JohnHowardReid It's good to have this film in its complete version on an Alpha DVD, minus the two brief dialogue scenes in which Fairbanks steps out of character to address the audience. Mind you, the Alpha print is a bit distracting as the movie has been scrupulously reconstructed from an excellent Kodascope cutdown, fleshed out with not-so-well preserved footage from the complete version. Mind you, it works rather well – and for $5.95, who's complaining? Fans are more likely to complain that the three musketeers have so little to do in this version – but that's the way it was written by Dumas himself! And that's one reason "The Iron Mask" has never been even half as popular with readers as "The Three Musketeers". In fact, in my childhood days, I always thought D'Artagnan was a somewhat flawed hero. He spends a whole book fighting Cardinal Richelieu and his hired thugs, but at the end of the book, what does he do, but join them! However, the lead character of The Iron Mask is actually not D'Artagnan but Richelieu, here so charismatically played by Nigel De Brulier, reprising his role from the 1921 "Three Musketeers". The villain, the man in the mask himself, is brilliantly played by William Bakewell who differentiates between the two princes most adroitly. They certainly look alike, but Bakewell always ensures the audience knows who is who – even if the characters on the screen do not! Produced on a grand budget, and atmospherically photographed by Henry Sharp on sets designed by William Cameron Menzies, "The Iron Mask" rates as absolutely must-see entertainment!

TheLittleSongbird One of the best versions of The Man in the Iron Mask and one of Douglas Fairbanks' best films too. Details-wise, The Iron Mask might deviate from the book but the spirit of the story still remains, and in a much better way than most of the versions that followed it. It does feel rushed at times, and William Bakewell does do much better as the good twin than the evil twin, as the good twin he is sincere but as the evil twin he does over-egg the pudding too much. The sets and costumes are beautiful with the attention to detail authentic, while the photography is equally effective like the shadowy effects in the prison scenes that are most atmospheric. Carl Davis' score fits the action very well and sounds sweeping in an appropriate way. The film is written in a snappy way, the story is as fun, energetic, exciting and tense as the story of The Man in the Iron Mask is, the ending is genuinely moving(and not just mildly, this is emotional stuff) and the action is rousing and leaves you at the edge of your seat biting your nails and cheering for the heroes. Douglas Fairbanks is an as ever lively presence, with stunts and athletic moves that are the envy of anybody regardless of their age, but brings also pathos to his performance as well. In support, everybody is very good but Nigel De Brulier is broadly venomous, Margarite De LaMotte will leave you really identifying with Constance and rooting for her and Ulrich Haupt is a sinister Rochefort but with somewhat a charm of his own. All in all, well worth looking out for, Fairbanks' touted farewell to silent swash-bucklers is an excellent film. 9/10 Bethany Cox

pypod Eighty-five years after it was made, The Iron Mask retains its luster, its magnetism, and it's delightful storytelling. Despite its veering from the plot of Dumas' great novel, The Iron Mask is a highly entertaining adventure in its own right. Of course, with Douglas Fairbanks as the D'Artagnan character, the film has an advantage right out of the gate. It has less over-the-top action than in earlier Fairbanks swashbucklers, and Fairbanks's acrobatics are more subdued than in his earlier actioners. But at age 46 he could still bound and leap and climb and buckle a swash better than the best men half his age, better, in fact, than almost any man of any age. And what an actor! Just his smile could make his audience joyful. His tenderness, his sincerity, and his depth were irresistible convincing, capturing every emotion he wished to convey. Although this was his last silent film, it contained a brief sound introduction to Part 1 and another to Part 2, both with shots of Fairbanks narrating in a stirring, proud voice. A few elements of the film are dated, most notably the shots of the evil royal twin, who emoted in the hammiest sense. Little items like that do not detract from the appeal of The Iron Mask. This was the first time I'd watched it. I will watch it again.

bkoganbing For his farewell to the silent screen Douglas Fairbanks chose to continue with the further adventures of The Three Musketeers in The Iron Mask just as Alexandre Dumas did in his novel. It was certainly a worthy farewell.Douglas Fairbanks probably could have continued his career in talkies and he did make a few films in that medium. But silent films were perfect for his boisterous personality. Neither he or Mary Pickford every really learned to dial it down a bit for sound. I like to think of this rather than The Private Life Of Don Juan as his real farewell picture.Actually a bit of The Three Musketeers plot is brought in to set the stage for the twin sons of Louis XIII who threatened a dynastic crisis for the Bourbons in France. Rocheford the villain who dies in The Three Musketeers lives here in the person of Ulrich Haupt who takes over the raising of the second born twin in obscurity in the Pyrenees over the Spanish border. Rocheford works on the kid, but being abandoned by his parents will work on you psychologically no matter what the circumstances.When the time is right Haupt strikes and substitutes one twin for the other, both played by William Bakewell. It's bad karma to kill royalty outright so Haupt devises this iron mask to imprison the real Louis XIV so no one knows who he is and thinks him a mad man. Of course the plot is foiled and Fairbanks repeating the role of D'Artagnan does the foiling together with his musketeer companions of days gone by as they ride one last time for the honor of France.The version I saw eschewed subtitles and had a narration supplied by Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. who did the dialog with proper élan and reverence for his father. It makes for marvelous viewing and hearing.The Iron Mask has to be considered one of Douglas Fairbanks best films and holds remarkably well for today's audience.