The Iron Mask (1929)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Allan Dwan

Writers:

Alexandre Dumas père (novels)
Douglas Fairbanks (screenplay)

Release Date:

21 February 1929 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | History | Romance

Tagline:

The Further Adventures of "The Three Musketeers"!

Plot:

King Louis XIII of France is thrilled to have born to him a son - an heir to the throne. But when the queen delivers a twin...

Plot Keywords:

Musketeer | Convent | Iron Mask | Heir | Mask

Cast

Douglas Fairbanks	...	D'Artagnan
Belle Bennett	...	The Queen Mother, Anne of Austria
Marguerite De La Motte	...	Constance Bonacieux
Dorothy Revier	...	Milady de Winter
Vera Lewis	...	Madame Peronne
Rolfe Sedan	...	Louis XIII
William Bakewell	...	Louis XIV and Twin Brother
Gordon Thorpe	...	Young Prince and Twin Brother
Nigel De Brulier	...	Cardinal Richelieu
Ullrich Haupt	...	Count De Rochefort
Lon Poff	...	Father Joseph - the Queen's Confessor
Charles Stevens	...	Planchet - D'Artagnan's Servant
Henry Otto	...	The King's Valet
Léon Bary	...	Athos (as Leon Barry)
Tiny Sandford	...	Porthos (as Stanley J. Sandford)

Runtime:

95 min | UK:103 min (restored version) | USA:72 min (edited) (re-release)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System) (talking sequences, musical score and sound effects) | Silent

Certification:

USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Big Sur, California, USA

Company:

Elton Corporation

Trivia:

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.

Quotes:

Porthos: Come on! There is greater adventure beyond.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime: The Unbreakable Alibi (#1.7)" (1983)

Stirring farewell to an era.

In Kevin Brownlow and David Gill's extraordinary 1980 documentary about the silent era "Hollywood" the final sequence of "The Iron Mask" is described as Fairbanks' farewell to the silent film. And it is.

Generally this is an inferior film to the amazing 1921 "Three Musketeers". Allan Dwan is not the visual stylist that Fred Niblo is, and so "The Iron Mask" becomes much more of a straightforward action film. But as such it is splendid. I think we tend to forget what a good actor Fairbanks was. His emotional journey here is quite powerful as he faces the death of his lady and of his friends - and he ages convincingly as well.

Most of the cast is different to the "Three Musketeers" but Margueritte de la Motte returns as Constance and the unforgettable Nigel de Brulier again plays Richilieu with extreme venom.

Fairbanks has an athletic field day as well. There seem to be a number of versions of this film around. The one I saw ran 95 minutes and had tinted sequences. I've seen some advertised as having talking sequences, and others with narration by Douglas Fairbanks Jr - the one i saw had neither of these.

It was probably the last large scale silent feature made in Hollywood. And that is what gives those gorgeous last minutes such power. The silent era was truly the golden years of Hollywood and Fairbanks was its king - in this film he sadly abdicates.