seems to be getting the upper hand, Mordaunt slips away through a secret door.

Athos is unaccountably relieved not to have seen Milady’s son killed, but D’Artagnan says that if they don’t strike first, Mordaunt will kill them, or send Cromwell’s Ironsides to do so. Unaware of the gunpowder aboard their vessel, they decide to return to France.

Mordaunt gets to the boat first, and finds Cromwell’s Captain Groslaw in command of the Musketeers’ ship. Groslaw shows him the dinghy tied behind the boat, ready for their escape when they have set the fuse to the gunpowder, which is hidden among some barrels of wine. Groslaw then hides Mordaunt in his cabin.

When the Musketeers arrive, Groslaw convinces them that he’s their Captain Rodgers’ mate, Mulligan. D’Artagnan is a bit suspicious, and demands to be taken on a tour of the boat, but when he checks Groslaw’s cabin, he fails to notice Mordaunt, in a hiding place above the door.

Athos’ servant Grimaud, is already in the servants’ quarters, peeling vegetables. D’Artagnan checks the cargo, and is satisfied; before they set sail, he’d been worried Mordaunt would blast them out of the water.

Left alone, Grimaud decides he would prefer some wine to the beer he is drinking, and goes to the cargo hold to get some, but finds a barrel of gunpowder instead. Hearing footsteps, he hides, and hears Mordaunt and Groslaw discussing how much time they will need to escape. Mordaunt lights the fuse, but as soon as they leave, Grimaud puts it out. He warns D’Artagnan, who sends him back to light it again.

Mordaunt, thinking he has five minutes before he needs to leave the boat, spends that time praying, while Groslaw waits patiently. Meanwhile, the Musketeers kill the man guarding the dinghy, get into it, and - when Grimaud joins them - cut the rope and row away from the boat.

When Mordaunt finishes praying, he and Groslaw go on deck, only to find that the dinghy has gone. Groslaw runs to snuff the fuse out, but Mordaunt pulls off his jacket and jumps into the water.

The Musketeers hear an explosion, and think it’s all over. Then they hear Mordaunt, calling, “Pity, in the name of Heaven!” Athos responds, “Mon Dieu!”

D’Artagnan tells Porthos to keep rowing, but Mordaunt swims alongside and grabs the oar. When they threaten to split his head, Mordaunt goes to Athos, and pleads, “You killed my mother. Must the feud go on?”

Athos decides that there’s been enough killing, and grabs hold of him, saying “Sir, you are safe – be calm”, but Mordaunt betrays his trust, and pulls him into the water.

They fight, trying to drown each other, then we see that Mordaunt has a knife. As the episode ends, only bubbles can be seen.


At the beginning of episode 14, “Hunted”, Porthos, D’Artagnan and Aramis see Mordaunt’s body, with a knife embedded in Mordaunt's chest, float away; they are relieved to see Athos still alive, and help him aboard.

Episode 10: The Oath

Episode 10, “The Oath” picks up where episode 9 left off: with Mordaunt training a gun on Athos and Aramis, and fully intending to kill them.



But D’Artagnan stops him, saying that because he and Porthos actually captured them, they belong to him. While Mordaunt is briefly called away, D’Artagnan warns the others not to kill Mordaunt while surrounded by Cromwell’s men. Mordaunt returns, with an escort to take Charles Stuart to London for trial.


( Read more... )

“The Further Adventures of the Musketeers” was a BBC drama series, based on Alexander Dumas' sequel to "The Three Musketeers", entitled "Twenty Years After." The sixteen episodes were broadcast on BBC1, at 5:25 pm on Sundays.

Michael Gothard is credited for appearances in ten of the sixteen episodes, and very briefly appears in another. He plays Mordaunt, formerly John Francis de Winter, the vengeful son of Milady de Winter. Milady was executed by the Musketeers in the previous series, "The Three Musketeers."

This series, which features many stalwarts of British entertainment, had languished in the BBC archives for nearly 50 years, unseen by the public, until May 2016, when it was finally released on DVD by Simply Media.¹ Perhaps we should consider ourselves lucky that it had not simply been "lost", like so many productions of the BBC's earlier years.

In an interview that appeared in ‘X’-Films Vol.3 No 1 in 1973, Michael briefly mentioned this role:

“That show [‘Arthur of the Britons’] was the one I got the most public notice from. I also did another TV series five years ago, called “The Further Adventures of the Musketeers.” I was playing the villain in that, but I used to get more fan mail than the bloody hero! So, I had an image then, but I don’t know what it was.”

Watching the series now, it is not hard to see why he got so much fan mail. A classic anti-hero, Mordaunt appears more dynamic than the - much older - Musketeers, and his dedicated pursuit of his goal stands in stark contrast to their muddled and often self-serving aims.

