Máscara de Ferro (1929)

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, Cardinal Richelieu sees the second son as a potential for ... See full summary »

Director:

Allan Dwan

Writers:

Lotta Woods (scenario editor), Douglas Fairbanks (story) (as Elton Thomas)

Stars:

Belle Bennett, Marguerite De La Motte, Dorothy Revier

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Belle Bennett	...	The Queen Mother
Marguerite De La Motte	...	Constance
Dorothy Revier	...	Milady de Winter
Vera Lewis	...	Madame Peronne
Rolfe Sedan	...	Louis XIII
William Bakewell	...	Louis XIV / Twin Brother
Gordon Thorpe	...	Young Prince / Twin Brother
Nigel De Brulier	...	Cardinal Richelieu
Ullrich Haupt	...	De Rochefort
Lon Poff	...	Father Joseph
Charles Stevens	...	Planchet - D'Artagnan's Servant
Henry Otto	...	The King's Valet
Léon Bary	...	Athos (as Leon Barry)
Tiny Sandford	...	Porthos (as Stanley Standford)
Gino Corrado	...	Aramis

Storyline

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, Cardinal Richelieu sees the second son as a potential for revolution, and has him sent off to Spain to be raised in secret to ensure a peaceful future for France. Alas, keeping the secret means sending Constance, lover of D'Artagnan, off to a convent. D'Artagnan hears of this and rallies the Musketeers in a bid to rescue her. Unfortunately, Richelieu out-smarts the Musketeers and banishes them forever. Richelieu enlists D'Artagnan to look after and protect the young prince. Meanwhile, de Rochefort learns of the twins and Richelieu's plans, and kidnaps the twin, raising him in secret. Many years later, with Richelieu dead and the young prince crowned King Louis XIV, Rochefort launches his plan. The king is kidnapped, replaced with his twin, put in an iron mask so as not to be recognized, and led off to a remote castle to be held prisoner. Louis XIV is able to ...

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Plot Keywords:

swashbuckler | king louis xiv | musketeer | heir | convent | 

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Taglines:

Youth will thrill, age will gasp at the romance and valor of the dauntless daredevil who found no risk to great for love and country.(Print Ad-Owosso Argus-Press,((Owosso, Mich.)) 10 May 1929)

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | History | Romance

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Did You Know?

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.

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Goofs

The iron-masked King languishes in his tower prison and notices a fisherman in the sea below. He quickly scratches a message on a pewter platter and tosses it out of the window to the rocks below. The fisherman picks up the place and READS the message - at that time in history the (oppressed) French working class were illiterate.

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Quotes

Porthos: Come on! There is greater adventure beyond.

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Alternate Versions

The 1952 reissue version (severely re-edited to 72 minutes) by Odyssey Pictures Co., removed the intertitles and a few scenes, substituted the sound by a new narration voiced by Douglas Fairbanks Jr., and a new orchestral score by Allan Gray played by the Philarmonia Orchestra. This version is the basis of most video copies, and was broadcast on American Movie Classics since 1997. An excerpt from that version appears on the 1999 version as a DVD extra.

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Connections

Referenced in Mary Pickford: A Life on Film (1997)

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Soundtracks

One for All, All for One
(1929) (uncredited)
Lyrics by Jo Trent
Music by Hugo Riesenfeld and Louis Alter

User Reviews

A Must See Classic

Forget all other versions of this film...including the Leonardo DeCaprio version. This is a Fantastic look back at the Golden Age of Films ! I am actually watching it right now: the version which has the Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. narration.

Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. and truly a 'Cast of Thousands' run through this exciting, wonderful motion picture giving true meaning to the word 'motion' ! The cast is perfect: the heroes, the villains, the beautiful damsels, the sets, the townspeople...all interwoven into a true classic and a superb follow-up to "The Three Musketeers". Dumas himself would be proud.

Like "The Bride of Frankenstein", this sequel almost surpasses the original and for film buffs and historians this is truly a 'must see' film.

Perhaps, in this age of 'short attention spans', maybe some younger viewers won't be able to stick with this film. Silent, Black & White, some over-acting involved. BUT, if you fasten your seat belts, grab a big bowl of popcorn and a large soda or two, and, maybe a "Three Musketeers" Candy Bar for a special tie-in treat, you will laugh, you will cry, you will be impressed. AND, you will take a wonderful trip back in time to the Golden Age of Hollywood...and you WILL ENJOY !!

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 February 1930 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

Máscara de Ferro

Filming Locations:

Big Sur, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$3,270,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Elton Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min 103 min (restored) 72 min (edited) (re-release)

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1