Man in the Iron Mask the queen to be left alone with her midwife to give birth to the second child. To make the context clearer, it should be remembered that there was a controversy at that time over which one of twins was the elder: the one born first or the one who, being born second, would have, as was then thought, been conceived first. In such a situation, the reigning twin would face a serious threat to his throne. Also supporting the theory of King Louis XIV's twin, a thorough examination of the French Kings' genealogy shows many twin births, in the Capetian
The Man in the Iron Mask (1939 film) desperate escapes seem to demand him. Louis Hayward can give a modern effete touch when that is needed in the double role he has, but he can't compete with his rapier or his acrobatics." The first film adaptation of Dumas' novel to allow for the lasting triumph of the good twin over the evil twin was Douglas Fairbanks' 1929 version of the tale, "The Iron Mask" (although in this case the good twin was the one already on the throne, raised under the tutelage of D'Artagnan, and it was he who had to be rescued when the evil twin was