The Man in the Iron Mask (1985 film) Colin Friels as King Louis XIV, Gwen Plumb as Péronne and John Meillon in the role of Porthos. It was produced by Tim Brooke-Hunt and originally premiered on television. "The Man in the Iron Mask" is nowadays considered to be in the public domain. The three Musketeers have discovered, through D'Artagnan, the existence of a twin brother of Phillipe, the King of France. The hidden brother is always imprisoned, and nobody knows his face, which is always covered with a mask of iron closed with padlock. Tired of the cruelty and tyranny with which Philippe punishes the French people, the
Man in the Iron Mask be conducted to the fortress at Pignerol where he will be locked in a cell and under guard at night, and permitted to walk the battlements during the day with a 330 309." It has been suggested that the 330 stood for "masque" and the 309 for full stop. However, in 17th-century French "avec un masque" would mean "in a mask". Some believe that the evidence of the letters means that there is now little need of an alternative explanation for the man in the mask. Other sources, however, claim that Bulonde's arrest was no secret and was actually published