The Man in the Iron Mask (1939 film)

1939 film directed by James Whale

For others, see Man in the Iron Mask (disambiguation).

The Man in the Iron Mask

Directed by| James Whale
Screenplay by| George Bruce
Based on| The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later
1848–50
by Alexandre Dumas
Produced by| Edward Small
Starring| Louis Hayward
Joan Bennett
Warren William
Joseph Schildkraut
Peter Cushing
Cinematography| Robert H. Planck
Edited by| Grant Whytock
Music by| Lud Gluskin
Lucien Moraweck

Production
company

Edward Small Productions

Distributed by| United Artists

Release date

* July 13, 1939 (1939-07-13) (United States)

Running time

| 96 minutes
113 minutes (uncut)
Country| United States
Language| English
Budget| $1 million[1]

The Man in the Iron Mask is a 1939 American historical adventure film very loosely adapted from the last section of the 1847–1850 novel The Vicomte de Bragelonne by Alexandre Dumas, père, which is itself based on the French legend of the Man in the Iron Mask.

The film was directed by James Whale and stars Louis Hayward as royal twins, Joan Bennett as Princess Maria Theresa, Warren William as d'Artagnan, and Joseph Schildkraut as Nicolas Fouquet. British actor Peter Cushing made his screen debut in a minor part.[2]

## Plot

[edit]

In 1638, King Louis XIII of France is delighted when his wife bears him a son, Louis, the heir to the throne. However, a few minutes later, a second son is born. Colbert (Walter Kingsford), the king's trusted adviser, persuades the king to secretly send the second child, Philippe, away to Gascony to be raised by his majesty's dear friend, d'Artagnan (Warren William), in order to avert a possible civil war later. Fouquet (Joseph Schildkraut), a mere cardinal's messenger at the time, finds out about the twin and uses this to advance his career. Twenty years later, he is the Minister of Finance under Louis XIV. The king is hated by the commoners for levying oppressive taxes and for executing them for not paying them.

Fouquet sends soldiers to force d'Artagnan and his people to pay the taxes, though the old king had exempted him and his village from them. They are driven off, but return in much greater numbers and, with great difficulty, capture d'Artagnan, the three musketeers and Philippe. Louis is about to order their executions when Colbert tells him about Philippe's uncanny resemblance to him. As Louis is aware of an assassination attempt to take place that day (but not where or when), he makes Philippe impersonate him in exchange for his friends' lives. Philippe not only survives the ambush, he shows mercy to his would-be killers and is cheered by the people. Princess Maria Theresa (Joan Bennett), whom Louis is to wed to seal an alliance with Spain, finds this new Louis much more attractive than the real one. However, when she discovers that Louis is having an affair with Mademoiselle de la Valliere (Marion Martin), she threatens to return to Spain. Philippe, as the king, persuades her to stay in Paris and they are officially betrothed.

When the truth is discovered, Louis has Philippe imprisoned with an iron mask placed on his head, hoping that Philippe's beard will grow inside the mask and eventually suffocate him. Philippe is rescued by the musketeers, who break into the sleeping Louis's chamber and imprison him in the mask. The musketeers drag him away and lock him in the Bastille, where the jailers mistake him for Phillippe, and whip him.

When Louis manages to get a message to Fouquet, he is freed, and a chase by coach ensues to stop Philippe from marrying Maria Theresa and taking Louis' place on the throne. The coach is waylaid by the musketeers, who all die heroically, but Fouquet and the real Louis XIV are also killed when the driverless coach plunges off a cliff. The mortally wounded d'Artagnan survives long enough to exclaim "God Save the King!" at Philippe's wedding, and then falls dead. Philippe finally assumes the throne.