D’Artagnan responds to an appeal from Queen Anne, whom he and his friends previously helped in covering up her betrayal of her husband, King Louis XIII. But he is also looking for advancement in the Service, and persuades Porthos to join him - on the promise of a barony - in working for the Queen and Mazarin, against rebels led by Rochefort and the Prince de Beaufort.

Their other old friends, Athos and Aramis, are on Rochefort’s side, and the four spend some time working against each other, while trying to remain friends. When Mazarin sends D’Artagnan and Porthos to England to negotiate with Cromwell, they forget about their mission, and team up with Athos and Aramis in trying to save King Charles from the man with whom they are supposed to be negotiating. They are constantly changing their minds and squabbling amongst themselves. They fail to save Charles, and it is only thanks to a servant, Grimaud, and his desire for wine, that they avoid being blown up by Mordaunt.

They manage to kill Mordaunt, and they negotiate peace between the warring parties in France, and rewards for themselves - but this seems more by luck than judgement.

Mordaunt’s single-minded quest to avenge his mother’s death seems, if not admirable, at least understandable. In episode 13, when he is surrounded by all four Musketeers, he appears quite brave in standing up to the more experienced swordsmen, and he fights well against D’Artagnan.

Michael also referred to the series in an interview in a Marvel Super Special Magazine: For Your Eyes Only on-set report, which came out in 1981.

"I've been killed in so many different ways on both the large and small screens," he said wryly. "I've been hanged, stabbed, strangled, shot, immersed in an acid bath, crashed on a motorcycle, killed by a 10-year-old boy by a vicious blow to the spine, drowned and – on one memorable occasion – stabbed and drowned simultaneously.”

The “memorable occasion” was in “The Further Adventures of the Musketeers.”


Fellow actors

This was the first of three productions in which Michael Gothard worked with Brian Blessed. Blessed played Porthos in "The Further Adventures of the Musketeers" in which Michael Gothard played Mordaunt. He also played Korski in "The Last Valley", in which Michael played Hansen, and Mark of Cornwall in "Arthur of the Britons", in which Michael played Kai.

The creator of this archive met Brian Blessed in 2011, and showed him some pictures of fans dedicating a tree to Michael. Brian didn’t even know Michael had died.² When told that Michael had killed himself in 1992, he became serious, and said that he was sorry.

He said that Michael was depressed when he knew him. Michael used to say, “Oh, Brian, I don’t know if I’ll make it as an actor. No one seems to like me”,³ and he had a lot of bad luck – saying that some bloke he’d paid to decorate his house left the job half-finished.

Brian mentioned working with Michael on the “Further Adventures of the Musketeers.” He said: “We killed him in the end.”


Morris Perry who appeared as Captain Groslow, in 1979 played Radouk in the episode of “The Professionals”, in which Michael played Kodai. In 1980, they worked together again, in “A Tale of Two Cities.” Morris Perry played the Marquis St. Evremonde, who is killed by Michael’s character Gaspard, in revenge for the death of his daughter.


John Woodvine, who plays Aramis, was also to feature in “The Devils” as Trincant – a film in which Michael played a starring role as Father Barré.


Joss Ackland, who appeared as D'Artagnan in this series, later played D'Artagnan's father in the two Musketeers films in which Michael Gothard played John Felton.


Episodes of "The Further Adventures of the Musketeers" in which Michael appeared, with the introductory quotation from the Radio Times:

3. Conspiracy (4 June 1967)
“I see a man, a Royal Prince, defying bolts, bars, and fortress walls. I see him free … two days from now. At seven o’clock.”

4. Conflict (11 June 1967)
“The King’s name is no password here. To the sword, sir!”

5. Peril (18 June 1967)
“There is only one man in France I would trust with these secrets. You must destroy these papers … or die.”

6. Abduction (25 June 1967)
“People like us, madam, must not trust even our own two hands.”

7. The Boy King (2 July 1967)
“Monsieur D’Artagnan, you are under arrest. The King has vanished.”

9. Escape (16 July 1967)
“Your Majesty, I promise that anyone who has the audacity to touch you will die.”

10. The Oath (23 July 1967)
“You cannot live without me, my love. I am your star, your protector, your husband. We will make this true before God.”

11. The Trial (30 July 1967)
“Never doubt me again, Athos. I vow to take upon myself all that concerns the delivery of the King.”

12. The Scaffold (6 August 1967)
“We are about to separate before the most desperate adventure of our lives – the most glorious! We shall not fail.”

13. Treachery (13 August 1967)
“Athos, you are becoming imbecile. Do you realise our situation? It is kill or be killed.”

¹ The production features a disclaimer about the quality of the footage, but this turns out to be better than expected, though the subtitles are not to be relied upon.

² It was hardly surprising that Blessed missed the news, given how little coverage it received. Also, he would have been preparing for one of his attempts on Everest at the time.

³ It was not clear whether Michael thought no one seemed to like him professionally, or personally, though the former seems more likely.

IMDB entry