AdventureHistory

The Iron Mask

- The Further Adventures of "The Three Musketeers"!

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.

Release Date : 1929-02-21

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Elton Productions

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : D'Artagnan

Original Name : Douglas Fairbanks

Gender : Male

Character Name : The Queen Mother, Anne of Austria

Original Name : Belle Bennett

Gender : Female

Character Name : Constance Bonacieux

Original Name : Marguerite De La Motte

Gender : Female

Character Name : Milady de Winter

Original Name : Dorothy Revier

Gender : Female

Character Name : Madame Peronne

Original Name : Vera Lewis

Gender : Female

Character Name : Louis XIII

Original Name : Rolfe Sedan

Gender : Male

Character Name : Louis XIV / Twin Brother

Original Name : William Bakewell

Gender : Male

Character Name : Cardinal Richelieu

Original Name : Nigel De Brulier

Gender : Male

Character Name : Father Joseph

Original Name : Lon Poff

Gender : Male

Character Name : Planchet - D'Artagnan's Servant

Original Name : Charles Stevens

Gender : Male

Character Name : The King's Valet

Original Name : Henry Otto

Gender : Male

Character Name : Athos

Original Name : Léon Bary

Gender : Male

Character Name : Porthos

Original Name : Tiny Sandford

Gender : Male

Character Name : Aramis

Original Name : Gino Corrado

Gender : Male

Character Name : De Rochefort

Original Name : Ullrich Haupt

Gender : Male

Reviews

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2022-06-06

Douglas Fairbanks picks up where he left off with the "Three Musketeers" (1921) in this altogether better sequel that focusses on the succession to Louis XIII's France. When a son is born to Queen Anne (Belle Bennett), the entire nation celebrates. Only a few in the Kingdom know, however, that there is a twin... For the safety of the realm, the second born is whisked away to Spain on the instructions of Cardinal Richelieu (Nigel de Brulier) but not before the roguishly scarred "Rochefort" (Ullrich Haupt) discovers the truth. Some years later - after all but their mother are dead, he kidnaps the youngster from his Spanish hideaway and secretly substitutes this altogether different King on the throne of France, whilst consigning the real King to an hideous masked confinement in prison. Miraculously, the prisoner manages to get a message to his loyal Captain D'Artagnan (by this time a slightly more portly Fairbanks) and the race is on to rescue and restore him. Unlike any other cinema adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' story that I recall, this story starts off with the good king before the bad one, rather than just starting of with the bad one - and that helps to get the story off at a cracking pace. de Brulier's Richelieu is much better than with his previous iteration here; constantly sparring with those pesky - if somewhat more aged - musketeers, and with the aid of the conspiring "Milady de Winter" (Dorothy Revier) there are a couple of decent sub-plots that help keep the action coming thick and fast. The photography sets that pace well, with plenty of shoot-outs, sword fencing, explosions and intrigue to keep the pot boiling. Again, sparing inter-titles assist with dialogue but don't intrude in what is essentially a super boy's-own adventure. Definitely worth a watch, and in my view the best adaptation of "the Man in the Iron Mask" yet made.