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) The Man in the Iron Mask (1939 film) The Man in the Iron Mask is a 1939 American film very loosely adapted from the last section of the novel "The Vicomte de Bragelonne" by Alexandre Dumas, père, which is itself based on the French legend of the Man in the Iron Mask. The film was Peter Cushing's screen debut. It was also notable for being the source of several subsequent remakes. The film was directed by James Whale and stars Louis Hayward as royal twins, Joan Bennett as Princess Maria Theresa, Warren William as d'Artagnan, and Joseph Schildkraut as Nicolas