The Return of the Musketeers
1989’s The Return of the Musketeers was a sequel to The Three Musketeers, depicting events twenty years after the original story. It was a middling movie that opened to mixed reviews, and the reviews remain mixed to this day, with a current Rotten Tomatoes rating in the 60% ballpark. Filming was marred by the tragic death of character actor Roy Kinnear (1934 – 1988), who played the role of Planchet, the servant of the Musketeer d’Artagnan.
On September 19th, 1988, on a film set in Spain, a scene called for the Planchet character to gallop on horseback at speed across a wooden bridge. Kinnear had not expected to perform such a strenuous stunt – he was 54 years old and considerably overweight. Additionally, he had little to no experience in horseback riding, and was described by fellow actors and the filming set’s stunt coordinator as a “nervous” and “incompetent” horseman. That did not stop the film’s director, Richard Lester, from instructing the aging and obese actor to “thunder” at high speed across the Alcantara bridge near Toledo.
As might have been expected, ordering an inexperienced, overweight, and out of shape rider with next to no equestrian skills to charge at top speed across a bridge was a bad idea. Kinnear fell off his horse, and the fall caused him severe pelvic injuries, which led to massive internal bleeding. He was rushed to a hospital, but the doctors were unable to save him, and he died as a result of his injuries the following day.
Kinnear’s family sued the movie’s director, Richard Lester, and a producer, for exposing the actor to unnecessary risks while filming. On the first day of the trial, witnesses testified that although the scene was known to be hazardous, Kinnear was not offered a stunt double. That was then compounded by Lester ordering Kinnear to ride at speed across the bridge, despite knowing that the actor was a poor horseman. The following day, the defendants settled the case for 650,000 British pounds. As to director Lester, he was forced to quit the film making business as a direct result of his role in the accident.