The Man in the Iron Mask (1939)Despotic King Louis XIV discovers he has a twin brother who has grown up under the tutelage of his foster father, the patriotic musketeer D'Artagnan. Director:James Whale |
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The Man in the Iron Mask (1939)Despotic King Louis XIV discovers he has a twin brother who has grown up under the tutelage of his foster father, the patriotic musketeer D'Artagnan. Director:James Whale |
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Louis Hayward | ... | ||
| Joan Bennett | ... | ||
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Warren William | ... | |
| Joseph Schildkraut | ... | ||
| Alan Hale | ... | ||
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Walter Kingsford | ... | |
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Miles Mander | ... | |
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Bert Roach | ... | |
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Marion Martin | ... |
Mlle. de la Valliere
(as Marian Martin)
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Montagu Love | ... |
Spanish Ambassador
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Doris Kenyon | ... | |
| Albert Dekker | ... | ||
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Nigel De Brulier | ... | |
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William Royle | ... |
Commandant of the Bastille
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Boyd Irwin | ... |
Royal High Constable of France
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D'Artagnan and the musketeers are the only ones who know of the existence of a twin brother, and Fouquet uses his influence to keep everyone silenced. The main story was changed by portraying Louis XIV as selfish, cruel, and incompetent, and Philippe the kind-hearted brother who is raised by D'Artagnan and the musketeers and does not even know that he has an identical twin. When the truth is discovered, Louis XIV has Philippe imprisoned with the iron mask placed on him, hoping that Philippe's beard will grow inside the mask and eventually strangle him. Written by Anthony Pereyra {hypersonic91@yahoo.com}
James Whale, when he wasn't doing horror films which set trends, or the occasional musical, went literary with this entertaining adaptation of the famous French novel.
Old hands are involved - Warren William, Alan Hale - as part of the quartet of ageing musketeers, and do the production credit. South-African born matinée idol Louis Hayward plays both the twins admirably and pretty Joan Bennett does her usual turn which she could do in her sleep (as the princess betrothed to the bad twin and in love with the good twin).
The film veers from some very funny moments to some sweet romantic scenes between the good twin and the foreign princess, and the different characters of the twins are well portrayed. There are also a number of excellent performances in the supporting cast. With all this (and Whale's surreal imagination) you can forgive the odd lapse away from Dumas' original vision. Good stuff indeed.