The Iron Mask

An effortlessly high-spirited, beautifully bedecked romp through Dumas, with Fairbanks revisiting his favourite role as D'Artagnan. It's also a fond farewell to Fairbanks' own screen youth and the gaiety he'd shared with audiences over a decade, with the plot following the valiant musketeers through a 20-year separation, reunification and a final leap into heaven and a greater adventure beyond. Aside from a shaky five minutes at the start of the second half, it's perfectly pitched, paced and performed. (The print under review was restored by Photoplay Productions, London, in association with MoMA, New York.