The Iron Mask

Early silent swashbuckling with talking sequences , starred by a master swordsman , Douglas Fairbanks, defending the French king from a scheme involving substitution by a lookalike . This is an epic retelling about the durable Alexandre Dumas's novel and is set in 17th century French court . In St Germain , on fifth of September , 1638 , public excitement ran high in anticipation of an important event , there was born the royal heir . As twins brothers -the same actor playing a double role- , separated at birth, one become in Louis XIV of France and the other is banished . The latter returns and unjustly imprisons his brother , being forced to wear an iron mask that hides his identity . Both of whom are sons of the Queen mother Anna of Austria . Later on , the real king is jailed by his tyrannical brother in an isolated castle and is hidden his identity wearing the iron mask but his existence threatens the reigning . But there is a friendship that is born of God , it is not altered by time , nor affected by circumstance , it endures to the grave and beyond . Four musketeers whose friendship has become a legend to stir the hearts of men and shouting ¨One for all and all for one¨. Straightforward as well as gallant D'Artagnan and the three musketeers scheme a plan to free him clashing against a malicious Richelieu , the Louis XIV's favorite and his hoodlum Rochefort . As the kidnapped king is eventually rescued by the musketeers and takes place a royal vengeance .

It's an excellent rendition from the immortal novel with quite budget and spectacular action . The picture contains rousing scenes , intrigue , derring-do , exciting swordplay , romantic adventure , mayhem , a lot of fun and is pretty entertaining . It's a silent movie with two brief speeches by Douglas Fairbanks at the beginning and intermission . In this film, the Four Musketeers - Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and D'Artagnan - all sleep together in one bed, with the French phrase 'Un Pour Tous, Tous Pour Un' , One For All, All For One, inscribed on the headboard. This entire production was under the supervision of Maurice Leloir , member of the Society of French Artists , illustrator of the Three Musketeers , the acknowledged authority on the period depicted . Marvelous casting with a magnificent Douglas Fairbanks as a valiant swashbuckler . Charming Douglas Fairbanks steals the show when he bounds and leaps , flies and run ; in addition he is the screenwriter of this rollicking adventure . Fairbanks executes athletic feats , moving sword-play and spectacular acrobatics similarly he demonstrated in other classics such as The Mark of Zorro (1920), Robin Hood (1922), Three musketeers , Don Q Son of Zorro , The gaucho , The iron mask , The Taming of the Shrew , Don Juan , Mr Robinson , among others . Douglas performed most of the stunts in his films himself. He was an excellent athlete and used his physical abilities to his best advantage. Douglas was king of Hollywood by that time and he formed his own production company ; during a Liberty Bond tour with Charles Chaplin he fell in love with Mary Pickford with whom he, Chaplin and Griffith had formed United Artists in 1919. Lush production design is well reflected on the luxurious interiors and exteriors . The motion picture was lavishly produced and well realized by Allan Dwan .The realization is fairly exciting , thanks largely to filmmaker Allan Dwan's fair play and achieving a masterly style by skillful lighting .

This classy story is subsequently remade several versions , for both TV and the big screen . Firstly this mute rendition (1929) , after that , ¨The man in the iron mask¨ by James Whale(1939) with Louis Hayward , Alan Hale and Joan Bennet , ¨The Fifth Musketeer¨(1979) by Ken Annakin with Beau Bridges , Rex Harrison , Silvia Kristel , Ursula Andress ; ¨Iron mask¨(1997) by William Richert with Timothy Bottoms , Edward Albert , James Gammon , Dana Barron , Meg Foster and finally ¨The man in the iron mask¨ (1998) , a big production by Randall Wallace with Leonardo DiCaprio , Gerard Depardieu , John Malkovich , Jeremy Irons . And TV adaptation of the classy ¨Iron mask¨ (1977) by Mike Newell with Richard Chamberlain , Jenny Agutter , Ian Holm , Ralph Richardson .

Seven stars. My twelve year-old son and I both LOVE Douglass Fairbanks. I showed him Zorro when he was about four, and he's been hooked ever since. But this one was a bit of a let-down. I guess Fairbanks was finally starting to get too old to pull off the sort of stunts that litter films like Zorro, The Three Musketeers, The Black Pirate, and Thief of Bagdad. There are the occasional nuggets, and the film is still chock full of bravura action sequences. But it's a film about the inevitable consequence of aging, even if it's done up in Hollywood gloss. This film was made at the cusp of the arrival of talkies, and features intro and entr'acte sequences with Fairbanks, as D'Artagnan, talking to the audience. That provided a fun opportunity for me to discuss the limitations of early sound technology with my son, and about why big spectacle films stayed silent longer than small-scene dramas. Anyway. The film is a combo of the Dumas novels Twenty Years After and The Man in the Iron Mask, using both to put a more upbeat spin on the later novel. It has excellent production values, and a solid cast. The acting is first-rate silent film acting -- everything HAS to be big to work, and it is. The stunts are well-done, if not breath taking. It works best if seen as a sort of coda to the stuff Fairbanks had been doing so brilliantly for the previous dozen years or so. 8 November 2021.

