Man in the Iron Mask arrested in Calais in 1669 further to the execution of Roux, who would have denounced him when being tortured. Hugh Ross Williamson argues that the man in the iron mask was the natural father of Louis XIV. According to this theory, the "miraculous" birth of Louis XIV in 1638 would have come after Louis XIII had been estranged from his wife Anne of Austria for 14 years. Furthermore, Louis XIII was old, weak, ill, and not expected to live much longer, and thus may have been impotent at the time, implying that he was not the father. The theory then
The Iron Mask excerpts from the 1952 version, some outtakes from the original filming, and some textual background material from the program for the 1999 premiere showing of the reconstruction. A complete restoration of the original sound version has yet to be released. Fairbanks Biographer Jeffrey Vance has opined, “As a valedictory to the silent screen, "The Iron Mask" is unsurpassed. In one of his few departures from playing a young man—and with fewer characteristic stunts—Fairbanks conjures up his most multi-dimensional and moving screen portrayal in a film that is perhaps the supreme achievement of its genre.” The Iron Mask The Iron Mask