Le masque de fer

A well-known Dumas tale;the best swashbuckler actorFrance ever had:Jean Marais;a French beauty ,Claudine Auger,who was to be Domino in "Thunderball";and Henry Decoin ,a skillful craftsman.

But it's not enough,cause the story lacks intensity ,and ,whereas you expect an action-packed movie,all you get is a slow-moving tale which hesitates between comedy and true adventure.Some people will not agree,but the made-for-TV version starring Irons,Di Caprio and Byrne is much more exciting.So is the French own made-for-TV one,the fourth segment of the "D'Artagnan" miniseries in 1969.

Jean-François Poron,who was the Duke of Nemours in "la Princesse de Clèves" where he played opposite Jean Marais too,is the "twins" here.