This is without a doubt, the best version of Dumas' classic work on celluloid. Every time I see the ending, my eyes mist, especially as I realize we're seeing Fairbanks'last silent work, which makes it all the more touching. Allan Dwan was a master, and an unappreciated one. This is more than likely his finest work, and one that doesn't seem to get its proper due. It's a tale of camaraderie, love of country, and . . . well heck, it's doing the right thing. Today's cinematic 'heroes' just don't do that any more.

There are no fiery explosions, four-letter words, car crashes, etc., but the action is wonderful. The humor is magnificent, and the script id done well. If you want to show a silent film to someone who's never seen one, this is the one to show them. (Then, after they've loved it, show them a Lon Chaney or DeMille's KING OF KINGS.)

With his head encased in THE IRON MASK that hides his identity, the true king of France waits for the elderly D'Artagnan & the Three Musketeers to come to his rescue...

Douglas Fairbanks, silent cinema's greatest swashbuckling hero, bid farewell to the glory days of the silent screen with this joyous romp of a film. As a sequel to Fairbanks' earlier THE THREE MUSKETEERS (1921), it more than surpasses its predecessor in lavish production values, good acting & nonstop action.

Now 46, Fairbanks seems none the worse for wear and his muscular athleticism is still called upon to win the girl, beat the foe & thrill the audience. Fairbanks had a natural spontaneity & authentic joie de vivre, both in his private life and in his screen persona, which audiences of the 1920's found absolutely irresistible. He was unique - unforgettable - utterly irreplaceable.

Fairbanks is supported once again by a fine cast: lovely Marguerite De La Motte as the faithful Constance; Dorothy Revier as the treacherous Milady de Winter; William Bakewell in the dual role of the two princes; Lon Poff as the sinister Father Joseph. That's the excellent character actress Vera Lewis in the tiny role of the Royal Midwife.

The Three Musketeers themselves are rather more finely delineated than in the previous film. Léon Bary as Athos, Tiny Sandford as Porthos & Gino Corrado as Aramis all give good account of themselves throughout the flurry & turmoil of the lively plot.

Special mention must be made of British actor Nigel de Brulier, once again playing the rapacious Cardinal Richelieu. Even though the character disappears half way into the film, de Brulier still manages to invest the Churchman with more than just villainy. He helps the viewer to glimpse the real person behind the facade and to understand some of the reasons for his tyrannical behavior.

One of the versions in which this film is available has all the title cards removed & a rousing narrative read by Douglas Fairbanks Jr. substituted in their place.

**************************

The opening credits state that the film's narrative was based on the story by Elton Thomas (a pseudonym for Fairbanks), which was in turn based on Alexander Dumas' ‘The Three Musketeers' & ‘Twenty Years After.' This is true, but all of the Man in the Iron Mask elements actually came from Dumas' novel ‘Ten Years Later; or, The Vicomte de Bragelonne,' (1848-50). Thus, the events in the latter half of THE IRON MASK take place 30 years after the events in THE THREE MUSKETEERS.

The first film is set in 1625; the second film starts in 1638. Since important plot elements are not handled in THE THREE MUSKETEERS - for instance, Milady's evil behavior towards Constance - they are somewhat incongruously left dangling for 13 years until the beginning of THE IRON MASK. And some of the most fascinating elements of the later books - such as the Musketeers' clash with Milady's malevolent son & the machinations of Richelieu's successor, the wily Cardinal Mazarin - are completely ignored altogether.

But this is a mere quibble and should not detract from the immense enjoyment of a very fine film. It might be helpful to note, in passing, a few historical dates which deal directly with the plot:

Louis XIV born September 15, 1638.

Cardinal Richelieu dies December 4, 1642.

Louis XIII dies May 14, 1643.

Louis XIV is crowned King in 1654, after attaining maturity.

Douglas Fairbanks picks up where he left off with the "Three Musketeers" (1921) in this altogether better sequel that focusses on the succession to Louis XIII's France. When a son is born to Queen Anne (Belle Bennett), the entire nation celebrates. Only a few in the Kingdom know, however, that there is a twin... For the safety of the realm, the second born is whisked away to Spain on the instructions of Cardinal Richelieu (Nigel de Brulier) but not before the roguishly scarred "Rochefort" (Ullrich Haupt) discovers the truth. Some years later - after all but their mother are dead, he kidnaps the youngster from his Spanish hideaway and secretly substitutes this altogether different King on the throne of France, whilst consigning the real King to an hideous masked confinement in prison. Miraculously, the prisoner manages to get a message to his loyal Captain D'Artagnan (by this time a slightly more portly Fairbanks) and the race is on to rescue and restore him. Unlike any other cinema adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' story that I recall, this story starts off with the good king before the bad one, rather than just starting of with the bad one - and that helps to get the story off at a cracking pace. De Brulier's Richelieu is much better than with his previous iteration here; constantly sparring with those pesky - if somewhat more aged - musketeers, and with the aid of the conspiring "Milady de Winter" (Dorothy Revier) there are a couple of decent sub-plots that help keep the action coming thick and fast. The photography sets that pace well, with plenty of shoot-outs, sword fencing, explosions and intrigue to keep the pot boiling. Again, sparing inter-titles assist with dialogue but don't intrude in what is essentially a super boy's-own adventure. Definitely worth a watch, and in my view the best adaptation of "the Man in the Iron Mask" yet made.