The Man in the Iron Mask (1939)

i must have seen a different film!!

How sad is this?

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Thoroughly enjoyable swashbuckler with great costumes, sets and performances. The Musketeers are here in their latter days and up to the task as is Director James Whale whose style lends a bit of the macabre to the proceedings.This much filmed story is favored by most fans and critics and is not disappointing. It is an engaging nuanced dual performance by Louis Hayward and no one here is beneath the scope of this magnificent movie. The score was nominated for an Oscar and the modest budget is used to maximum effect thanks to the talents behind the camera.If you like this type of film from the apex of the Hollywood system you will love this timeless story of power, greed, compassion, and righteousness. "All for one and one for all" within the confines of benevolent Nationalism.

Boris Karloff found this to be true in 1935's "The Black Room", but his set of twins were not sons of the King of France. When King Louis XIII's wife gives birth to two sons (why is it never a daughter?), one is not presented to the people, but gets to be raised by D'Artagnan, one of the three musketeers. When the king dies, the son he raised ascends the throne as Louis XIV (named "the Great" in history books), and the remaining son, Philippe, becomes a rebel after his father is outcast from the court. Louis XIV is presented as an evil fop (although history doesn't record him this way) who doesn't care abut the people. If the future Marie Antoinette said "Let Them Eat Cake", this version of the greatest Bourbon King of France wouldn't care if they starved.When Spanish Princess Marie Terese (Joan Bennett) arrives as Louis's future Queen, she is revolted by his inhumanity. When the King discovers he is the intended target of an assassination plot, Marie Terese is taken with Philippe (who has assumed the King's place after being arrested) for his caring, believing her initial impression of the king was a misunderstanding. Of course, the king discovers the truth about his look-alike, and thus comes in the Iron Mask.This lavish historical drama may not represent France's greatest era of the monarchy, but it is an entertaining and impressive vision of that time. Hayward, in a double role, sneers as the evil King Louis XIV but gets to be noble and even imitate his twin as the decent Philippe. Would you believe the usually more modern, hard as nails Marion Martin as the Madame DuBarry type mistress? I didn't at first, but she tones down her usual streetwise manner in that part. As for Bennett, I feared she might be wasted as the hapless heroine, but she actually gets to do more rather than simply look pretty and fret over being rescued. Warren William is excellent as D'Artagnon, and Joseph Schildkraut gives an outstanding performance as the villainous Fouquet. Under the stunning direction of James Whale, the film is a visual treat, much like his glorious movie version of "Show Boat" with a touch of his past horror film glories thrown in. This film only goes into swashbuckling action a few times, but it never lacks in entertainment.

I have seen the many other versions of this story, but I had never even heard of this one, directed by the great James Whale, which is surprising in itself. I must say without qualification it is certainly the best of them all. Louis Hayward is excellent as the twins, and the scenes with the 2 twins together rival anything Hollyweed can do now, only done much more simply and directly. They don't even look like matte shots. And the scenes with Hayward in an iron mask rival any of Whale's horror films simply in their superb use of lighting for effect. Just goes to show further what a superb craftsman he was, and how he was comfortable in any genre. The supporting cast is fine, though frankly I never found Joan Bennett interesting, she does well here. And stalwarts like Schildkraut and Hale do their usual fine work. Frankly I thing Warren William is highly overrated in the other reviews here. Yes, he does a creditable job, but no better than any others in the supporting cast. Personally, I think Whale's direction is the real star here, effective without being overly flamboyant. He could have easily rivaled Cukor or any of his other gay contemporaries' work, but unfortunately he insisted on being honest and open about who he was. Something that is frowned upon even today.

James Whale has to be credited with some very fine direction on this version of THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK, the famous story about the twin brothers, one of whom is a black-hearted rogue who sits on the throne, the other raised in a faraway village by D'Artagnan when it becomes clear that only one twin can sit on the throne of France.All the ingredients for a good swashbuckler are here with the added benefit of an absorbing story, extremely well played by a wonderful cast. LOUIS HAYWARD has never had a better role than the contrasting twins and the special effects are excellent when he shares scenes with his twin. JOAN BENNETT, although very beautiful, is merely a costumed prop here, exuding no real warmth as the princess who falls in love with the good twin. She was never an actress of any depth.But the film really belongs to WARREN WILLIAM as a rather overage D'Artagnan and even more so to Joseph SCHILDKRAUT in another one of his evil impersonations as Fouquet, with ambitions to become the Minister of Finance and an appetite for treachery.Very lavish production values, although one wishes the film could have been filmed in Technicolor (at a time when very few films were). There's a good Oscar-nominated background score in the brisk tradition of such music and there's never a dull moment in the whole film.Summing up: A majestic, impressive version of the tale which stands up to any subsequent telling in recent years.