> Are there versions where Constance survives? > > The aforementioned Disney effort is one. If I remember correctly, the Michael York version likewise had Constance alive at the end, but that one led into a sequel so they may have corrected it in The Four Musketeers. I wasn't ever inspired enough to actually watch the sequel so I don't really know if it was an extension of the first, an adaptation of 20 Years After or something else entirely. The different takes on Constance can be interesting. In the Michael York film, she's more or less just a bimbo in distress. In the most recent Disney film, she's a sharp-witted 90's woman in Renaissance clothing, who helps D'artagnan win the day. In the Gene Kelly film, Constance is innocent and pure-hearted. She stands in for Fentor(sp?) as Milady's jailor and Milady uses that innocence against her in the same way that Dumas had her use Fentor's Puritan innocence against him. It's one of the things I like about this version. They manage to compress the story while still preserving the essential parts of it. Later versions tended to achieve the compression by simply dispensing with the story entirely. I don't want to over-hype the Kelly version. It's a fiftie's (1948, actually) movie with the sensibilities of a fiftie's movie. I'd say, though, that like Eroll Flynn's silent version of Robin Hood, the film manages to transcend its age and deliver a credible version of the story along with an enjoyable movie experience. Your mileage may vary. I am, after all, a self-admitted Gene Kelly fan. ;-)