## Cast

[edit]

* Louis Hayward as King Louis XIV / Philippe of Gascony
* Joan Bennett as Princess Maria Theresa
* Warren William as d'Artagnan
* Joseph Schildkraut as Fouquet
* Alan Hale Sr. as Porthos
* Miles Mander as Aramis
* Bert Roach as Athos
* Walter Kingsford as Colbert
* Marion Martin as Mademoiselle de la Valliere (credited as Marian Martin)
* Montagu Love as the Spanish ambassador
* Doris Kenyon as Queen Anne
* Albert Dekker as King Louis XIII
* Nigel De Brulier as Cardinal Richelieu
* Boyd Irwin as Lord High Constable of France
* Howard Brooks as Cardinal Mazarin
* Reginald Barlow as Jean Paul
* Lane Chandler as Captain of Fouquet's Guards
* Wyndham Standing as Doctor
* Dorothy Vaughan as Midwife
* Sheila Darcy as Maria, Theresa's Maid
* Robert Milasch as Torturer
* D'Arcy Corrigan as Tortured Prisoner
* Harry Woods as First Officer
* Peter Cushing as Second Officer
* Ted Billings as Prisoner (uncredited)
* Dwight Frye as Fouquet's Valet (uncredited)

## Production

[edit]

The film was the third movie producer Edward Small made under his new agreement for United Artists. James Whale was signed as director in September 1938.[3] Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., whose father had starred as D'Artagnan in the 1929 epic version The Iron Mask, was originally announced as male star[4] and met with director James Whale. However producer Edward Small insisted on Louis Hayward, who had just made The Duke of West Point for him.[1]

Louis Hayward played D'Artagnan in a gender-switched 1952 remake entitled Lady in the Iron Mask with Patricia Medina in the titular role and Alan Hale, Jr. as Porthos, the part his father Alan Hale, Sr. had portrayed in the 1939 version. In what may have been another instance of stunt casting, Hale Jr. played Porthos in the 1979 film The Fifth Musketeer (which is also based on The Man in the Iron Mask).

## Reception

[edit]

Frank S. Nugent called the film "a moderately entertaining costume piece" with "an overfondness for pageantry and stiff heroics." He criticized the casting of Marion Martin as "outright absurd" and called her performance "artless" and "rather hopeless".[5] Variety called the film "a highly entertaining adventure" with "excellent" direction.[6] Harrison's Reports declared it "good mass entertainment" with a "charming" romance.[7] Film Daily called it "a vivid picturization of Alexandre Dumas' novel" with Hayward's "best screen work to date."[8] John Mosher of The New Yorker wrote, "The piece belongs to the old school of things and the Douglas Fairbanks of 1929, but Douglas Fairbanks is not here, and the swordplay, the hard riding, the desperate escapes seem to demand him. Louis Hayward can give a modern effete touch when that is needed in the double role he has, but he can't compete with his rapier or his acrobatics."[9]

## Influence

[edit]

The first film adaptation of Dumas' novel to allow for the lasting triumph of the good twin over the evil twin was Douglas Fairbanks' 1929 version of the tale, The Iron Mask (although in this case the good twin was the one already on the throne, reared under the tutelage of D'Artagnan, and it was he who had to be rescued when the evil twin was put onto the throne). The 1939 version flips this around so that the evil twin, Louis, sits on the throne and the good twin, Phillipe, is raised by D'Artagnan and must eventually win the throne. The staging of several other scenes are borrowed from the 1929 version, most importantly the ending. The ending of the 1939 version, with the ghosting of the figures of the four musketeers together (presumably in heaven), is a direct homage to the ending of the 1929 Douglas Fairbanks' film in which Athos, Porthos, and Aramis greet D'Artagnan upon his death and they in a ghosted image head off together for the "greater adventure beyond."

Most subsequent film versions, including the 1977 version and the 1998 version, have followed the basic outline of the 1939 film (and its borrowings from the 1929 version), not of the original novel.

