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 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