The Iron Mask (1962)
"Le masque de fer" (original title)

The story of the Three Musketeers, D'Artagnan, and the imprisonment in an iron mask of the identical twin of the King of France, Louis XIV.

Director:

Henri Decoin

Writers:

Laurent Devries, Gerald Devriès,

Stars:

Jean Marais, Sylva Koscina, Jean-François Poron

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jean Marais	...	Charles d'Artagnan
Sylva Koscina	...	Marion
Jean-François Poron	...	Henri / Louis XIV
Giselle Pascal	...	Mme de Chaulmes
Philippe Lemaire	...	De Vaudreuil
Noël Roquevert	...	M. de Saint-Mars
Jean Rochefort	...	Lastreaumont
Claudine Auger	...	Isabelle de Saint-Mars
Germaine Montero	...	Ann d'Autriche
Enrico Maria Salerno	...	Mazarin
Jean Davy	...	Marchal of Turenne
Raymond Gérôme	...	Pimentel
Clément Thierry	...	Maulévrier
Simone Derly	...	Marie Mancini
Max Montavon	...	Notaire

Storyline

Ste-Marguerite citadel, France's most isolated island prison, holds a mysterious captive, whose iron-masked face nobody may see on pain of death. Cardinal Mazarin, who rules France in the name of immature king Louis XIV, needs to marry him off to a Spanish infante to seal a peace treaty, but finds him dangerously flirtatious and diagnosed terminally ill. He sends the unstoppable musketeer Charles d'Artagnan and his three buddies to secretly bring the captive, in his mask. The prison governor's daughter is secretly in love with him and arranges an escape just when the musketeers arrive.

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Plot Keywords:

musketeer | prison | identical twins | escape | iron mask | 

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Genres:

Adventure

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Details

Country:

Italy France

Language:

French

Release Date:

26 October 1962 (France)

Also Known As:

Die eiserne Maske

Filming Locations:

Étangs de Commelles, Coye-la-Forêt, Oise, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ceres Films, Films Marly, Fucha Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

127 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the top 20 grossing movies of its year in France.

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Connections

Version of Mushketyory 20 let spustya (1992)

User Reviews

A listless version.

A well-known Dumas tale;the best swashbuckler actorFrance ever had:Jean Marais;a French beauty ,Claudine Auger,who was to be Domino in "Thunderball";and Henry Decoin ,a skillful craftsman.

But it's not enough,cause the story lacks intensity ,and ,whereas you expect an action-packed movie,all you get is a slow-moving tale which hesitates between comedy and true adventure.Some people will not agree,but the made-for-TV version starring Irons,Di Caprio and Byrne is much more exciting.So is the French own made-for-TV one,the fourth segment of the "D'Artagnan" miniseries in 1969.

Jean-François Poron,who was the Duke of Nemours in "la Princesse de Clèves" where he played opposite Jean Marais too,is the "twins" here.