The English band Iron Maiden was named by founder Steve Harris after seeing the film.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Schallert, Edwin (Dec 12, 1938). "Selznick Quests New Serious Lombard Idea". Los Angeles Times. p. 28.
2. ^ TV.com review
3. ^ "SCREEN NEWS HERE AND IN HOOLYWOOD: Edward Small Signs James Whale to Direct Remake of 'Man in the Iron Mask' OPENING AT RIALTO TODAY New George O'Brien-Picture, 'Painted Desert,' and 'Gift of Gab'. on Same Bill New Picture for Dick Powell Of Local Origin". New York Times. Sep 13, 1938. p. 28.
4. ^ Schallert, Edwin (Sep 27, 1938). "Second Costarring of Davis, Flynn Planned: 'Iron Mask' Story Begun Truex Set for 'Ambush' Helen Parrish Signed Joseph Calleia Tests". Los Angeles Times. p. 15.
5. ^ Nugent, Frank S. (July 14, 1939). "Movie Review – The Man in the Iron Mask". The New York Times. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
6. ^ "Film Reviews". Variety. New York: Variety, Inc. June 28, 1939. p. 14.
7. ^ "The Man in the Iron Mask". Harrison's Reports. New York: Harrison's Reports, Inc.: 110 July 15, 1939.
8. ^ "Reviews". Film Daily. New York: Wid's Films & Film Folk, Inc.: 10 June 30, 1939.
9. ^ Mosher, John (July 15, 1939). "The Current Cinema". The New Yorker. New York: F-R Publishing Corp. p. 61.

## External links

[edit]

* The Man in the Iron Mask at IMDb
* The Man in the Iron Mask at Rotten Tomatoes
* The Man in the Iron Mask at the TCM Movie Database
* The Man in the Iron Mask at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by James Whale

* Journey's End (1930)
* Hell's Angels (1930)
* Waterloo Bridge (1931)
* Frankenstein (1931)
* The Impatient Maiden (1932)
* The Old Dark House (1932)
* The Kiss Before the Mirror (1933)
* The Invisible Man (1933)
* By Candlelight (1933)
* One More River (1934)
* Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
* Remember Last Night? (1935)
* Show Boat (1936)
* The Road Back (1937)
* The Great Garrick (1937)
* Sinners in Paradise (1938)
* Wives Under Suspicion (1938)
* Port of Seven Seas (1938)
* The Man in the Iron Mask (1939)
* Green Hell (1940)
* They Dare Not Love (1941)

* v
* t
* e

The d'Artagnan Romances by Alexandre Dumas

* The Three Musketeers
* Twenty Years After
* The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later

Characters|

* Athos
* Aramis
* Porthos
* d'Artagnan
* Cardinal Richelieu
* Milady de Winter
* Rochefort
* Buckingham
* Queen Anne
* Louis XIII
* Louis XIV
* de Tréville

Films|

| The Three
Musketeers|

* The Three Musketeers (1916)
* Les Trois Mousquetaires (1921)
* The Three Musketeers (1921)
* The Three Musketeers (1932)
* The Three Musketeers (1933)
* The Three Musketeers (1935)
* The Three Musketeers (1939)
* The Three Musketeers (1942)
* The Three Musketeers (1946)
* The Three Musketeers (1948)
* Blades of the Musketeers (1953)
* The Three Musketeers (1953)
* The Three Musketeers (1961)
* The Three Musketeers (1973)
* The Four Musketeers (1974)
* The Three Musketeers (1993)
* The Musketeer (2001)
* The Three Musketeers (2011)
* 3 Musketeers (2011)
* The Three Musketeers (2013)
* The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan (2023)
* The Three Musketeers: Milady (2023)

|

Twenty Years
After|

* The Return of the Musketeers (1989)
* Musketeers Twenty Years After (1992)

The Vicomte of
Bragelonne|

* The Iron Mask (1929)
* The Man in the Iron Mask (1939)
* Uthama Puthiran (1940)
* Lady in the Iron Mask (1952)
* The Count of Bragelonne (1954)
* The King's Prisoner (1954)
* Uthama Puthiran (1958)
* Le Masque de fer (1962)
* The Fifth Musketeer (1979)
* The Secret of Queen Anne or Musketeers Thirty Years After (1993)
* The Man in the Iron Mask (1998)

