I have seen the many other versions of this story, but I had never even heard of this one, directed by the great James Whale, which is surprising in itself. I must say without qualification it is certainly the best of them all. Louis Hayward is excellent as the twins, and the scenes with the 2 twins together rival anything Hollyweed can do now, only done much more simply and directly. They don't even look like matte shots. And the scenes with Hayward in an iron mask rival any of Whale's horror films simply in their superb use of lighting for effect. Just goes to show further what a superb craftsman he was, and how he was comfortable in any genre. The supporting cast is fine, though frankly I never found Joan Bennett interesting, she does well here. And stalwarts like Schildkraut and Hale do their usual fine work. Frankly I thing Warren William is highly overrated in the other reviews here. Yes, he does a creditable job, but no better than any others in the supporting cast. Personally, I think Whale's direction is the real star here, effective without being overly flamboyant. He could have easily rivaled Cukor or any of his other gay contemporaries' work, but unfortunately he insisted on being honest and open about who he was. Something that is frowned upon even today.
Review of The Man in the Iron Mask
