The Man in the Iron Mask (1923)

Movie
Original title	The man in the iron mask
Country of production	Germany
original language	German
Publishing year	1923
Rod
Director	Max Glass
script	Paul O'Montis Rudolf Saklikower
production	Max Glass for Terra-Film, Berlin
camera	Adolf Otto Weitzenberg (chief camera) László Schäffer Heinz Kluth
occupation
Vladimir Gaidarow : Ludwig XIV. / His brother Bertrand, the man with the iron mask Albert Bassermann : Cardinal Mazarin Helga Molander : Etienne de Tiffanges Bruno Decarli : Gaston d'Aubigny, Huguenot leader Lina Lossen : Anna of Austria , Ludwig's mother Wilhelm Diegelmann : Landlord Ludwig Hartau Emil Heyse Friedrich Kuehne Leopold von Ledebur Joseph Klein Erich Pabst Max Ruhbeck Franz Julius Schönfeld Hermione Sterler Magnus founder

The Man with the Iron Mask is a 1923 German silent adventure film by Max Glass with Vladimir Gaidarov in the title role or a double role. The film was based on the novel of the same name by Alexandre Dumas .

action

The film is largely based on the template of the well-known Dumas novel.

Cardinal Richelieu orders that the twin brother of France's King Louis XIV should be removed from the court and taken to the country. There he is brought up without knowledge of his true parentage and held like a prisoner. The power-conscious prince of the church wants to prevent a prophecy, according to which the king's brother would one day bring the state and the dynasty into dire straits, from coming true. Soon the brother, here called Bertrand, becomes the man with the iron mask, which is supposed to prevent the guards and servants from discovering a resemblance between Bertrand and their monarch.

Production notes

The man with the iron mask was filmed in the Terra glass house in Berlin-Marienfelde and had a length of a prelude and six acts over a total of 3003 meters. After its censorship on December 15, 1922, the film was banned from young people and premiered the following month in the Alhambra cinema on Berlin's Kurfürstendamm. In Austria the film opened exactly one year later, in France, the country of Dumas', at the end of June of the same year.

The then Terra board member and later screenwriter Glass made his debut as director and producer with this film. The extensive film structures were created by Robert A. Dietrich .

Reviews

Siegfried Kracauer wrote: “A great historical film will be shown in the Neue Lichtbühne: THE MAN WITH THE IRON MASK, it deals with the fate of the alleged twin brother of King Ludwig XIV. The best are the scenes in which the glorious glory at the court of the Sun King takes place unfolds. Incidentally, so many intrigues are not actually put together in keeping with the film that it is sometimes difficult to find one's way around. Albert Bassermann stands out as the actor of Cardinal Mazarin. "

In its issue of January 8, 1924, the Neue Freie Presse found: "Dumas' exciting novel has been skillfully reworked into a no less exciting film. (...) The historical coloring is very good. The director deserves ample praise for it. This film is of particular interest because of the excellent performance of the actors. Albert Bassermann, as Cardinal Mazarin, is completely admirable in mask and performance. "

Web links

• The Man in the Iron Mask in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• The Man in the Iron Mask in the online film database
• The man with the iron mask at filmportal.de

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Raca. in Frankfurter Zeitung , November 11, 1923, Stadt-Blatt
2. ↑ "The Man in the Iron Mask". In:  Neue Freie Presse , January 8, 1924, p. 17 (online at ANNO ).