Other sequels|

* At Sword's Point (1952)
* The Secret Mark of D'Artagnan (1962)
* Revenge of the Musketeers (1994)
* The Return of the Musketeers, or The Treasures of Cardinal Mazarin (2009)

Animated|

* The Four Musketeers (1936)
* Three Blind Mouseketeers (1936)
* The Three Musketeers (1974)
* Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers (2004)
* Barbie and the Three Musketeers (2009)
* Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds (2021)

Tom and Jerry|

* The Two Mouseketeers
* Touché, Pussy Cat!
* Tom and Chérie
* Royal Cat Nap

Television|

| Series|

| Live-action|

* The Three Musketeers (1954)
* The Three Musketeers (1966)
* The Mind Robber (1968)
* d'Artagnan and Three Musketeers (1978)
* Young Blades (2005)
* The Three Musketeers (2009–10) (puppetry)
* The Musketeers (2014)

|

Animated|

* The Three Musketeers (1968)
* Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds (1981)
* The Three Musketeers Anime (1987–89)
* The Return of Dogtanian (1989)
* Albert the Fifth Musketeer (1993–94)

Films|

| Live-action|

* The Three Musketeers (1959)
* The Three Musketeers (1969)
* The Man in the Iron Mask (1977)
* La Femme Musketeer (2004)

|

Animated|

* The Three Musketeers (1973)
* The Man in the Iron Mask (1985)
* Dogtanian: Special (1985)
* The Three Musketeers (1986)
* Dogtanian: One For All and All For One (1995)

Games|

* Touché: The Adventures of the Fifth Musketeer
* The Three Musketeers (1987 video game)
* The Three Musketeers (2006 video game)
* The Three Musketeers: One for All!

Musicals|

* The Three Musketeers (1928)
* 3 Musketiers

Other
adaptations|

* The Three Mesquiteers
* Dog in Boots
* The Three Must-Get-Theres
* The Three Mouseketeers (comics)
* The Three Musketeers (South Korean adaptation)
* Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance (video game)

Khaavren Romances|

* The Phoenix Guards
* Five Hundred Years After
* The Viscount of Adrilankha
* The Baron of Magister Valley

Related|

* Auguste Maquet (collaborator)
* A Modern Musketeer
* The Three Muscatels
* Unus pro omnibus, omnes pro uno
* Man in the Iron Mask
* Musketeers of the Guard
* 3 Musketeers (chocolate bar)

* v
* t
* e

Films produced by Edward Small

1910-20s|

* Who's Your Neighbor? (1917)
* The Sporting Lover (1926)
* The Cohens and Kellys (1926)
* The Gorilla (1927)
* McFadden's Flats (1927)
* Ladies' Night in a Turkish Bath (1928)
* The Cohens and the Kellys in Paris (1928)
* My Man (1928)
* Companionate Marriage (1928)
* Song of Love (1929)

1930s|

* Clancy in Wall Street (1930)
* Igloo (1932)
* I Cover the Waterfront (1933)
* Palooka (1933)
* The Count of Monte Cristo (1934)
* Transatlantic Merry-Go-Round (1934)
* Let 'Em Have It (1935)
* Red Salute (1935)
* The Melody Lingers On (1935)
* The Last of the Mohicans (1936)
* The Bride Walks Out (1936)
* We Who Are About to Die (1937)
* Sea Devils (1937)
* New Faces of 1937 (1937)
* Super-Sleuth (1937)
* The Toast of New York (1937)
* The Duke of West Point (1938)
* King of the Turf (1939)
* The Man in the Iron Mask (1939)

