THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK

Warren William, Hayward, Joan Bennett, Hayward

THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK (1939). Director: James Whale. Based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas pere.

When it is discovered that the queen has given birth to two identical boys, it is decided one will have to be sent away to be raised by a foster father, D'Artagnan (Warren William), to avoid the in-fighting and sibling rivalry that would undoubtedly result. Alas, things don't work out as planned when the foppish and cruel Louis XIV (Louis Hayward) discovers that he has a twin in Philippe of Gascony (also Hayward), who. along with his "father," D'Artagnan, objects to the salt tax. D'Artagnan and his fellow musketeers are rounded up and put in prison, but it amuses Louis to seemingly allow Philippe the run of the palace (an unlikely development, considering). Philippe takes advantage of Louis' absence to free his father and musketeers and work other wiles. Eventually, however, Louis wises up and imprisons his brother, forcing him to wear an iron mask and hoping his growing beard will eventually suffocate him. But Louis is wrong in thinking that this is the end of his twin just as Philippe is wrong in underestimating his brother. The Man in the Iron Mask had been filmed both before and after this version -- Dumas' story has been filmed many times, in fact -- but this may be the best-known version. At times the verisimilitude of the film is about on the level of an Abbott and Costello feature, but whatever the picture's flaws, it boasts a remarkable lead performance from Louis Hayward [Midnight Intruder], who is superb as he successfully limns two distinct characterizations. There is also fine work from the ever-florid Warren William; from William Royle [Drums of Fu Manchu] as the Commandant of the Bastille; and especially from the marvelous Joseph Schildkraut [Cleopatra] as the utterly loathsome Fouquet, a former tutor who "advises" his majesty. Joan Bennett is a little out-classed in this (not to mention Marion Martin as Louis' French mistress!), as costume dramas were not her forte. There's a very good score by Lucien Moraweck. Albert Dekker, Dwight Frye, and Peter Cushing (in his film debut) are also in the picture, but don't blink or you might miss them!

Verdict: A superb lead performance -- or rather two of them -- is the chief distinction of the picture. **1/2.

DRUMS OF FU MANCHU

Henry Brandon as the Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu

DRUMS OF FU MANCHU (15 chapter Republic serial/1940). Directors: William Witney; John English.

Taking its cue from the feature-length film starring Boris Karloff, The Mask of Fu Manchu, this serial is also loosely based not on Sax Rohmer's "Drums of Fu Manchu" but rather his "Mask of Fu Manchu." In both film and serial Fu Manchu (Henry Brandon) is out to get certain artifacts from the tomb of Genghis Kahn that will give him the power to conquer all Asia -- in the serial's case it is a sacred scepter. To that end there is a lot of back and forth dallying over not only the scepter, but the "kardac segment," a piece of a tile that will lead to the location of the tomb. Fu's chief adversary, as in the books, is Sir Dennis Nayland Smith (William Royle), with assistance from Dr. Petrie (Olaf Hytten of Detective Kitty O'Day) and young Allan Parker (Robert Kellard of Escort Girl), whose father was murdered by Fu. Other characters include Professor Randolph (Tom Chatterton); his daughter Mary (Luana Walters); Fu Manchu's loyal assistant, Loki (John Merton of Radar Patrol vs Spy King), who actually has fangs; and Fu's daughter, Fah Lo Suee (Gloria Franklin). One carry over from the novel "Drums of Fu Manchu" is the way one hears the nerve-wracking sound of beating, steadily louder drums whenever someone's doom is approaching. Fu, who is more sadistic than in the novels, employs gelatinous darts; a cage with rats inside of it (known as "the gates to paradise"); a fire-branch trap that threatens to snap Allan in two; and a deadly gas in Kahn's tomb. Especially memorable cliffhangers include two trains about to collide in chapter one; the attack of a kind of octo-squid in a watery chamber below Fu's HQ in chapter two; a pendulum that nearly cleaves Allan in twain in chapter four; a jeep that sails over a cliff during a fight with Arabs in chapter eight; a deadly heat device from the sun's rays that nearly frizzles Mary in chapter nine; and a whole ceiling of stalactites that comes crashing down on the good guys in chapter ten. There's a little too much running about the desert in the final chapters, and the score is mediocre. This is not necessarily top-drawer Fu or a top-drawer serial, but it is good and entertaining. Once you get used to the odd voice Henry Brandon affects for Fu, he is quite effective.

Verdict: Great fun to watch Fu Manchu carry out his diabolical manipulations -- always with class. ***.