The Man in the Iron Mask

Today is the anniversary of the death in 1703 of the Man in the Iron Mask after an incarceration lasting 34 years. His identity remains unknown. According to Wikipedia, the fate of the mysterious prisoner —and the extent of the apparent precautions his jailers took— created significant interest in his story and gave birth to many rumors and legends. Many theories exist about his identity and the cause of his incarceration, and a very large number of books and articles have been written about the case during the last 350 years. Some of these theories were presented after the existence of reliable, contemporary documents was widely known. Still later commentators have presented their own theories, some of them based on embellished versions of the original tale. Theories about his identity that were popular during his time included that he was a Marshal of France; the English Henry Cromwell, son of Oliver Cromwell; or François, Duke of Beaufort. There's a list here of people thought to have been the prisoner.

Several films have been made, of course, none of which are serious in their attempt at historical accuracy. We don't know who he was, after all...

The Iron Mask, the 1929 silent starring Douglas Fairbanks:

The Man in the Iron Mask, the 1939 film directed by James Whale and starring Joan Bennett and Peter Cushing:

The Man in the Iron Mask, the 1977 film starring Richard Chamberlain, Patric McGoohan, Ralph Richardson, Louis Jourdan, Ian Holm, and Hugh Fraser, is available on Tubi and on Freevee via Amazon Prime

The Man in the Iron Mask, the 1998 film starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich, and Gérard Depardieu is available on Tubi and via YouTube:

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