1940s|

* My Son, My Son! (1940)
* The Son of Monte Cristo (1940)
* South of Pago Pago (1940)
* Kit Carson (1940)
* International Lady (1941)
* The Corsican Brothers (1941)
* A Gentleman After Dark (1942)
* Twin Beds (1942)
* Miss Annie Rooney (1942)
* Friendly Enemies (1942)
* Up in Mabel's Room (1944)
* Abroad with Two Yanks (1944)
* Brewster's Millions (1945)
* Getting Gertie's Garter (1945)
* Temptation (1946)
* The Return of Monte Cristo (1946)
* T-Men (1947)
* The Black Arrow (1948)
* The Fuller Brush Man (1948)
* Raw Deal (1948)
* Walk a Crooked Mile (1948)
* Black Magic (1949)

1950s|

* Davy Crockett, Indian Scout (1950)
* The Iroquois Trail (1950)
* Valentino (1951)
* Lorna Doone (1951)
* The Texas Rangers (1951)
* Indian Uprising (1952)
* Scandal Sheet (1952)
* The Brigand (1952)
* Cripple Creek (1952)
* Kansas City Confidential (1952)
* The Bandits of Corsica (1953)
* Captain John Smith and Pocahontas (1953)
* Dragon's Gold (1953)
* Gun Belt (1953)
* The Neanderthal Man (1953)
* 99 River Street (1953)
* Raiders of the Seven Seas (1953)
* Sabre Jet (1953)
* The Steel Lady (1953)
* Wicked Woman (1953)
* Captain Kidd and the Slave Girl (1954)
* Khyber Patrol (1954)
* The Lone Gun (1954)
* Overland Pacific (1954)
* Return to Treasure Island (1954)
* Southwest Passage (1954)
* Down Three Dark Streets (1954)
* New York Confidential (1955)
* The Naked Street (1955)
* Top Gun (1955)
* Comanche (1955)
* Gun Brothers (1956)
* UFO (1956)
* Chicago Confidential (1957)
* 5 Steps to Danger (1957)
* Gun Duel in Durango (1957)
* The Iron Sheriff (1957)
* Monkey on My Back (1957)
* Curse of the Faceless Man (1958)
* Hong Kong Confidential (1958)
* It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958)
* Toughest Gun in Tombstone (1958)
* Witness for the Prosecution (1958)
* The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake (1959)
* Guns, Girls and Gangsters (1959)
* Inside the Mafia (1959)
* Invisible Invaders (1959)
* Pier 5, Havana (1959)
* Riot in Juvenile Prison (1959)
* Solomon and Sheba (1959)
* Timbuktu (1959) (had name removed from credits)
* Vice Raid (1959)

1960s|

* Cage of Evil (1960)
* A Dog's Best Friend (1960)
* Gunfighters of Abilene (1960)
* The Music Box Kid (1960)
* Noose for a Gunman (1960)
* Oklahoma Territory (1960)
* Three Came to Kill (1960)
* The Walking Target (1960)
* Boy Who Caught a Crook (1961)
* The Cat Burglar (1961)
* Doctor Blood's Coffin (1961)
* Frontier Uprising (1961)
* Five Guns to Tombstone (1961)
* The Flight That Disappeared (1961)
* The Gambler Wore a Gun (1961)
* Gun Fight (1961)
* Mary Had a Little... (1961)
* Operation Bottleneck (1961)
* Police Dog Story (1961)
* Secret of Deep Harbor (1961)
* The Snake Woman (1961)
* Three on a Spree (1961)
* When the Clock Strikes (1961)
* You Have to Run Fast (1961)
* The Greengage Summer (1961)
* Beauty and the Beast (1962)
* The Clown and the Kid (1962)
* Deadly Duo (1962)
* Gun Street (1962)
* Incident in an Alley (1962)
* Jack the Giant Killer (1962)
* Saintly Sinners (1962)
* Tower of London (1962)
* Diary of a Madman (1963)
* Twice Told Tales (1963)
* I'll Take Sweden (1965)
* Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! (1966)
* Frankie and Johnny (1966)
* The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz (1968)
* The File of the Golden Goose (1969)
* The Christine Jorgensen Story (1970)

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