THE IRON MASK (81)

Directed by: Allan Dwan (1929)

Starring: Douglas Fairbanks, Nigel de Brulier, Belle Bennett

The Pitch: D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers come out of retirement to save the King from his evil twin.

Theo Sez: Hard to explain why this Silent swashbuckler should be so irresistible, but it's certainly - though not a particularly clever or complex entertainment - as pure an entertainment as any film ever made. There isn't a trace of cynicism to it. It doesn't take short-cuts, never assuming that we know what's going to happen, and carefully explaining its plot (even those far-fetched parts that can't really be explained) as if logic could somehow transform this fantasy world into our own ; and it's never self-conscious, racing through its royal intrigues, nefarious schemes and daring escapes with a straight-faced enthusiasm that's a joy to behold : it has the innocence of a medium in its infancy and the exhilarating tang of boyhood games. What those viewers who have only girlhood to look back on will make of it all is hard to say, especially since the caramaderie - things like the four musketeers all sleeping in the same bed - is, uh, a little dated. Still, Fairbanks' goofy doggerel in the (non-Silent) prologue, inviting us with many an athletic leap and flourish of his sword to a "France of old / When hate was bold", is probably imperishable : "Come, stir your soul with our ringing call / It's All For One And One For All!"